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iamsammie27's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
roganshannon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Representation: Black bisexual MC, many BIPOC supporting cast
Jane McKeene has grown up knowing only a world where the dead walk the world during the Civil War, America forever changed. For survival in this new world, it all falls on the shoulders of a few. Reeducation laws were passed to require certain indigenous and Black children to attend combat schools to learn how to put down the dead, so white people don’t have to do all the dirty work. But there are also some special opportunities for better life, such as training to become an Attendant, someone who’s well-trained in both combat and etiquette to protect the rich. Jane’s in Attendant training, because even being the Black daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman can let her escape society and its rules. Though it’s not the life she wants, she’s set on returning home to her family. She doesn’t pay attention to the politics of these cities she’s in, until families start going missing and she suddenly gets caught up in a big conspiracy. She’s fighting for her life, and not just against the dead.
Rating: 5/5 Even though I thought the concept was cool, I put off reading this because I got really tired of all the zombie stories that were coming out. It just felt like a lot of slight modifications of the same story again and again. My best friend loaned me this book, and wow, I’m glad I finally read it! This really thinks about how the course of history would be drastically shifted if the dead rose during the ongoing war. Can you imagine? Killing someone only to have them get up again and keep going, mindless this time. All the historical events, such as the reeducation acts, were kept but repurposed which is so fascinating to me! I think Ireland did a great job of describing all the historical details, including the technology available at the time. This book is certainly one to check trigger warnings for, and I want to mention that this book uses historical terms for Black and indigenous people. It also shows up in the synopsis on GoodReads, so just a heads up you will see those terms.
Jane McKeene has grown up knowing only a world where the dead walk the world during the Civil War, America forever changed. For survival in this new world, it all falls on the shoulders of a few. Reeducation laws were passed to require certain indigenous and Black children to attend combat schools to learn how to put down the dead, so white people don’t have to do all the dirty work. But there are also some special opportunities for better life, such as training to become an Attendant, someone who’s well-trained in both combat and etiquette to protect the rich. Jane’s in Attendant training, because even being the Black daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman can let her escape society and its rules. Though it’s not the life she wants, she’s set on returning home to her family. She doesn’t pay attention to the politics of these cities she’s in, until families start going missing and she suddenly gets caught up in a big conspiracy. She’s fighting for her life, and not just against the dead.
Rating: 5/5 Even though I thought the concept was cool, I put off reading this because I got really tired of all the zombie stories that were coming out. It just felt like a lot of slight modifications of the same story again and again. My best friend loaned me this book, and wow, I’m glad I finally read it! This really thinks about how the course of history would be drastically shifted if the dead rose during the ongoing war. Can you imagine? Killing someone only to have them get up again and keep going, mindless this time. All the historical events, such as the reeducation acts, were kept but repurposed which is so fascinating to me! I think Ireland did a great job of describing all the historical details, including the technology available at the time. This book is certainly one to check trigger warnings for, and I want to mention that this book uses historical terms for Black and indigenous people. It also shows up in the synopsis on GoodReads, so just a heads up you will see those terms.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
huirangdolly's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racial slurs
Moderate: Cursing and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A strong-willed heroine (Jane), her ex-fling (Jackson), and her former nemesis turned friend (Katherine) battle the undead (“shamblers”) in an alternate version of the Reconstruction era. This had political intrigue and great plot twists. Such a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and War
greenochki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery and War
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall I thought this was a fun book that talks about important topics of institutionalized racism and slavery. Using the idea of zombies, or shamblers, was interesting way to move the story forward and explore these themes. I thought the story did a good job with explaining how religion and pseudoscience were used to perpetuate racism, especially towards Black people. There were times where I wanted a bit more emotional depth regarding these topics, meaning I wished the author had more internal reflection on Jane’s part about the things she saw and experienced (and thus giving the reader space to ruminate on them) instead of just telling us how she felt. I think this style makes these themes more digestible for younger readers, so possibly that was the author’s intentions.
The rest of Jane’s characterization was kind of like what I described above as well. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fun and lively character and I think her narration is really engaging but I wanted more in regard to her development. I felt like she always knew what to do or say, and while there were times of conflict or danger of the book, I feel that we don’t see the whole range of how those things affected her. While I wanted a higher degree of nuance, there were a few twists I didn’t see coming and I thought the action scenes were fun. I’m hoping the next book will be stronger.
The rest of Jane’s characterization was kind of like what I described above as well. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fun and lively character and I think her narration is really engaging but I wanted more in regard to her development. I felt like she always knew what to do or say, and while there were times of conflict or danger of the book, I feel that we don’t see the whole range of how those things affected her. While I wanted a higher degree of nuance, there were a few twists I didn’t see coming and I thought the action scenes were fun. I’m hoping the next book will be stronger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
onalark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexism, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: War
directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
dragoninwinterfell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It has been years since I was so fully captured by a book that I couldn't stop reading/listening to it until I reached the end. Straight from the first couple of lines, I was drawn in by Jane McKeene and her story. Justina Ireland has created a gritty alternate history where the Civil War ended when soldiers began turning into zombies, forcing both sides to come to terms to deal with the greater threat. Slavery has technically ended, yet Black Americans are still being exploited and racism is still normalized. Black and Native American teens are forced to attend schools where they are taught to fight zombies in preparation for jobs where they will protect people of European descent.
Jane attends one of these schools where she has to learn etiquette (so as to be tolerable company for the people she will serve) alongside combat training with other teenage girls. As the story is told through her first-person POV, her dry wit, well-earned pessimism, practicality, and care for others are at the forefront. Jane is such a fascinating character full of acknowledged flaws alongside rarely acknowledged virtues. Had this been a book where she was just narrating her boring day at home in a world with no zombies, I still would have been attached enough to her to be enthralled. But this is a world with zombies as well as common human atrocities. So it was fascinating following along as she navigated the horrors of both zombies and racism, which equally threatened her life and the lives of those she loves.
I'm awed by Ireland's skill in creating a character and a world that felt so real and immersive.
Jane attends one of these schools where she has to learn etiquette (so as to be tolerable company for the people she will serve) alongside combat training with other teenage girls. As the story is told through her first-person POV, her dry wit, well-earned pessimism, practicality, and care for others are at the forefront. Jane is such a fascinating character full of acknowledged flaws alongside rarely acknowledged virtues. Had this been a book where she was just narrating her boring day at home in a world with no zombies, I still would have been attached enough to her to be enthralled. But this is a world with zombies as well as common human atrocities. So it was fascinating following along as she navigated the horrors of both zombies and racism, which equally threatened her life and the lives of those she loves.
I'm awed by Ireland's skill in creating a character and a world that felt so real and immersive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Murder
greenlivingaudioworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Classism