Dead Jed 3 Lib/E: Return of the Jed

Dead Jed #3

by Scott Craven, August Ross (Reading)

With seventh grade behind him, Jed jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer in Mexico with his dad. But there's just one Luke and Tread get to tag along. In Mexico, fitting in might be easier than Jed imagined, with holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here, a rising eighth grade zombie boy and his zombie dog won't draw that much attention. But then Tread unwittingly sets off Mexico's Chupacabra Defense Network and Jed accidentally collides with a bus. So much for blending in. The unusual pair catch the eye of a professional wrestler, who challenges Jed to a fight! Their antics manage to capture the attention of a doctor whose knowledge of the undead causes Jed to question his very existence. Is this the answer Jed's been hoping for since his parents sat him down for the you're a zombie talk? Jed may have finally found a way to be normal, but at what cost?

Audio CD

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

I've been a writer most of my life, with my earliest verifiable work coming in third grade when I established a link between the Pilgrims and the invention of Thanksgiving (since repudiated).

More recently, I'm pleased to announce my new novel, "Upton Arms: An Active Lifestyle Home for the Supernaturally Enhanced," will be published later this year by City Owl Press. As with Dead Jed, it turns the horror genre on its head. The vampires, werewolves, witches and similar characters discover they don't live forever, but do suffer from late-onset mortality. Powers dwindle, bones creak, and creatures both mythical and legendary get pretty cranky when they don't get enough sleep. Upton Arms provides a safe space when world domination is no longer an ambition.

Dead Jed has its roots in my own horror that was seventh grade. I just wanted to fit in, but at 4 feet, 6 inches tall, all I fit into were lockers and trash bins. I eventually reached average height and was able to turn those misadventures into a book starring a zombie who, yes, just wants to fit in. Only Jed's story is way funnier than mine, and he gets even. I never did. Until now.

I'm a retired journalist with more than 40 years in the newspaper business, most spent as a feature writer for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix. I live in a small town in Oregon with my wife Melissa, a few dogs and, so I'm told, a cat or two. While the gray skies are tiresome, the craft beer is not.





Well, until now.

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it came together in the end, the plot felt really random and disjointed in this one. And the middle-grade style humor was amped up to the nth degree (like Luke's obsession with food and more bathroom humor). Jed could be pretty mean to Luke sometimes, too, and seemed extra sensitive to the C word and anything related to it this time around. Which is fine, just a little much sometimes. Still, I'm glad we explored what we did here at the end, and I still really like the series.

[Dorothy Dreyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a series that is very close to my heart. Craven's laugh-out-loud humor feels like home, my heartstrings playing songs of middle school guffaws and witty punch lines. But it's not just the humor that kept me reading; it was the main character. Jed is truly genuine and good-hearted, the kind of kid you hope your kids make friends with, and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for his plight in life. It isn't easy being the odd-zombie-out. But that's where this book gets super interesting.

After finding himself in extraordinary circumstances on a trip to Mexico—circumstances that had me simultaneously cringing and chuckling with every body detachment he underwent—Jed ultimately finds himself at a crossroads. When a doctor offers him a chance to be like everybody else, Jed has to decide if that's really what he wants. After all, you know what they say: be careful what you wish for. I couldn't get through the last few chapters fast enough; I NEEDED to find out what he would decide, and if the doctor in question would truly deliver what he promised. Nails were bit and breaths were held, and at the end of it all, I came away very satisfied with the end of the book.

If you know a middle-grader who loves to laugh or sometimes feels out of place and needs some reassurance to be true to him/herself, this series is a must.