Dead Real

by Poppy T. Perry

Nora Inkwell is totally, completely, absolutely going to tell her best friend and fellow horror movie superfan, Ruby, that she’s in love with her. It doesn't matter that Baxter from Body Combat wrote on the college wall that Nora's frigid. Or that Ruby is more interested in losing her lesbian v-plates before they start university. And it certainly doesn't matter that Nora's old school friends said that all bisexuals are attention-seeking wannabes! ... It might matter that the entire town has turned into flesh-eating zombies. Guess there's no time like the (deadly, dangerous, zombie-swamped) present to confess your *undying* love.

Genres: Queer, Horror, Young Adult, Romance

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2025

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 150 Prompt Doctor Who Reading Challenge - Twelfth Doctor's Companions - 3) Bill Potts: I'm Not Roman, I'm Gay - Read a book featuring a strong LGBTQIA+ protagonist or themes of identity and self discovery.

This was a brilliant book! I loved the relationship between Nora and Ruby and how it developed through the novel, and I loved the dynamics and contrast of Ruby being a confident lesbian and Nora being unsure and discovering herself through the novel, not just in her sexuality but her body confidence and view of herself.

I loved the graphics in the novel, from the coffee mug stains on pages to the artwork, and I just thought it was really cool.

I thought that the twist halfway through the novel was really cool, and I honestly didn't see it coming. While I prefer the first half with Nora, Ruby and Jayden making their way, I did think the second half after the twist was really cool, and I love how it was set up through the novel.

I also really loved all of the references to various zombie and horror stuff and the way Ruby and Nora spoke, it all just felt real and authentic and it was fantastic.

[Heather]

Thanks to Fox & Ink Books for the review copy and this is my voluntary review. Also full disclaimer my long time friend and artist in crime is the author so this is a gushingly honest review.

Y'ALL. I am charmed and amazed at how funny this book is and was thoroughly entertained by this smashing YA debut. There was a moment of worry before I read it thinking I'm not a decent enough liar to be able to lie to Poppy's face if I didn't like her book. Thankfully that wasn't an issue with this absolute delight and I devoured it in a matter of days, unlike the zoms that will chomp through in a matter of minutes.

The heroine is in love with her cool best friend and she's still figuring out who she is while trying to fit within the limit constructed by society of what boxes she may tick. Before she can even attempt to sort her mind, a zombie apocalypse breaks out then it became about survival. It was enthralling and never a dull moment with the humour and the gnarly zoms. Ultimately the central plot is about their relationship with one another in their friendship and finding their way together in love while the heroine gaining confidence with her own sexuality. Owning up to that awesome BISEXUALLLLLLLL power. 

AND it's illustrated, y'all, with illustrations embedded in the texts like the heroine's sketchbook that's gone through the zombie apocalypse. Genius!

Deal Real is currently available in the bookshops everywhere in the UK.

[Paulina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be just the most unhinged book I've read the entire year. Buckle up, I need to provide the plot summary.

The main character (Nora) is in love with her friend and fellow horror-movie enjoyer Ruby. Ruby obsessed with losing her lesbian virginity (referred to as V-sleave), whereas Nora wants to confess love to Ruby, but is terrified to do so, because of cartoonishly biphobic shit she's heard from her other friends.
Enter zombie apocalypse.
Fortunately, Nora's father is a prepper (and former pharma scientist, comes relevant later), and has entire zombie survival kit ready. They loot sainsburies and bag in an oblivious road guard who somehow has not noticed the entire zombie shit coming down. Then they lose Nora's parents, and so it's the three recent high school graduates with a vague plan to find a mansion of another prepper in the countryside and obtain a helicopter. The entire time Ruby is complaining that this way she's not going to love her V-sleave before she dies.
They steal a houseboat. The guy comments that if this was a horror movie he's going to die first because he's black. A chapter later, he dies.
Then they somehow hijack an abandoned train, where they find Nora's parents having sex. They don't speak (the parents do not notice them, obviously) and at the morning, they are gone. Next they hijack a tractor and massacre a field of sheep. A zombie bites into Ruby's littlefinger and in an attempt to save her, Nora cuts it off.
Then they get to the mansion but get trapped in a garage, not one with the helicopter and get cornered by zombies. Nora confesses her love to Ruby, Ruby loves her back. They're about to die by zombies.
The floor collapses, and it's all revealed to be a simulation, because they signed some terms and condition when getting a free tote bag and apparently participated. And it was all streamed on youtube and they're now massively popular and people are having ship wars shipping Nora with one or the other of her companions. It turns out the guy who died is actually alive.
Nora's parents are held hostage, and then it turns out that a pharma company is behind it. They want to sell a weight-loss pill that has a side effect of turning people into zombies.
At the gala evening people actually turn into zombies. The evil master mind behind it gets eaten.
Nora manages to escape with Ruby, rescues her parents. And remember, her father is a former pharmacology scientist. So obviously he's almost developed a cure, he only needs shark's blood.
Because why are people turning into zombies, you ask? Because the diet pill is developed from sharks, and sharks do intrauterine canibalism.
Anyway, Ruby heroically manages to draw blood from a baby shark that just so happens to be at the gala (trapped in a pool), and her father creates a whole functional anti-zombie drug at the first try and then they distribute it to the zombies via burgers.
Hooray day saved, the only person who died was the evil mastermind behind it.
Ruby's parents fix their marriage and go become marine biologists to rescue the shark.
The end (there was other unhinged plot details I left out because this is already too long).

