Book Review-DEAD CITY

DEAD CITY

By James Ponti

2012

288 Pages

Summary taken from Goodreads:

Most kids have enough to deal with between school, homework, extracurricular activities, and friends, but Molly Bigelow has something else on her list: hunting zombies. By day, Molly attends MIST—the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology—but outside the classroom she’s busy dealing with the undead. Because not only do zombies exist, they’re everywhere, and it’s her job to help police them and keep the peace. Sure, she’d like to be a regular kid, but given that her mother was the most revered (or feared, depending on your perspective) zombie hunter in the history of New York City, “regular” just isn’t possible. Molly’s got some legendary footsteps to follow—and some undeadly consequences if she fails.

My thoughts:

I LOVED this book!

Let's start with the cover which is cool and creepy. Molly is ready to kick some serious zombie butt. Love the omega sign hidden in title-clever! I have no doubt many kids will pick up this book based on the cover alone.

Main character Molly is a smart, yet awkward 7th grader who is struggling to fit in and figure out where she belongs. Everything in her life suddenly changes when she finds herself accepted into a secret society of zombie hunters called the Omega Society. An ages old club dedicated to keeping New York safe from the undead.

A genius move by author James Ponti adds a new twist to zombies by making the undead emotional, feeling creatures-some of which are just trying to live peacefully among humans. Of course, some zombies are trouble makers and that's where the Omega Society comes into play. It is now Molly and her team's job to gather clues, solve puzzles, and track down the evil undead. 

Not only is Molly trying to wrap her head around her unusual new job, she deals with complicated new friendships, a strained relationship with her older sister, as well as discovering shocking things she never knew about her mother. 

I loved that Molly was not a perfect person, she messes up-sometimes in big ways. It was fun to watch her grow and evolve through out the story. The New York history and landmark facts were also a fun reading bonus. I stand firmly in the "Molly" fan club. I can't wait to read more of Molly's zombie fighting adventures. 

Dead City is a perfect Middle School read. I can't wait to put it on the library shelf and watch the kids devoure this zombie story.

A big thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing this book to read and review. I'll be donating this book to the Salmon Middle School.