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charms1976's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the Barbie-like cover and honestly, that is what interested me in it. Add on the appeal of zombies and I was ready to sit down and enjoy an action packed book! However, once I started reading it, I knew this was not going to be one of the better zombie books on the market right now.
Hannah was annoying and shallow. All she cared about was fitting in and she didn't have much self esteem in my opinion. I know every teenage girl wants to fit in with the popular crowd, especially if you are the new girl. Yet, what made me dislike Hannah so much was the snotty attitude that she had towards the kids that tried to be her friend and were not a part of the popular crowd. Heck, if I was new to school and worried about having friends, I would take what I could get!
Lukas was quirky and fun even if Hannah did think he had a few screws loose. He tried to warn her about the people in town, but she refused to listen. I felt bad for Lukas because no matter how hard he tried and no matter how mean Hannah was to him, he kept coming back for more. At times I wanted him to just walk away from Hannah and stay away.
The first few chapters have an air of mystery to them making the reader wonder what Hannah's dad did that was so bad that he no longer wants to be a cop like he originally was. While it was interesting at first, the small hints about it in every chapter started to get on my nerves because it is so repetitive with no reveal. I also expected some Zombie action in this book, and their wasn't much Zombie thrill until the last few chapters of the book. To me that was a complete let down.
If you are looking for a zombie book to capture your interest, then look elsewhere.
Hannah was annoying and shallow. All she cared about was fitting in and she didn't have much self esteem in my opinion. I know every teenage girl wants to fit in with the popular crowd, especially if you are the new girl. Yet, what made me dislike Hannah so much was the snotty attitude that she had towards the kids that tried to be her friend and were not a part of the popular crowd. Heck, if I was new to school and worried about having friends, I would take what I could get!
Lukas was quirky and fun even if Hannah did think he had a few screws loose. He tried to warn her about the people in town, but she refused to listen. I felt bad for Lukas because no matter how hard he tried and no matter how mean Hannah was to him, he kept coming back for more. At times I wanted him to just walk away from Hannah and stay away.
The first few chapters have an air of mystery to them making the reader wonder what Hannah's dad did that was so bad that he no longer wants to be a cop like he originally was. While it was interesting at first, the small hints about it in every chapter started to get on my nerves because it is so repetitive with no reveal. I also expected some Zombie action in this book, and their wasn't much Zombie thrill until the last few chapters of the book. To me that was a complete let down.
If you are looking for a zombie book to capture your interest, then look elsewhere.
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
2.0
When I first picked up this book, I thought it was going to be a comedy. A zombie comedy, in fact. How could anything titled 'Zombie Blondes' be anything but? So when I finally got around to reading it, I was expecting a dose of hearty laughs.
The problem is, this book is so annoyingly unfunny that the very concept- a group of cheerleading zombies- is just absurd. The book doesn't even attempt to be a comedy. It tries to give a plausible premise for how the lead character, Hannah, wound up in the zombie-infested town of Maplecrest, but even that is ridiculous. Okay, so James explains that her father dobbed in some bad cops, but somehow that means he's dirt poor and is constantly run out of every town but other bad cops and debt collectors. This makes Hannah angry and sulky. Fair enough. But I find them having to move every few months a bit hard to swallow.
And then the cheerleading zombies come in. And what do you know, the whole town is crawling with zombies. Somehow, though, a few live humans are still there- Diana, Lukas. What I'm curious to know is, why didn't they kill Lukas straight away? He obviously knew what was up, he was obviously trying to stop them, and the sheriff obviously wanted to stop him. So why didn't they just filter his blood, put his name on a jar, and call it a day?
I would have liked more backstory on how the zombies came to be, and how Maggie became HeadCheerleader Zombie. But given the ambiguous, Hannah's-dad-is-now-a-zombie ending, James is obviously hoping/writing a sequel.
Overall, disappointing. The book would have worked much better as a comedy, as the entire premise falls flat otherwise. Furthermore, the writing is just too bland to carry the story. He's not a bad writer, bit by any means, but I found him so mediocre and average that I grew bored. This may be a better book for twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls but no one else.
