Warm Bodies Review

Title: Warm Bodies

Author:  Isaac Marion

Release date: 2010

Publisher: Vintage Books

‘R’ is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows – warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can’t understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won’t be changed without a fight...

I thought this would be something interesting to read and review. The film ‘Warm Bodies’ has unfortunately finished showing at the cinema (I did really want to go and see it but I didn’t get chance to go) but the new series on BBC three, ‘In the Flesh’ is continuing the new trend of zombies with feelings. (Check it out at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szzcm - I think it's brilliant!)

I really enjoyed this novel. It had a really passionate feel to it and was also written in a mature and sophisticated style. Despite R’s lack of ability to voice his thoughts to Julie and M, the first person narrative is written coherently and beautifully.

I really enjoyed the complexity of R's feelings. Originally, the reason he doesn't eat Julie is because he has eaten the brain of Julie's partner, Perry. The residual memories which he absorbs create his initial emotional attachment to Julie. I thought this was truly captivating, as R then goes on to form his own feelings for Julie which have built on Perry’s. This reminded me a little of 'The Host' by Stephanie Meyer (also due out as a film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNeCnKKHGE4) and the idea of residual memories existing which the new host takes on.  'Warm Bodies' is a really captivating and beautiful story set in the future and it really captured my imagination.

The approach is very different to many zombie stories in that they perform unusual rituals, such as getting married as they attempt to cling to human experience. The Boneys were an interesting addition to the tale in that they provided some form of explanation as to how people had begun to rise from the dead but little other justification was given, the characters had to try and survive living in the present rather than reviewing the past. However, while R has no memories, Perry and Julie are reliving theirs and this provided a welcoming contrast between the humans and the dead. What was revealing towards the end of the novel was how irrelevant memories become, Julie asks ‘You don’t want to get your old life back?’ to which R replies, ‘No [...] I want this one’.

Overall, a thoroughly brilliant read. It offered humour, danger, fantasy and love, encompassing several genres within one story. I can't wait until I (finally) get to see the film which has a lot to live up to.

 

5/5 A heart-warming, unconventional zombie story.

 

Can I just make a point that the prequel is only available as an e-book! I am horrified! What about those of us who like to thumb through a well read paperback ?!?!?!?!

Almost True Review

Book. 4

Title: Almost True

Author: Keren David

Release Date: 2^nd September 2010

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Ruthless killers are hunting Ty. The police move him and his Mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he’s not safe yet.

 

On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers... who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile, he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him.

Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him
straight to the gangsters.
 

Ty isn’t coping well with his current life and longs to go back to how things were when he wasn’t a witness to a murder. After another failed attempt on his life, Ty has to move in with his Dad’s parents, which turns out to be an exercise in learning about his past. While relationships with his Mum and girlfriend, Claire, seem to be breaking down, can he build a relationship with his new family or will he ruin it with recklessness and lies?

I really enjoyed ‘When I was Joe’ and so was looking forward to finally getting to read Keren David’s next novel about Ty’s life under witness protection. The opening chapter explodes with ferocity and the violence that has plagued Ty’s life since he was a witness to murder. While I did find the entirety of the book really engaging, I felt that actually, there were several plotlines going on at the same time and in fact, this tale could have been made into several books.

Keren David tackles several of Ty’s key relationships within this novel with main characters such as his Mum, his Grandma, his Dad, his girlfriend, his Dad’s parents and his new-found cousin Archie. While it was brilliant to get to know a lot more about Ty’s life previous to ‘When I was Joe’ which is revealed to him through forming relationships with his Dad’s family, I felt like the reader is thrown into information overload. However, despite this, I understand that this kept me engaged (I was desperate to know what had happened when Ty’s Mum and Dad separated) and also threw me into Ty’s world. He has to deal with the trauma of being under witness protection, his Mum’s shocking news and the truth about his past as well as worrying about lying to the police.

There is so much going on in Ty’s life that it is hard to keep up but the characters are so believable and captivating that they push through the narrative. My favourite characters in this novel have to be Helen and Patrick (Ty’s grandparents) as they offer guidance and support while he is struggling to come to terms with what is happening. The introduction of so many new characters meant that this novel is very unlike ‘When I was Joe’ in that it has a different setting and the reader is given much more background information on the crime.

I think if you liked ‘When I was Joe’ then you’ll like this too. I was surprised by how much content was covered in the novel and how many new characters were included but every page managed to maintain my interest. I look forward to reading ‘Another Life’ (Book 3 in the series) and seeing what happens to all the characters I have come to know and love.

4/5 A mammoth of content included!