Reviews

Zombie Mommy by M.T. Anderson

abdiel47's review against another edition

4.0

It seems like R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series is too much of a self parody to be parodied, yet M.T. Anderson does a pretty good job of satirizing kids horror novels. And the presence of Katie’s cousin Madigan Westlake-Duvet mashes the proceeding up with kids romance novels. It makes for one of the funniest books in the series while still being sufficiently creepy to pay off as a horror novel. It’s particularly amusing when the author calls attention to various techniques writers use to build tension in such genre novels as he’s using them. And even though he tells you what he’s doing it still builds tension. Drgnan Pghlik also continues his partnership as an unofficial Pal in Peril.

brucefarrar's review against another edition

5.0

Mrs. Gefelty is starting to panic. Her daughter Lily has recently been appearing in a series of books, Pals in Peril. Mrs. Gefelty has been reading them and the books that Lily’s been assigned from school, and she’s discovered something very frightening in them: the heroines’ mothers either die or disappear, one is, “killed in a rogue trolley accident.” Another contracts cholera, another is eaten by a rhinoceros, and one, “goes to a dance party and catches the smallpox.” So to avoid such a fate, and to get away from the stress, Mrs. Gefelty goes to her computer and looks up “the town where the fewest people die.” It’s the “UNDEAD CAPITAL OF THE U.S.” Guess who has to rescue her? But this time Lily and her pals are joined by her friend Katie’s bratty cousin Madigan Westlake-Duvet of the “Snott Academy series, a stack of paperbacks with name like 2 Good 2 Be 4 Ever and Puppy Love Smackdown.”

I must agree with the quote from Zombie Vogue on the dust jacket, “I laughed my head off!”

audreyintheheadphones's review against another edition

3.0

A quick read with, as promised, shambling zombies. Loved the set-up, loved Madigan Westlake-Culottes, or whatever her name was, really didn't love all the fighting over Drgnan. That's not really why I showed up for this series. More inventions, more strange and wonderful magic realism, less romantic triangles, please.