The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters

A Young Adult Zombie Novel

By: Rhiannon Frater

Narrated by: Erik Sandvold

Josh Rondell is 12 years old and known as the "living dead boy" due to his rampant love of all things zombie. As the head of the Zombie Hunters Club, he's obsessed with preparing for the zombocalypse. Though no one around him really believes that zombies will one day rise to devour the living, Josh is convinced it just might happen.

When zombies do shamble into his schoolyard, Josh finds himself the leader of the dwindling band of zombie hunters, and he is charged with protecting them all. Josh's baby brother, his closest friends, and the love of his young life try to survive as the undead take over their town. Trapped in his treehouse and surrounded by the dead, will Josh be able to save them all?

©2010 Rhiannon Frater (P)2012 Rhiannon Frater

The Walking Dead meets Scream for kids

Imagine The Walking Dead as told from a young Carl’s point of view, but Carl an uber-geek about zombies. That’s Josh in The Living Dead Boy. So, as the zombie apocalypse actually happens, Josh and his band of tweener “zombie hunters” provide a lot of meta moments that are very reminiscent of similar moments in Scream, albeit with a less humorous bent. As a children’s book writer myself, although this book is marketed as a young adult book, I would say it feels more like a book with middle grade sensibilities (including the age of the protagonists), with some young adult gore and violence. I listened to the audiobook, and if you can muscle your way through the narrator to get to the second book, please do. This book did leave me wanting more, and fortunately, the sequel, Lost in Texas, has a much better voice actor reading that one.

Exciting YA Zombie Adventure!!!

I am a big fan of Rhiannon Frater, from her 'As the World Dies" series to her 'Hidden Necromancer' series and really looked forward to sharing her YA Zombie novel with others. I listened to this novel with my 3 nephews and we had a blast. Personally I hated the narrator, but he didn't seem to bother my nephews as they really got into the novel. We all felt the characters were very relatable, we have all had friends like each of the characters which made them feel more realistic than a lot of zombie books. Our favorite character was Josh, most annoying, Sam . . . but who hasn't known a kid like sam. Overall an excellent novel and a good one to share with the YA in your life. We are all looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Loved this story about a 12 year old boy who watched the existence of zombies go from his personal fantasy to a very clear reality. I highly recommend this book.

The Children know best!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

What did you like best about this story?

It felt real

Which character – as performed by Erik Sandvold – was your favorite?

Sam

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

yes

Any additional comments?

I need to preface this review with the following statement, I read A LOT of zombie fiction. That being said it is safe for you to assume that I love zombie fiction and am willing to forgive a lot of over used tropes and boring subplots for the sake of a decent zombie yarn.

This book needs no forgiveness.

The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters is the BEST Young Adult (YA) horror novel I have ever read. Never once in this book did I feel like the story was writing down to the reader. The story is a comprehensive and extremely well paced narrative that provides equal numbers of scares, laughs, and tears. The characters are well constructed and you care about what happens to them. I enjoyed every second and finished it in a single reading. My only complaint is that I want a second book …

The littles are heros!

I have never read a zombie book where children were the main characters. This was a big surprise to me. The characters were likable and memorable. the story was well written with good timing. I found myself laughing out loud at the boys banter and physically flinching during scary parts! People die and get up and eat eat each other, and just because they are children, it dosen't matter! The narrator is clear speaking and clearly defined characters. He brought personality and life to the story! Really enjoyed the whole listen. Highly recommend!

Wish there were books like this when I was a kid!

Young Adult books have come a long way! I really enjoyed this book and I'm far from being a young adult. I'm just a Zompoc lover and decided to give this a chance. So glad I did! Going to read book 2

This is great.

I loved how the kids banded together. Great ending. I don't want to say anymore to spoil it.

a good start for the Zompoc

I enjoyed the story very much, YA but not only for the young. Good narration, although the narrator sounded like he was channeling Mr. Rogers, a bit distracting. Quite well written.

good story

I think the story was decent, but the Narrator was awful! it took me multiple tries to listen to this book. he reads it like it's the first time he has ever picked up this book. I think the Narrators performance takes away from the story line, but in my mind I just kept thinking.... ugh this guy is the worst! the only reason I got through the book, is because I like background noise when working. I honestly cannot tell you what is happening with the characters. hopefully the second book is a better listen.

Zombies!

Excellent story! Both the writing and the narration are expertly done. I'm looking forward to the next installment.