A review by greenbeanteenqueen
Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku?! by K.A. Holt

3.0

When Brains for Lunch came across my desk at the library in my new book stash, I knew I had to check it out. Brains for Lunch is a fun twist on zombies. The book is told entirely in haiku-you see, zombies talk in haiku.

The haiku format is creative and makes for a fun fast read. It's a short book-just under 100 pages-and the short poetry format makes the book go quickly. The haiku format does give the reader a good idea of zombie speak, but at times I wish there was room for just a bit more story. I wanted to know just a bit more about the characters and the school that couldn't really be written in such a short format. The ending also felt a little rushed and didn't have a ton of explanation, again because of the format.

But the haiku format is different and I really can imagine zombies walking around talking that way. Because the book is so short, I think Brains for Lunch would be a great read for students and teachers during a poetry unit. And I have to give props to the author for managing to write the entire story in three line poems-I'm sure that was no easy task! The dislike between the zombies and the humans can even open a discussion on race and differences and everyone being equal and getting along.

Brains for Lunch is an entertaining read perfect for readers looking for something humorous and sometimes gross-I mean, these are zombies we're talking about here! Hand this one to reluctant readers looking for a good read for Halloween.

Book Pairings: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar (for another fun MG zombie read), Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka (for another look at a book all written in haiku)