I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It

Alley (Algonquin) Rhodes is known as an ice queen that verbally cuts down anyone in her path. She writes cutting concert reviews for the school paper. Unlike everyone else, she isn't interested in dating the undead or anyone at all. The undead have revealed themselves to the world because Megamart raised  zombie workers from the grave to be exploited for slave labor. Obviously, vampires wouldn't stand for that sort of treatment, so they rose and up and fought for their rights. Unfortunately it's created this widespread enamor of vampires throughout Alley's school, much to her chagrin. On assignment for the school paper, Alley goes to a club to tear down a vampire band that really sucks. She is suddenly enamored by a guest singer, Doug, that steps in and sings one of her favorite songs with just the right feeling. Falling head over heels with each other, Alley and Doug start to date. They have so much in common, but it's kind of strange that Doug always wears the same clothes and has this weird disease...

I honestly wasn't expecting much from this book with the Katy Perry inspired title (I really hate that song), but it surprised me. It's a fun, tongue-in-cheek satire with biting humor and cute characters. If you are looking for super hardcore and serious zombies, you won't find them here. There was a pretty cool ravenous zombie scene, but it mostly takes place out of sight of Alley. I loved that Adam Selzer poked fun at pop culture and issues in our world today. Megamart and their shady business practices exploiting workers is a great stab at Walmart. If it were at all possible to raise free labor from the dead, I'm sure they would. The overall atmosphere of rabid vampire love skewered the ravenous and numerous Twilight fans. I'm sure there are many people tired of the fandom just like Alley. The overly dramatic and bossy demeanor of the vampire that has a crush on Alley really pinpointed just how creepy Edward in Twilight is, especially faced with skeptical Alley. The best thing that was portrayed through this supernatural world was the teenage experience, especially that special first love. Alley was willing to make huge life decisions based on her feelings for a guy she hadn't even known that long. The story did a great job showing how immature and crazy that is, unlike so many other teen books that glorify this ridiculous situation. The humor was pitch perfect and it made the book so much fun to read.

Alley, although at times annoying, was the star of the novel because she encompassed the teenage experience. She was a typical teenage girl: totally committed to being single until she meets the perfect guy and then ready to do crazy things to keep that love alive. She completely goes back on her convictions, but that's what teens do. It's easy to judge other people's relationships and dumb decisions, but it's different when it's your own. She started out treated practically everyone like garbage and put her ambitions over any relationship. Then she met Doug, the zombie, and was willing to throw it all away and become a zombie to be with him, the same thing she mocked the vampire groupies for before. I felt it was a good portrayal of a teen and how head vs. heart conflicts can change when they are faced with the situation themselves. Zombie Doug was pretty awesome too, providing Alley a kindred spirit. He had a good head on his shoulders and didn't encourage Alley to do anything irrevocably crazy to be with him.

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It was a fast, funny read. I loved the satirical elements and of course I love zombies, even if they are the romantic type. Zombie violence wasn't completely absent, but it wasn't the focus of the novel. I would recommend this to those zombie fans looking for a fun, light read.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins