NOT Left for Dead

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, Atria Paperback, 2011.   Genre: Science Fiction.

This book is about a zombie named R, who can’t really remember anything about his past life and feeds on the living, until he meets a human girl named Julie. The book is set in future San Francisco, after humanity has fallen and there are only tiny remnants of civilization remaining. R and the zombies live in an abandoned airport and Julie lives one of former San Francisco’s stadiums.When R meets Julie he feels remorse for what he has done and tries to be a little more human. However as Julie learns to care about R despite the fact that he is a zombie, the rest of the city, especially her father do not. Meanwhile bringing a live human into the airport unharmed causes great unrest. Now R and Julie are all alone with no help and they must survive.

“I never thought I could care so passionately for a zombie.” says Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, on the back of the book.

I have not read any other books by this author, as this was his debut novel, not self published. This book is not like any I am familiar with as Marion puts all of his idiosyncratic personality into it, making the book unique and fun to read. He has a great way of storytelling that can captivate an audience for hours.

“She is Living and I’m Dead, but I’d like to believe we’re both human. Call me an idealist (42).

I feel that the theme is that everyone, no matter how different looking, can be human, humanity comes from the heart not from the body. People who are considered ugly or different are human if they are kind and generous, but bullies, even if they look more human, are less human because they don’t have a kind heart.

The book starts off slow but has a great story and lots of action. I give Warm Bodies 5 paws- Devour it.

Speak Reflective Reading Quiz

Closed

5 words that describe Melinda

• Exasperated
• Sarcastic
• Scared
• Alone
• Closed

I said that Melinda is exasperated because everything in her life is a nuisance. She goes through life and nothing goes her way, she has to keep dealing with all these hardships.

I said that Melinda is sarcastic because she doesn’t care what is going on around her. She thinks that all her classmates are morons, and that most are much dumber than she is, and she expresses it through sarcasm.

I said Melinda is scared because of IT. When Andy Evans, who is believed to have raped Melinda, comes up to her she becomes afraid, and feels like vomiting.

I said Melinda is alone because she has no friends. Even the one person who would talk to her left her.

I also said Melinda is closed because she is shut out from the outside world. She wants to hide away from everything and everyone.

I think the best word to describe Melinda is alone. She has no friends or social group and her parents don’t care about her much. She thinks that instead of being with others it is smarter to be alone. Melinda says “ It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap button your lip can it.”(Melinda, 9) She doesn’t share her feelings with other people.

Melinda doesn’t just try to shut out the world and be alone, she also tries to shut out the world. “ I just want to sleep.” (Melinda, 81) She thinks that avoiding her problems will make them go away, and that hiding it is the safest option.  She wants to ignore the world that has been so cruel to her, and she really just wants to be alone.