This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 6, 2011.

My Life as a White Trash Zombie

By Diana Rowland – DAW – July 5, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This was a good book, but not a great one. It was a quick, pleasant read but one hindered by a few issues.

Much of the book reads like someone had taken a vampire novel and did a find-and-replace, swapping out “vampire” for “zombie” and “blood” for “brains”. That wasn't a major issue for me, since I like newbie vampire stories almost as much as I like zombies, but I can't help feeling more could've been done with zombie tropes to set this book apart from well-trodden vampire ground.

There are a couple other under-developed elements to the story as well. There are some hints about a nascent zombie society, trafficking in cadaver brains, but not much is done with it. There's a half-hearted mystery about a zombie killer, but this is only really brought to the forefront and, somewhat awkwardly, wrapped up in the last twenty pages of the book.

The most nagging issue has to do with the title. The narrator, Angel, is presented as white trash, but there's not much to support that, apart from some superficial set dressing (she drinks too much and does pills, she has a foul mouth). Part of the story is about how she discovers self worth, and how she isn't as trashy as other people and she herself believed, but even with that her voice comes off as too articulate and self-reflective, too suburban mom to sell the “white trash” element promised in the title (and the fantastic cover).

Even with the issues mentioned above, this was still an entertaining read, easily recommended to zombie fans. Whether or not a sequel is coming is left ambiguous, but I think I'd have to think about it before picking up any further installments. The itch has been scratched.

★★★☆☆

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