el_reads17 's review for:

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
4.0

3.75 stars

Zombie and American civil war era stories are not usually my top picks but Dread Nation combined the genres in a way that was fresh and engaging! I enjoyed the characters and the often thoughtful social commentary. The audiobook narration with the full Southern drawl made it a real treat as well!

There are two areas where I think the book could have been better. First, the main character was a bit inconsistent in some parts of the story. For example, she would think "I would never wish X on anyone" and then about 20 pages later she would be wishing just that-- and not due to sudden character development!

*Spoilers below*

Second, the movement of the story from Baltimore to a pioneer town was disappointing. Keeping the story in an urban setting would have provided opportunities to explore the social commentary themes in a more layered way. In the pioneer town setting, the issues lost a bit of nuance.