The problem is, this book is so annoyingly unfunny that the very concept- a group of cheerleading zombies- is just absurd. The book doesn't even attempt to be a comedy. It tries to give a plausible premise for how the lead character, Hannah, wound up in the zombie-infested town of Maplecrest, but even that is ridiculous. Okay, so James explains that her father dobbed in some bad cops, but somehow that means he's dirt poor and is constantly run out of every town but other bad cops and debt collectors. This makes Hannah angry and sulky. Fair enough. But I find them having to move every few months a bit hard to swallow.
And then the cheerleading zombies come in. And what do you know, the whole town is crawling with zombies. Somehow, though, a few live humans are still there- Diana, Lukas. What I'm curious to know is, why didn't they kill Lukas straight away? He obviously knew what was up, he was obviously trying to stop them, and the sheriff obviously wanted to stop him. So why didn't they just filter his blood, put his name on a jar, and call it a day?
I would have liked more backstory on how the zombies came to be, and how Maggie became Head
Overall, disappointing. The book would have worked much better as a comedy, as the entire premise falls flat otherwise. Furthermore, the writing is just too bland to carry the story. He's not a bad writer, bit by any means, but I found him so mediocre and average that I grew bored. This may be a better book for twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls but no one else.
foreverbeautifulbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This was a tough one for me. This book had me feeling bipolar in some ways. It had these really great moments where I felt the author would redeem the female lead for me, and then he would go back down into this pit of unlikablity. Hannah wasn't a character I would call strong. I guess with the way the author wrote her, he pulled if off if that was his goal. She was weak-minded, superficial, selfish, and really mean. But I also felt that every female character in this book was laid out to be this way. I couldn't figure out if this was the way the author wanted this 'town' to be, but based on Hannah's introspect, the author seemed to make a generalization of how girls are in high school. It is laid out that every teenage girl wants to be popular, blonde, worshiped, and adored. This guy has obviously never met the comic book|fangirl|nerd chick (That was me.) I didn't care about popular, actually I related to Lukas if I am being honest. I live my life in origin stories, revenge stories, or redemption stories aka comic book story arcs. But I'm not sure if this author was venting a personal hatred towards high school girls in general, or if he was writing a cautionary tale. I honestly was thinking one way, then Hannah's action would have me going towards the other story arc option. Not to mention the author built TOO much tension. He waited until the last 2 1/2 chapters for anything amazing to happen. I was waiting and waiting for zombie action, how this was going to take place, and I was WAITING. When you spend too much time in a characters head who is unlikable you tend to not care about the awesome gruesome action when you get there.
I kept finding myself wanting more Lukas, then feeling bad when he came into the scenes because Hannah treated him like garbage. Then she realizes AT THE END he was a good person? I kinda wanted to toss her ot the flesh eating cheerleaders at that point. When I don't care if a cheerleader lives or dies that is a problem. It was written similar to old school Tales from the Crypt episodes because the leads in those were very rarely good people. You always were waiting for them to get their comeuppance. At the end of the day, I just wasn't totally feeling this story. I am not sure it was right for him to write in a female POV, I would have totally enjoyed the book if it was in Lukas's POV. The book gets two stars for him putting in what I like to call one of MY people into the story, and for the fact he isn't a bad writer, he just wrote in a female POV and it didn't work for me. I have to like the girl who's head I'm in. I see this as more of a 'boy book' he wouldn't mind it because I'm pretty sure teen boys think this of teen girls. But on the other hand with the rise of the comic book films no one has to face persecution for showing you like comics now--so this book might prove to date itself a bit.
As a whole, I would recommend this book to the teenage boy crowd. I don't think females would find this book very flattering.
*I purchased a copy of this book at the friends of the library bookstore*
I kept finding myself wanting more Lukas, then feeling bad when he came into the scenes because Hannah treated him like garbage. Then she realizes AT THE END he was a good person? I kinda wanted to toss her ot the flesh eating cheerleaders at that point. When I don't care if a cheerleader lives or dies that is a problem. It was written similar to old school Tales from the Crypt episodes because the leads in those were very rarely good people. You always were waiting for them to get their comeuppance. At the end of the day, I just wasn't totally feeling this story. I am not sure it was right for him to write in a female POV, I would have totally enjoyed the book if it was in Lukas's POV. The book gets two stars for him putting in what I like to call one of MY people into the story, and for the fact he isn't a bad writer, he just wrote in a female POV and it didn't work for me. I have to like the girl who's head I'm in. I see this as more of a 'boy book' he wouldn't mind it because I'm pretty sure teen boys think this of teen girls. But on the other hand with the rise of the comic book films no one has to face persecution for showing you like comics now--so this book might prove to date itself a bit.
