Welcome to my stop on the Zombie-saurus Rex Blog Tour hosted by CBB Book Promotions! Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule which includes reviews, interviews, guest posts, and excerpts! :D
Title - Zombie-saurus Rex
Author - Mark Souza
Publication date - December 23rd 2014
Publisher - Wet Coast Media
Genres - Young Adult, Paranormal, Zombies
Source - Copy for review
Purchase - Amazon
Synopsis
Rex Morton, a seventeen-year-old zombie, has arrived in the small farming town of Plain View, Nebraska; just another stop in a long string of small towns left behind in their rear view mirror. Unlike the zombie stereotype, Rex is bright and friendly - as long as he doesn't get hungry. He hopes this time he can manage to stick around long enough to get his diploma.
Rex's fiercely protective mother has strong armed yet another school district into accepting her son by threatening a discrimination lawsuit. At Plain View High, a dismal pattern of fear, prejudice, and bullying steers Rex down a familiar path toward expulsion. The difference this time is that Rex has fallen for a fiery Goth girl, Ariella Klopenstein, the daughter of the Police Chief, and decided he will make his stand in Plain View.
As the Z-virus spreads west and the country panics, Rex and Ariella must find a way to overcome Rex's mother who wants to break them apart and flee town, a school principal who wants Rex expelled, Ariella's father, the Police Chief, who thinks Rex is dangerous, and a government zombie round-up aimed at solving the zombie problem once and for all.
Zombie-saurus Rex is a story about perserverance, overcoming prejudice, stereotypes and adversity. What it isn't is a story about dinosaurs. The title is inspired by a nickname a school bully hangs on Rex due to his size, posture, and slow plodding gate.
Zombie-saurus Rex was a really cool zombie story. Full of originality and fun, I cared about Rex. A lot. And I really wanted him to get a happy ending. I know, I know. He's a zombie. But he isn't like any other zombie I know, except maybe R from Warm Bodies. But Zombie-saurus Rex is completely different from Warm Bodies - in this novel, zombies can still do things like speak and go to school, but humans are leery of them, to the point where some in the military want to put them in internment camps or just go ahead and kill them all.
In a sense, I could understand people's trepidation, after all, what are zombies infamous for craving? But if Rex gets to eat his calf brain for lunch and has snacks here and there (snacks he's brought with him!) then there's no reason to panic about him coming after you. He just wants to graduate high school and maybe go to college. The problem is, Rex and his mother have had to move so many times he finds himself behind in school academically sometimes, plus it's difficult to learn when you have to deal with other kids harassing you.
I love Ariella! And I love that Rex does end up making a male friend, Howie. Ariella wants to be different, so much so that she goes out of her way to try to stand out from everyone else. I had forgotten she's the daughter of the Chief of Police, and so I cracked up when he knocks on Rex's door looking for her. Poor Rex had no idea! The two of them were what I thought of as the dynamic duo. I don't think there was anything Rex could have done that would've phased Ariella or made her stop liking him. Nothing. And that's the kind of friend you need at any age.
Zombie-saurus Rex does an excellent job of giving you an escape from the real world while at the same time giving you food for thought (pun intended) about dealing with the presence of discrimination and adversity. I highly, highly recommend this book no matter if you're a fan of zombies or not. If you aren't a fan of them, then you will be after meeting Rex. Promise.
About the Author
Author Mark Souza has always been a storyteller, whether explaining who filched the ice cream, or what happened to the cat's tail. He learned most of life's lessons from the business end of a wooden spoon, and the rest from public schools spanning the breadth of North America, all of which were overjoyed to be rid of him. He became an author of short stories and novels in the horror, mystery, thriller, and young adult genres later in life, after time and a desk job had softened his edges, transforming him into the round, doughy shape Big-&-Not-So-Tall shops crave.
Mark was the proud recipient of the 2013 Indie Reader Award for Best Science Fiction for his debut novel Robyn's Egg.
He now resides in Western Washington with his wife (also an author), two daughters, and their dog of questionable heritage, Tater. Visit his website; http://www.marksouza.com. There you'll find a multitude of ways to make contact. Mark enjoys cordial correspondence and will write back. He's always on the lookout for that next victim reader.
Connect with the Author
Blog Tour organized by:
Awesome review! I totally agree with you. This was really unique and had so many great messages with the diversity and whatnot. Thank you for hosting a tour stop and reviewing!
ReplyDeleteI really loved his unique take on zombies and how they could be a part of everyday life if humans would just let them. Rex has a lot of humanity still in him, but others were so scared they couldn't see past their fear. Thank you, Candace! :)
DeleteWell this is a new one to me. Great review. Glad you enjoyed the story :)
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend it, Shane! If you get a chance, you should definitely read it. You'll never look at zombies the same way again. ;) Thank you! :)
DeleteGreat review, thank you for this great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Danielle! :)
DeleteThank you for writing this post
ReplyDelete