Undead

by Kirsty McKay

"A kick-ass teen-action-zombie fest. Fast, furious, freaky, funny
and seriously sick. Oh, and did I mention it kicks ass?" - Charlie
Higson, award-winning author of The Enemy and The Dead.
It was just another school trip...
When their ski-coach pulls up at a cafe, and everyone else gets off,
new girl Bobby and rebel Smitty stay behind. They hardly know
each other but that changes when through the falling snow, they
see the others coming back.
Something has happened to them. Something bad...Soon only a pair
of double doors stand between those on the bus and their ex-friends
the Undead outside. Time to get a life.
Author Kirsty McKay is a major new horror/thriller writer for ages
12+. Terrifyingly accomplished and blackly funny.

• ISBN13: 9781906427870
• Publish Date: 1 September 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 September 2018
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Chicken House Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelsenator]

For more reviews make sure to visit Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf!

The first thing that drew me in was the cover. I heard it was about zombies, but the whole cheerleader with an ax in winter was definitely interesting! This book was lots of fun too. Of course it has the creepy zombies chasing people for dinner, but it’s wasn’t over the top or gruesome either, so I think even those who aren’t too fond of the genre may like this. There were funny/comedic moments too so that it wasn’t an intense drama-kind of zombie book, but there’s also some mystery involved and of course survival. The mystery actually talks about who may have done it, who started the thing that made the zombies appear.

The main character is Bobby, a girl who was born in England, moved to the US, then just moved back to England shortly before this book. She goes on a trip before school starts, and on the way back things completely change. People die and come back to life and it starts with her classmates.

The teens that are stuck together for this book are completely different in personality too so you’ll never see a dull moment in this. There’s the cheerleader who’s kind of a snob, Pete the geeky guy who also seems to be a know-it-all, and Smitty who is the bad boy who seems to have another side to him. They do meet others on their journey eventually too, but they’re not the main focus points as much.

The survival part I mentioned before in this book was really good too. They aren’t in one place for long and have to constantly move because of the zombies, so this keeps the action going and you’ll just want to keep reading and find out what happens to them next. I was really busy the week I read this (new job) so I had to put it down a lot unfortunately. The mystery of who might have been involved and what was going on came together well too in this, and the ending was awesome because you can tell it’s going to pick up right away into the action.

I’m really looking forward to when the next book is out! If you’re a zombie fan or wanting something fun to read go pick this up!

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Undead is a hilariously funny, zombie infested novel with a mismatched group of teens that will have you laughing as they scramble to save themselves when a school ski trip turns into a nightmare. I laughed and groaned at this silly read.

The tale begins when we meet Bobby, she has recently moved back to Scotland after a stint in the US. This has left her feeling like a bit of an outcast, as her language skills offer up a mix of American and the accent of her homeland. She decides to forgo eating lunch at the burger joint and makes due with a PB&J on the bus. Smitty, a real hottie and rebel is brought back to the bus by their teacher after attempting to buy liquor. While the teacher goes to get Smitty food, they sit with the bus driver. However, when they see their fellow students heading back to the bus, they realize something is serious wrong. When Alice, the cheerleader starts banging on the door screaming, they are trying to eat me you find yourself completely hooked.

McKay offers up a delicious cast of characters, and references to the Breakfast Club are spot on, as we find ourselves on the bus with kinds from every high school social click. I really connected with Bobby. She was sarcastic, fearless, and quick on her feet and her internal conversations had me laughing. Smitty is your classic bad boy rebel. He was the first to take risks and distract zombies.The interaction between him and Bobby was sweet, funny and a wee bit romantic. Alice is that girl you love to hate. She is picture perfect, has all the right clothes and not a hair out of place. Too bad she opens up her mouth. Her snarky comments and insults had me laughing as did her me, me, me attitude. Peter was a total geek and perpetual worrier and helped round out this bunch. Other characters added to the tale. The zombies while not always in the forefront added to the suspense.

The tale was set in Scotland, but aside from a few popular UK slang terms, this tale could have happened anywhere. This is really a character driven story. The plot is very predictable and thin in some areas. This started out on a real high for me but sadly it never developed into more then a slap-stick comedy. We learn how the kids and townsfolk became infected but little details on why. While zombies do give chase, the main focus of the plot is finding a phone, keeping safe and discovering what turned everyone. The ending wrapped up ok, but we did get a little bit of a cliff-hanger. Similar to those B movies, where you think the monster is dead and it’s all a happy ending, then at the last minute they flash to the monster and queue the creepy music..

Undead will appeal to fans of comical zombie books. This was a fun, light, read and I imagine it will appeal to a younger audience. I do plan to pick up Unfed book two in this series.

I want to thank Chicken House and netGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[SilverThistle]

Two words - Scotland. Zombies. I was all over it! Zombies on my home turf?! I'm in!

What I didn't realise going into this was that it's probably what's known as a 'middle grade' read (I think) and that definitely had a bearing on how I was feeling towards the book before I figured it out. I had wrongly thought this was at least a YA so when the zombie's were few and far between and there was a general 'tameness' to it overall I was feeling unsatisfied. But then it clicked...it's for kids. Or is it? I think so...I'm conflicted...

Okay, so my uncertainties aside I'll be assuming this is for kids and that being the case I thought it was great! It's scary enough without being too scary. For the intended age group that is.

I don't like including synopsis in my reviews but just a quick overview would be - School bus trip to Aviemore, Scotland and a handful of teens are left to survive after making a rest stop at a cafe where almost everyone in the vicinity drop's dead and rises again as a zombie.

I loved the characters and they were really well written and believable. What really brought them to life for me was the dialogue. The dialogue was spot on and the interaction of the mismatched band of survivors really worked. I had no problem 'hearing' their voices in my head as I was reading. The characters are stereotypes 101 but I loved them all anyway.

If you've ever watched 'The Breakfast Club' there's a line at the start that goes, "We're a princess, a jock, a brain, a basket case..." or something like that and Undead's characters reminded me of those. They're all so different but they're thrown together in something that none of them asked for or wanted and they're getting along and getting though it as best they can.

Considering it's a zombie book it's actually quite a funny book too. It's not a joke a minute type thing but the characters can find humour even in terror. For example they give names to the zombies (booby woman springs to mind, ha!) and there is lots of observational humour and wise-assery scattered about too. I like that.

The only downside I found was that I wasn't overly fond of the ending. It felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book and left me wondering what just happened but there's another book to follow so I'll be checking that out and looking forward to continuing the story, and maybe getting some more answers to the questions I have about the ending.

I'm not the target audience but I do love a zombie book and this one is still a 4 star for me, regardless of whether or not I'm in the correct age bracket for it.