Sunday, September 21, 2014

Dead Over Heels....or a waste of my dadgum time......by Allison Kemper

What They Say.....Glenview, North Carolina. Also known―at least to sixteen-year-old Ava Pegg―as the Land of Incredibly Boring Vacations. 

What exactly were her parents thinking when they bought a summer home here? Then the cute-but-really-annoying boy next door shows up at her place in a panic…hollering something about flesh-eating zombies attacking the town.


At first, Ava’s certain that Cole spent a little too much time with his head in the moonshine barrel. But when someone―or something―rotted and terrifying emerges from behind the woodpile, Ava realizes this is no hooch hallucination. The undead are walking in Glenview, and they are hungry. Panicked, Ava and Cole flee into the national forest. No supplies, no weapons. Just two teenagers who don’t even like each other fighting for their lives. 

But that’s the funny thing about the Zombpocalypse. You never know when you’ll meet your undead end. Or when you’ll fall dead over heels for a boy… 

What I Say....This was a cute premise, and an easy read.  This is only the second zombie book I have read, and I have to say this can't be compared to Fiend by Peter Stenson .

The story moved quickly and was somewhat compelling, but parts of it didn't ring true.  Mostly, the dialogue.  I was raised in a rural area of the Midwest and in all of my teen years, I never heard a guy use the term "dadgum"  We get it, Cole is a redneck, but he's not an 80 year old redneck.

The ex-girlfriend, Bethany, was another character that I couldn't buy into.  She's bitten, but strangely immune, so she can lead the hordes of zombies in an effort to kill Cole and Ava, since she saw Cole and the "Yankee Girl" sitting close together in a tree.  Come on, Yankee Girl?  I just can't with this dialogue.


I know that teens are full of hormones, but I think it's stretching to believe that when two kids who barely know each other are being chased by the undead, that the primary thoughts in their mind are how sexy they find each other.  Especially within two days of being chased by their neighbors who are now zombies, being exposed to the elements, and having life threatening allergic reactions.  I'm just not buying it.

I read online that this author released two books within 7 months of each other, and it was an a-ha moment for me.  I think that was the feel of this book, it felt pushed and rushed.  This book had a lot of potential, I wish the author had given it a little more time in order to write believable characters.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, I discovered your blog from Goodreads after reading your review of this book, Just reading the premise raised some red flags in my mind, especially about character stereotypes. I'm from the South and I'm tired of the cliched depictions writers continue to use about us. Since the story is set in my home state, I want to read this book , and I still might. I appreciate getting your take on the story.

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    1. Hi Barbara - let me know what you think after you read it. I liked the story outline but the dialogue was embarrassing.

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