My Life as a White Trash Zombie

By: Diana Rowland

Narrated by: Allison McLemore

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Paranormal, 2013

Teenage delinquent Angel Crawford lives with her redneck father in the swamps of southern Louisiana. She's a high school dropout, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has a police record a mile long. But when she's made into a zombie after a car crash, her addictions disappear, except for her all-consuming need to stay "alive".

©2011 Diana Rowland (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Allison McLemore's delicate voice and Southern accent give Angel's first-person narration a humorous kick. McLemore excels at bringing Angel's self-deprecating and sarcastic comments to life. Her brisk pacing suits Angel's personality and draws listeners in from the first chapter, keeping them glued to their earphones as she plays up the book's 'gross factor' with drawling descriptions of gooey brains and crunchy skull cavities. She's also good at giving unique voices and mannerisms to secondary characters." ( AudioFile)

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

This series has been on my tbr forever, I finally started it and am so glad I did. I really enjoyed book 1, It is full of snark and sarcasm which I loved. I loved Angel and how easily she adapted to her situation. I also really enjoyed all the scenes at her job which I really thought would bother me but really it was very interesting. Great start to a fun series for sure! Starting book 2 right away.

The narration was perfect! This was a new to me narrator and I think she was really a great choice! I'll be looking for more of her work.

I want more and so will you!! *Spoilers*

What made the experience of listening to My Life as a White Trash Zombie the most enjoyable?

I loved how the story was told from Angel's point of view as well as the narrator's excellent job of voicing each character. Despite the fantastic subject matter, the story felt believable and I found the forensic stuff very intriguing. I also immensely enjoyed the narration.

What did you like best about this story?

That Diana Rowland gave the zombie genre a new twist. It was a nice change of pace to see something new. It was interesting how that in order to stay 'normal', Angel would need to consume brains in order to not fall into decay, like Zeke. I liked the fact that the zombies would not become mindless unless they were overly active or out of brains. It was also nice to notice they could still eat normal food, as well.

What does Allison McLemore bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The different voices and attitude of each character. She delivered the pain, anguish, joy and rage of each character excellently.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes- I couldn't wait to listen to it again. If I had to put my iPod down to do something important that required concentration, I would pick it back up instantly when I was finished.

Any additional comments?

Would love it to be made into a television show or movie- it'd be awesome to see something different in theaters than the usual 'run and fight for your life- there are brain-hungry zombies out to get you!' Seriously, though, if you like zombie books and shows like CSI, you will like this enjoyable mash-up of horror and mystery.

Zombie-licious!

Read for Fun (Kindle)/Listened for Armchair Audies(Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.5 (August 2011)/5.0 (March 2013 ReRead)
Character Rating: 4.5 (August 2011)/5.0 (March 2013 ReRead)
Story Rating: 4.5 (August 2011)/5.0 (March 2013 ReRead)
Ending: 5++++ (Loved it)

Audio Rating: 4.5 (Not Part of the overall Rating)(March 2013)
Updated Review March 2013
I actually pretty much agree with my original thoughts. Though I loved this story even more on the reread. There is just something fantastically magical about Angel and her journey that shines even more on the reread.

I did the reread for Armchair Audies! I originally read this story so I wasn't sure what I would think listening to it on audio. However......

Audio Review
Narrated by Allison McLemore / LENGTH 8 hrs and 44 mins
Freaking Awesome Y'all! Seriously Allison knocked it out of the park. It wasn't quite what I pictured Angel sounding like but I think it was better than I imagined. Plus, you know all those laugh out loud moments? They were made better by the narration! I think the only drawback was a few of the other characters took a bit to get used too. That was fine because overall this was one wicked fun audio. Now I am going to be on the fence about whether to read or listen to the third one (I have already read the 2nd). Decisions! Decisions!


Original Review August 2011
NOTE: I am going to forgo my normal review and divide this one down a little different. This was a fantastic Zombie read that I would recommend to anyone.

Mystery: Yes Y'all, My Life as a White Trash Zombie has a little mystery in it. Take it from a person who reads Mysteries/Thrillers that this one was really well done. I honestly didn't figure it out until she did. Also, the secondary mystery of who turned her was fantastically done also. The whole darn thing was just so well planned out.

