McKay, Kirsty. UnDead.

McKay, Kirsty.  UnDead.  Scholastic/Chicken House     2012  263p  ISBN 978-0-545-38189-5  ms/hs VG-BN      Horror     

One does not have to be a fan of the zombie genre to enjoy this book.  First, the comedy abounds in the relationships that author Kirsty McKay creates between her characters.  Secondly, McKay’s clever entry right into the thick of things will entertain readers who want lots of action.  Finally, her descriptions are wonderfully gory yet delightful, even when she describes one’s worst nightmare, that of entering the world of the undead, or that of being chased by a member of the world of the undead.  When Bobby returns from a ski trip with a busload of fellow high-school students, she inadvertently remains in the bus at the Cheery Chomper cafe with Smitty, a delinquent who tried to buy liquor while on the trip.  By the time Alice Hicks fights her way aboard the bus, Bobby and Smitty know that they are in trouble, especially when Alice announces that everybody in the cafe is dead.  That begins the chase of a lifetime.  Zombies are after anybody they can find, and Bobby, Smitty, and Alice join forces with fellow survivor Pete to navigate the dangerous snowy roads in search of a safe haven with computer or cell-phone capability.  They stumble upon a castle in which they can recuperate and develop an escape plan, but things go awry when three university students show up, threaten them and demand the key to the tower.   What is in the mysterious tower?  Bobby overhears a conversation between the three students and learns that they are involved in the invention of an antidote to zombie attacks that could be worth a lot of money to them.  Who will survive?  Readers will either love or hate the ending.  Whatever their reaction, they will enjoy the story.                 

Summary: Bobby is unhappy with her mother’s decision to return to Great Britain to work.  She is even unhappier when she has to take a ski trip with schoolmates to Scotland.  She is forced into new friendships when zombies threaten the survivors at a pit stop at the Cheery Chomper cafe.

Zombies-Fiction, Fantasy                                    --Martha Squaresky

McKay, Kirsty. Undead.

McKay, Kirsty.  Undead.  Scholastic Press  262p  $17.99     978-0-545-38188-8

2012  hs    VG-BN       Horror     

Scholastic Press describes Undead as a humorous “school-trip splatter fest”.  This is an accurate description of  Undead’s non-stop action, horror, and fun.  Kirsty McKay has a gift for bickering and banter (i.e., dialogue), evident throughout the text.

New girl Bobby is returning from a school-sponsored ski trip, but she stays on the bus when it stops at a roadside restaurant (the Cheery Chomp Cafe) for lunch.  Hours pass and the snow piles up.  Bobby flirts with clueless Smitty until their classmates finally put in a reappearance.  But their classmates have changed.  Their classmates are zombies.  Bobby and Smitty must team up to escape becoming their classmates’ next meal.

Readers will enjoy Bobby’s internal dialogue (snarky but funny) as she courageously faces the zombie uprising.  They will also appreciate Smitty’s pithy one-liners as the pair race to discover a solution to the mystery behind the zombie outbreak.  Can this really be Kirsty McKay’s debut novel?  If you are looking for a serious story about zombies, this book is not for you.  But if you are looking for a lighthearted parody of the zombie genre, you will “devour” this refreshing novel.  Readers are sure to demand the sequel, Unfed.

Zombies–Fiction, Survival–Fiction, Horror stories–Fiction, Scotland-Fiction                                                   --Hilary Welliver

MacKay, Jenny. Gangs .

MacKay, Jenny.     Gangs .      

Cengage (Gale,Lucent,Kidhaven/Blackbirch         

2011   112p   33.45  978-1-4205-0343-2           

hs/adult         Hot Topics (Lucent/Cengage)         VG-BNS          

Six chapters about gangs include the history & the culture of gangs, the

business aspect, the legal system (how gangs are organized as well as how our

police forces deal with gangs), the promotion of gang life and the effects of

gangs on society.       

In the United States, gangs originated for survival when

immigrants faced insurmountable odds.    Some gangs originated in response to

lawlessness in the Wild West.  Urban gangs arose in response to a need for self-

protection.  Whatever its origin, the typical gang combines 3 or more members,

criminal activity and some kind of identification device.  Examined in this book

are various topics including the culture and the business operations of gangs as

well as ways in which the legal system deals with gangs.  Songs, movies and the

news media have inadvertently promoted gangs, making them seem exciting or even

enviable.  Author Jenny MacKay describes all of this with clear organization and

solid research, ending with an examination of the cost to society.  Peppered

with photographs to support the text, quotations by a variety of contributors

and extra explanations separated from the basic text and highlighted in yellow

with red borders, the book offers something of interest to a student, a

researcher, a law enforcement agency, a city planner and/or a parent who hopes

to learn how to spot an at-risk teenager.  

The subject matter is advanced in

nature, making this book better for a more mature reader.  The notes and

bibliography are thorough, the list of organizations to contact for more

information is helpful and the index includes 4 pages of topics to find in the

book.  ╥Hot Topics╒╙ authors examine complex issues in an organized fashion,

present a detailed look at the most important topics to include about each issue

and provide a research tool for older teenagers as well as adults who  need a

starting point.            Squaresky, Martha