Zombie Blondes, By Brian James

• By: Brian James
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
• Publish Date:  2008
• ISBN: 0312372981
• Page #: 240 pages
• Reading Level: Young Adult
• Classification: Fiction
• Genre: Paranormal
• Subjects: Cheerleading, Family, Fathers-Daughters, Fitting-In, High School, Popularity, Zombies
• Reader's Annotation: Ever felt like the popular girls in your high school are all the same? In Hannah's new neighborhood everything is deathly quiet and strange but she is so desperate to fit in that she decides to ignore the scary truth.
• 
  
• Synopsis: Hannah has moved to a new town with her father. The first thing she notices when she moves in is the strange quiet on the streets. When she goes to her new school, she notices that things are weird there too. The popular girls, the cheerleaders that is, are all scarily the same. They are beautiful but stark white, dead white actually, and Hannah notices their oddness. Dealing with her father who is on the run (due to personal problems ratting out a cop) moves her around constantly, so when she arrives to this town she accepts her fate as the unpopular girl. When the "cheerleaders" offer her a chance on the squad, she is faced with the hope of fitting in and being popular. The problem is, it's hard to ignore the horrible truths unraveling around her, not to mention the fact that her friend Lucas is telling her the cheerleaders are ZOMBIES!
• Notes: Zombie Blondes raises some good metaphors about high school life, fitting-in, parental relations, and communities (much like the general zombie metaphors in films since the 1960s). However it is important to note that this book is an interesting mix of predictable characters juxtaposed with some exciting twists that save the book from predictability. Zombie Blondes is a fun read that although not perfect, worth your while!
• 
  
• Stars: 4
• 
  
  

Dead Is The New Black, By Marlene Perez

By:  Marlene Perez

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks; 1 edition 
• Publishing Date: September 1, 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152064087
• Classification: Fiction
  

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Mystery 

Age Level: Young Adult

Series Title:

Dead Is The New Black

Dead Is So Last Year

Dead Is a State of Mind

Subjects: Popularity, Death, Mystery, Psychic Abilities, Sisters

Reader's Annotation: The cheerleader in Daisy’s high school (not to mention her ex-best friend) is setting a trend, but instead of her usual sun tanned glow, she is sporting a pale-skinned, kiss of death look, cleavage, and stiletto heals!

Synopsis: In city of Nightshade, the novel’s main characters are the two Giordano sisters who hold a psychic power that tunes them into the other side of things. And when bodies start turning up the sisters start tuning into what could be causing it. Is it a vampire? Is it the cheerleader? With her mother a psychic  (working for the police station), the sisters find themselves trying to figure out what has their mom stumped. Humor abounds in this modern commentary of all things trendy. From cheerleading squads to zombified-trend setting, readers will be confused (in all the right ways) by the plot until the very last page.

Stars: 4

Extras: Marlene Perez is the author of Unexpected Development, which was named the ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. 

Author Website: http://www.marleneperez.com/