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
DEAD REAL is a superb zom-com.

We have zombies, comedy, and two girls who are discovering their sexuality at about the most inopportune time. It captures that teen voice so well, all the chaos and urgency and trying to work out who you are, the mix of still being immature in some ways due to a lack of life experience but also very grown up in other ways.

There are so many homages to zombie tropes and pop culture moments from movies in this book, and yet Poppy Perry puts her own spin on it. There's a massive twist into the third act which was so much fun (and pays off so well, so if you hit it and are wondering what this means and not sure about it, keep going for a few more chapters because it is so worth it!)

I really liked that Nora's parents get their own journey. They're not around the entire book because they split up (and we only follow Nora), but you can see them growing and changing across the book. They're adults and don't have their life together, and there's something nice about that. Plus so few adult characters get treated like heroes of their own stories in YA, instead there in the background.

I also liked that they weren't absentee parents. They are both trying so hard in their own way to look after their daughter. Maybe it's not always exactly what she needs, but that's reality - and they care. YA has a cliché of dead parents because it makes it easier to let kids have adventures but this book shows you can have parents and a zombie apocalypse in one.

The book is illustrated throughout by the author. It's mostly little doddles (and "coffee mug rings") to mimic her sketchpad, but there are a few larger ones scattered in there too. It was just such a nice extra detail, helping me to visualise the characters better. I wish more YA books had illustrations, like MG does (in YA, it only seems to be the novellas for big series that get illustrations.)

[Nessa’s Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so Dead Real was a fun read!

A queer YA horror romcom that gave me everything I didn’t know I needed.

We’ve got Nora, horror super fan, hopelessly in love with her bestie Ruby, and totally planning to confess her feelings… you know, right after dealing with the small problem of their town being overrun by flesh eating zombies.

It’s got sapphic pining, awkward teen drama, horror movie references, and actual brain munching chaos.

The pacing? Snappy.
The banter? Sharp.
The romance? Adorable with a side of oh no, they’re going to die before kissing, aren’t they?

I loved how it balanced teen angst with campy zombie gore. Now think Warm Bodies meets Fear Street but with more queer joy and way better one liners.

4 stars because it’s fun, fast, and bloody in the best way possible. And honestly, nothing says “true love” like sprinting away from zombies together.

[Cara Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! I loved the humour. I loved the illustrations. I LOVED the bisexual representation. Usually I'm not a huge zombie fan, but Nora's voice is irresistible and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her (sometimes gross, sometimes heartfelt, always funny) adventures. Both gripping and hilarious.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not usually a fan of horror and the finger incident will haunt me, but this was gripping, funny and sweet. Hugely enjoyable!!

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very fun. I loved the illustrations throughout but just not sure how I felt about the twist/how that progressed

[Shelly Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my days, this book was a wild ride, but don't worry, I won't reveal spoilers.

Nora is on a journey of self-discovery with the added complication of being in love with her best friend. What she doesn't bank on is a zombie apocalypse thrown in the mix. Worse timing ever!

This was a story that had laughs, endearments, extreme gore, and romance. And, an added bonus... there are illustrations throughout the novel that make it similar to that of a graphic novel. This made reading so much more immersive. loved it!

my conclusion is... we need more zombie books in the world. A perfect read coming up to #halloween

[Beth Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this so much! It's innovative, contemporary and has great representation. Strongly recommended for fans of zombie stories, LGBT+ identities on the page and great friendships.