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)

Entertaining

What an unusual, and entertaining, book! The addiction stuff rang true; the characters act like human beings, and the story stays true to the characters as presented--no plot driven people here. Different. The cover makes it look pretty grim, but it isn't overly graphic or nasty.

And the narrator is PERFECT. The accent sounded spot on, and she made the characters sound true to themselves. Pacing is good, and no weird quirks that narrators sometimes have.

Altogether, absolutely worth the time and money. And for me, it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining in print form. Brava to author and narrator, on this one.

Not your typical Zombie book! So cool!

What did you love best about My Life as a White Trash Zombie?

When Angel starts to crave for brains... Oh, that is so gross but it's so funny!

What other book might you compare My Life as a White Trash Zombie to and why?

It's the best book ever!

Which scene was your favorite?

Oh, can I tell you something? She eats and eats brains!

Who was the most memorable character of My Life as a White Trash Zombie and why?

Are you serious?

Any additional comments?

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A very plesant surprise

Would you listen to My Life as a White Trash Zombie again? Why?

I wouldn't mind listening to this book again, but honestly, I'm more interested in getting the next book in the series to listen to. It was engrossing, well written and excellently performed.

What did you like best about this story?

The intrigue element of the story was not spoon fed to the reader/listener. Well planted and subtle hints led me through a surprisingly good plot.

What about Allison McLemore’s performance did you like?

Her voice differentials were clear, and I had no trouble following the characters in dialogue.

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

I like drawing out my listening pleasure, but I only lasted two days of suspense.

Any additional comments?

For quite a while, the title and cover drawing turned me off, and I finally tried it on the basis of the inexpensive first of series deal. When I noticed that there were several books to the series, I decided it might have more to offer than the cover would indicate. I'm glad I tried it.

I loved this book so unbelievably much!

This story was so well made and thought out. I couldn't believe the ending and it's a good idea to go into this blind so stop reading this review and read the book immediately because you will not regret it! I'm glad I found this title while browsing audible and me being a sixteen year old boy I'd recommend this to anyone in my age spectrum. The dynamic of where the story arc goes is astonishing and the way Diana Rowland verbalizes the characters actions is one of a kind! Honestly you need to stop what you are doing and read this ASAP because if you don't you'll be missing out on one darn good story!

So very suprised...I really liked this..

I have to be honest, I picked this up in a sale and did not expect much. While I enjoyed the pop culture fun of the cover and the title it didn't inspire me to rush out and purchase the book. On the surface I thought it would be a recycled romance with zombies to make it so very slightly different from the rash of vampire romance books. Anyway, I did pick it up, and while I will say that it probably will not become a classic, this was a funny and well thought out book. It was enjoyable and I already picked up the next in the series

Is it crass? A bit but not as much as I would have expected with a title of "My Life as a White Trash Zombie" . Is it gross? Somewhat, but it's not page after page of zombies massacring the masses. It is about zombies, however, if there isn't some brain eating it would be odd. There is mild swearing and sexual material, but its not really a romance. It is a coming of age zombie mystery.

Angel is our protagonist and she is, in her words, a loser. She is a high school drop out with alcohol and pill addictions who lives most of time with her on and off again loser boyfriend. She does this so she doesn't have to go home to her alcoholic abusive father. She wakes up in the hospital from an overdose to find herself to very changed. This book explores how she learns she is a zombie and what it means for her future. It changes her life and is probably the only thing that could have spurred her to get and keep a job and see possibilities for her future.

The book is a lot of fun. Allison McLemore narrated it. She does a great job with Angel's character. Her interpretation of male characters is not great but certainly not the worst I've heard. It is my preference to listen to the audible version but certainly others have not liked it. My recommendation is to listen to the snippet audible gives you. If you are ok with her interpretation of Angel you will most likely be ok with the narration.

What a great surprise.

Have been holding off listening to this series cuz I figured was going to be a boring read. I was wrong. The combo of the author and narrator made this a fun read. Thank you!

Cool

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

This is a very interesting take on zombies. While I love zombie movies, I haven't read or listened to a zombie book. This is a very good addition to the genre.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Life as a White Trash Zombie?

I like the way the discovery of what the main character was is described. Very well done.

What about Allison McLemore’s performance did you like?

I love her sweet gentle voice with just a hint of accent. It makes a nice counter-point to some of the more gruesome and graphic details. Plus she just sounds hot :-).

Great Story with ACTUAL laughs- best narration

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

This was the only time I actually LAUGHED OUT LOUD when listening to an audiobook. I read reviews constantly on GoodReads and Audible about how people laughed out loud but I rarely do- and never from the 30 or so audiobooks that I've listened to. The characterization was fantastic and refreshingly honest. This whole series has certainly been the funniest audiobooks so far and the zombie storyline was different and actually quite human. Fantastic dialogue and most characters were distinguishable from each other except for the 2 doctors at the coroners office- I might have caught the differences in written format at the beginning. This lead to some confusion in this book and the second one.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Life as a White Trash Zombie?

Angels honest reactions to the unreal bull (insert expletive). She's a former druggie white trash tough chick and those people are real and they cuss. It was refreshing to hear a truthful response full of cusswords from a character that would never had said, "oh golly!". Absolute most memorable was her battle cry towards the end- I can't spoil it for you here cause I really cry-laughed so hard- that's how awesome it was. And I could count on one hand how many times a book has made me laugh out loud- usually just a humph or a light chuckle- never hysterics from me.

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

This is the BEST narration from the 30 or so audiobooks I've heard. Southern accent was great. Don't be expecting Cajun accent (set in Loiusiana)- not all areas of the state speak cajun. But as a Southerner, I was completely blown away by a genuine thick southern accent. A good bit of the secondary characters spoke a little slow in general which is a bit of a misconception of the accent but not enough to prickle my ire. This narrator WAS Angel. And even though I could have read the books more quickly and cheaply as I was dying to do because I fell in love with the series, I actually HAD to spend the additional $30 to HEAR it read by Ms. McLemore. That's how good it is. And I'm a big Indie reader mainly for budget reasons.

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

Main character, Angel of course. She's real and kick@ss and would probably keep my in stitches. I can't say I particularly befriend "white trash" but I'd snap this girl up as a bestie in a heartbeat.

Any additional comments?

Some comments from Goodreads mentioned this novel being a little slow in the middle. I am usually pretty perceptive to that but I didn't feel it. That part of the novel was about her adjustment to these major changes in her life and her struggle to make herself a better person who had hit absolute rock bottom. It was real and honest. No one comes out of a situation like that in a single chapter- if they did, I'd be filing it on the "eye roll" shelf. That struggle made her victories and achievements that much better so I'd pay attention to it even if it feels like you are tired of it. It really wasn't a disruption for me but I can see how action junkies would get impatient- especially when reading a zombie urban fantasy.

Charming book

What did you love best about My Life as a White Trash Zombie?

My original expectations for this book was not high, but after a reading I found the author and the book very charming. This series is a must listen for a light escape.

Plenty of fun and great narration

I’m always happy when I read a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m even happier when it was a book recommended by a friend. I’ve never cared for zombie stories, so I was a little dubious when it was recommended to me for the reading performance as much as for the story itself. But it delivered! The story itself was fun, with a little pathos, a little romance, and a little mystery. But the performance by Allison McLemore pushed it over the five-star threshold for me. The voice she gives the main character is absolutely perfect, and her pacing and emotion are spot on.

Highly recommend. I’ll be looking for other books read by McLemore, for sure.