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timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
What the others said. It's a good zombie story for middle-years, mostly for boys, with a good dose of social issues mixed in. And zombie cows!
In the part that discussed Miguel's immigration situation, the author carefully drops subtlety just for a moment by noting that the blond, pale-skinned boy is the one everyone assumes "that's what Americans look like." Blond, pale-skinned? As in pure Aryan? But Bacigalupi quickly resumes the lower-key approach, constantly presenting the government and the corporation as a middle-years boy might see it.
This author's adult works are masterpieces, and his skill shows here as well.
In the part that discussed Miguel's immigration situation, the author carefully drops subtlety just for a moment by noting that the blond, pale-skinned boy is the one everyone assumes "that's what Americans look like." Blond, pale-skinned? As in pure Aryan? But Bacigalupi quickly resumes the lower-key approach, constantly presenting the government and the corporation as a middle-years boy might see it.
This author's adult works are masterpieces, and his skill shows here as well.
badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
2104 YA Locus award nominee.
Read for the 2021 Horror Aficionados Mt TBR Challenge. This book has been on my WWE reading list since 2013.
Paolo Bacigalupi does at times get just a little preachy, and he went in full preach mode in the epilogue, which I could have done without to be honest. That being said, if I was the target audience, middle school boys, I suspect would have been overjoyed with this book.
Read for the 2021 Horror Aficionados Mt TBR Challenge. This book has been on my WWE reading list since 2013.
Paolo Bacigalupi does at times get just a little preachy, and he went in full preach mode in the epilogue, which I could have done without to be honest. That being said, if I was the target audience, middle school boys, I suspect would have been overjoyed with this book.
thewallflower00's review against another edition
4.0
When I read Scalzi's "The Big Idea" piece on it, it sounded interesting, but I didn't intend to pick it up. Except I saw it on my library's eBook catalog, so I thought, what the heck. It sounded like fun.
Paolo says he wrote the book as a fun thing without much pressure. There aren't any literary techniques. He just tried to make a fun book for boys about zombie fighting, without many themes and motifs. I think the themes are actually more prevalent than he makes light of. There's a prominent thread of foreigners/bigotry in here. Moreso than the zombies, which are actually lacking. Those expecting something like "World War Z" or "David Wellington" will be disappointed.
That being said, the novel does achieve what it seeks out to. It's a beach read, not too heavy except for the racism themes, and some fun gross-outs.
Paolo says he wrote the book as a fun thing without much pressure. There aren't any literary techniques. He just tried to make a fun book for boys about zombie fighting, without many themes and motifs. I think the themes are actually more prevalent than he makes light of. There's a prominent thread of foreigners/bigotry in here. Moreso than the zombies, which are actually lacking. Those expecting something like "World War Z" or "David Wellington" will be disappointed.
That being said, the novel does achieve what it seeks out to. It's a beach read, not too heavy except for the racism themes, and some fun gross-outs.
mrz_owenz's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and funny adventure that still manages to address bullying and immigration in realistic ways.
lindsayb's review against another edition
3.0
If there's one thing I'm gathering from my reading this year, it's that Iowa is the fictional hub for some weird s*** goin' down in America. I think it's the corn.
I was curious to see whether a middle grade zombie book could actually be achieved, and Bacigalupi delivered. The zombie thing *does* take quite a bit longer than expected to really get going though, and in the meantime, Bacigalupi ties in food/animal ethics to make the whole scenario believable and meta. He also discusses white privilege in a poignant way, especially in light of the particular events of the past three days. It's true, it can feel heavy-handed at times, at least as an adult reading this, but I think it could be a great conversation starter for a grade schooler/middle schooler. The reader was pretty fun as well...we really need more POC audiobook readers.
My detractors were the slow-ish plot and the extent to which cliched phrases were used (I started narrating the thing myself). Also, holy cats. Where this book excels at racial/ethnic diversity, it is woefully negligent of gender parity. Mothers/aunts are literally out of the country almost immediately, and one girl takes up the fight for, like, a sentence at the end. Guess girls don't really have a stake in this, huh.
I was curious to see whether a middle grade zombie book could actually be achieved, and Bacigalupi delivered. The zombie thing *does* take quite a bit longer than expected to really get going though, and in the meantime, Bacigalupi ties in food/animal ethics to make the whole scenario believable and meta. He also discusses white privilege in a poignant way, especially in light of the particular events of the past three days. It's true, it can feel heavy-handed at times, at least as an adult reading this, but I think it could be a great conversation starter for a grade schooler/middle schooler. The reader was pretty fun as well...we really need more POC audiobook readers.
My detractors were the slow-ish plot and the extent to which cliched phrases were used (I started narrating the thing myself). Also, holy cats. Where this book excels at racial/ethnic diversity, it is woefully negligent of gender parity. Mothers/aunts are literally out of the country almost immediately, and one girl takes up the fight for, like, a sentence at the end. Guess girls don't really have a stake in this, huh.
brandypainter's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't enjoy reading this book at all. The characterization was shallow and there was little actual plot development. When you factor in the didactic tone and the grossness of it all, I had a hard time finishing it. It had so much potential, but all the characters are one note stereotypes. Even the heroes had very little to offer that was likeable. Bacigalupi definitely wanted to write a book that shed some light on the issues of the exploitation of illegal immigrant workers and the overall dodginess of the meat packing industry. All well and good. We should be discussing and thinking about those things, but his execution of this was heavy handed. Kids will be drawn to it because they like creepy gross books, but beyond that there is nothing on offer here.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Great believable story about factory farms, ICEcapades, and a diverse crew of underdogs just trying to get by.
Slightly less mindblowing than I wanted it to be, and I never really feel like it wowed me, but when I think about everything packed in here, and the fact that I never seriously considered not finishing it in the months that it took me to read it, I think this is a win.
I mean, duh. Factory farms are a ripe setting for horror - more people should do this!
Slightly less mindblowing than I wanted it to be, and I never really feel like it wowed me, but when I think about everything packed in here, and the fact that I never seriously considered not finishing it in the months that it took me to read it, I think this is a win.
I mean, duh. Factory farms are a ripe setting for horror - more people should do this!
mys_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
Quite a bit different than I thought it would be! I enjoyed it!
kfernandez's review against another edition
2.0
I have never met a zombie book that I actually liked. Not for me. Two stars for encouraging me to go full vegetarian again lol.