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pageboi31's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Wow. This was a rough one for me, luckily it was a quick read once I finally decided I needed to finish is and move on. Lots of people mentioned being disappointed after the prologue, so I reread that and it was very dark, but...ok, I guess? For being a zombie book, there was less talk of zombies compared to the topic of racism. B's father is a full-blown racist, a wife-beater, and there's really nothing more to his character than that. You'd think this would allow for some empathy towards B the protagonist, but despite their struggles with being racist and being scared of their dad and not trying to rock the boat, B is hella racist throughout and constant acts as if they're different from their father because their actions aren't due to "racism". Zombies finally come around towards the second half of the book, where characters at this point are being brutally killed by zombies left and right, with no time in between to grow tension or care about the losses (not that any characters were worth caring about, except Cass and Tyler). The revelation that B is actually short for Becky, and that the protagonist is not a dude was spoiled when I went to look at reviews to see if other had the same issues with this book that I did. It really doesn't change B as a character in my eyes, and the whole "I can't believe you made me push Tyler dad" is complete BS and is obviously Becky's fault. Her blaming her dad and then running away from their imminent escape was stupid. Her dying to Tyler at the end with him literally eating her heart was...shocking? I should of assumed that with the title of Zom-B that B would become a zombie (or perhaps a mutant?), but it still felt like it came out of left field. Also, what's up with Owl man? Perhaps I'll spark note it since I'm curious, but I'm definitely not reading more of these books... the pictures were a nice touch, but all in all, this book wasn't good, and left me annoyed and disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Bullying, and Xenophobia
I feel like the discussion around racism in this book was done poorly, and true lack of character growth despite what the book was leading you to believe was frustrating and sad
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