Zombies: Gotta love them! I mean these aren't the typical rotting zombies and I liked it. Lets just say that Zombies are monsters with sometimes mushy hearts (that was a semi-quote from the book). Oh but don't worry there are still BRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNNNS involved.

Characters: I think most of the characters in this story were so well flushed out that you felt like part of the world. Made for a very enjoyable reading experience.

Why I gave it a 4.5: It was Zombie-rrific and a very good summer read!

Interesting thoughts on the usual zombie pattern.

Where does My Life as a White Trash Zombie rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This novel ranks in the top 10 of the audiobooks I've listened to so far.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I was unsurprised and anticipatory of the sequel.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favourite scene was the scene when she receives the "If you crave it, eat it" note and has to convince herself to eat the brains for the first time.

If you could take any character from My Life as a White Trash Zombie out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Kang. He seems funny, smart, jerky, and sounds cute when described.

Any additional comments?

Angel is likeable and the parallel between her dependence on pills before and her dependence on brains now is an interesting one.

A little boring

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I just couldn't empathize with the main character. Something would have to change with her for me to like the book more. Maybe a bit less of the white trash side.

Would you be willing to try another book from Diana Rowland? Why or why not?

No. I felt this was a book quickly written to jump on the zombie trend. It seemed a little to much like light or pulp fiction (It is a funny zombie book...I know I shouldn't expect "epic"). It seemed a little formulaic and the characters didn't seem to have a lot of depth.

What three words best describe Allison McLemore’s performance?

I think the performance was very good. She definately got the character across and made her somewhat believable.

Could you see My Life as a White Trash Zombie being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

VERY GOOD! PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.

I have always avoided books on zombies. So when I read many good reviews on My Life as a White Trash Zombie I thought I will give it a try. Much to my surprise I enjoyed it very much! Diana Rowland did a very good job. The dialogue was catchy, not vulgar at all and I like the main character very much. She has such a strong personality and was determined to improve herself and get out of the rut! Allison McLemore narrated excellently giving different voices to all the characters. I will be following this series and am downloading immediately.

Wow I'm so surprised

I've had this book in my wish list for over a year. I'm so glad I finally purchased it. Great narrator, story, a little bit of romance and a mystery to boot!!

I'm downloading book 2 ASAP!

What made the experience of listening to My Life as a White Trash Zombie the most enjoyable?

The storyline was great!

What did you like best about this story?

Angels character

Which scene was your favorite?

Which one?? Too many to choose from.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Brawn and brains!!

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for what's to come!

What a hoot.

It took me a while to buy this book, it has good reviews and the premise was different than most zombie books. In the end I am quite happy I decided to read/listen to it. Miss Rowland wrote a hilarious book and Miss McLemore did a wonderful job of translating to the listener. I will happily continue series, I hope others will give it a read.

I'm fixin' to get book 2 you'all.

Would you consider the audio edition of My Life as a White Trash Zombie to be better than the print version?

Even though I have not read the print version I would absolutely consider the audio version superior. As I've said, I always prefer the audio version unless there's a bad narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Angel's probably my favorite character in the book. She's got a good heart but she's tough too and she's actually kinda smart for a redneck. I'm just kiddin' I've got kin in the South alright? For most of the book I kinda felt bad for Angel, she's not exactly living the high-life, she's got an abusive, unemployed, alcoholic father and a worthless boyfriend who gets her in trouble. If that's not enough now she's got a Zombie curse! For the first 1/4 of the book she doesn't even know what's happening to her. Angel vows to find out who did this to her and she goes about it in her own cute little white-trashy way. Angel's a very likeable character.

Which character – as performed by Allison McLemore – was your favorite?

Angel, again. See above explanation for why. As far as Allison Mclemore's performance all I can say is WHOOO-WEE! I think Allison did an amazing job narrating this book and her southern draw only slipped once or twice during the whole recording which is just fine with me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes I wanted to but, you know, I gotta work and talk to people and stuff, but hell yes I wanted to listen to this in one shot...absolutely!

Any additional comments?

Thank you Diana for practically NO ROMANCE! in this book. No offense to any ladies out there, it's just if I want romance in a book I'll listen to a romance novel not a Horror novel. Diana Rowland is a very talented writer and I'm quite sure I'll get book 2 as soon as I can afford it.