As a whole, I would recommend this book to the teenage boy crowd. I don't think females would find this book very flattering.
*I purchased a copy of this book at the friends of the library bookstore*
statefossil's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I read this book when I was younger and remembered literally NOTHING about it., so I reread it. Wasn't really worth the reread.
inthelunaseas's review against another edition
2.0
When I first picked up this book, I thought it was going to be a comedy. A zombie comedy, in fact. How could anything titled 'Zombie Blondes' be anything but? So when I finally got around to reading it, I was expecting a dose of hearty laughs.
The problem is, this book is so annoyingly unfunny that the very concept- a group of cheerleading zombies- is just absurd. The book doesn't even attempt to be a comedy. It tries to give a plausible premise for how the lead character, Hannah, wound up in the zombie-infested town of Maplecrest, but even that is ridiculous. Okay, so James explains that her father dobbed in some bad cops, but somehow that means he's dirt poor and is constantly run out of every town but other bad cops and debt collectors. This makes Hannah angry and sulky. Fair enough. But I find them having to move every few months a bit hard to swallow.
And then the cheerleading zombies come in. And what do you know, the whole town is crawling with zombies. Somehow, though, a few live humans are still there- Diana, Lukas. What I'm curious to know is, why didn't they kill Lukas straight away? He obviously knew what was up, he was obviously trying to stop them, and the sheriff obviously wanted to stop him. So why didn't they just filter his blood, put his name on a jar, and call it a day?
I would have liked more backstory on how the zombies came to be, and how Maggie became HeadCheerleader Zombie. But given the ambiguous, Hannah's-dad-is-now-a-zombie ending, James is obviously hoping/writing a sequel.
Overall, disappointing. The book would have worked much better as a comedy, as the entire premise falls flat otherwise. Furthermore, the writing is just too bland to carry the story. He's not a bad writer, bit by any means, but I found him so mediocre and average that I grew bored. This may be a better book for twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls but no one else.
The problem is, this book is so annoyingly unfunny that the very concept- a group of cheerleading zombies- is just absurd. The book doesn't even attempt to be a comedy. It tries to give a plausible premise for how the lead character, Hannah, wound up in the zombie-infested town of Maplecrest, but even that is ridiculous. Okay, so James explains that her father dobbed in some bad cops, but somehow that means he's dirt poor and is constantly run out of every town but other bad cops and debt collectors. This makes Hannah angry and sulky. Fair enough. But I find them having to move every few months a bit hard to swallow.
And then the cheerleading zombies come in. And what do you know, the whole town is crawling with zombies. Somehow, though, a few live humans are still there- Diana, Lukas. What I'm curious to know is, why didn't they kill Lukas straight away? He obviously knew what was up, he was obviously trying to stop them, and the sheriff obviously wanted to stop him. So why didn't they just filter his blood, put his name on a jar, and call it a day?
I would have liked more backstory on how the zombies came to be, and how Maggie became Head
Overall, disappointing. The book would have worked much better as a comedy, as the entire premise falls flat otherwise. Furthermore, the writing is just too bland to carry the story. He's not a bad writer, bit by any means, but I found him so mediocre and average that I grew bored. This may be a better book for twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls but no one else.
maidmarianlib's review
3.0
Interesting premise, but the build up to the climax comes to slow, and the climax is to fast and then it does not end.
johana_pm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.5
an_sunie's review against another edition
2.0
Actual rating: 2.5
I like the whole concept of undead cheerleaders (and have liked it since middle school) but I do not completly like the main character, I found her to be a bit annoying at times. Major nostalgia points though.
I like the whole concept of undead cheerleaders (and have liked it since middle school) but I do not completly like the main character, I found her to be a bit annoying at times. Major nostalgia points though.