Zia, The Teenage Zombie & The Undead Diaries: A Monster High School Romance

by Angela Scott

Black Pines Press presents a young adult zombie romance from the multi-award winning author of The Zombie West series and The Desert series. [DRM-FREE]

TEEN & YOUNG ADULT, ZOMBIE ROMANCE, MONSTER HIGH SCHOOL, COMEDY, AND MYSTERY

Zia would give anything to be a typical teenager… again. Heck, she’d settle for being a vampire or smelly werewolf, but a member of the walking dead? The lowliest of all the monsters? No way! Nothing is worse than being a skin-sloughing, limb-losing, maggot-housing, brain-craving undead girl. Nothing.

It wouldn’t be so bad if humans didn’t insist on “Living Impaireds” wearing bands to keep their insatiable appetites in check.

And if LIs want to coexist with humans, then rules must be followed, no matter how ludicrous they might seem. Why do undead teenagers have to go to high school anyway?

Zia does her best to blend in and go unnoticed, but when a new group of LIs are bused in from another school and she finds herself part of a growing horde, all bets are off.

Besides, rules are meant to be broken—especially when an unbeating heart is pulled in two different directions.

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author.

For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.

I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.

As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first: I got this book for review over at yaboundbooktours.
The book is out since September 20th and you should totally check it out, if you like books about Zombies or if you want to start readng books about the undead.

Also I throw around some spoilers. Just to be save!!!

I'm having a hard time rating this book to be completely honest. Cause I loved it but I just. The ending?! I didn't really feel it.

Overall I loved LOVED LOVED the idea of the book. This is a world were it's normal to have Zombies, Werwolves and Vampires in the city. They have bands, so the normal population is safe from them. But they go to work, they go to school. They live normally. Not everyone accepts them but they just have to deal with it.

Characterwise, we have Zia as the maincharacter. We read everything from her point of view. I'm not sure about her, I liked her but at the same time she did lots of things that really frustrated me. Especially when it comes to the boys in her life. There were a lot of bad things that happened to her because of two of the dudes (Eli and Rory) and yes, I get that they helped her later and all that and that she did some not so good things either but oh well. I'm just not the forgive and forget type of person. I hold grudges.

I loved the family aspect of the book. I loved Zia's relationship with her dad and her stepmother (I just love how she treated her like a fairly normal person and tried to help her out the best she could). And I'm glad that the relationship between Zia and her stepsister got a bit better towards the end.

I love where Zia ended up. She still can see her family, even though she can't live with them anymore. But I feel like the island is so much better for her and she can live more freely and has started to accept herself for who she is now and that she can start to see the beauty in herself. I don't like who she ended up with but oh well.

I still enjoyed the book a lot. It's just that little part that I didn't like and that I had a few problems with Zia's decisions from time to time. But the writing was really great and the humor was wonderful, I actually laughed out loud a few times.

[Laura Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review via YA Bound Book Tours. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are my own.

I really loved reading this book as it takes on a new outlook on zombies. What's so different about a zombie book you ask? Well humans live side by side with LI's {Living Impaired}. LI's are zombies, vampires and werewolves who live within society and wear collars that prevent them from harming humans. Reading Zia's diary entries really bring you to a complete understanding of what it is like to be one of the undead.

This read hooked me right from the very start and kept me captured throughout the entire book. The author has written an exciting story line full of strong characters and I love how she gave a familiar genre a new spin. This has become one of my favorite books and I highly recommend that you read it. I look forward to reading more of the author's books and I am going to keep my fingers crossed in the hopes she writes a second book about Zia and her friends.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 Stars


I would like to thank the publisher, author and YA Book Bound Tours for giving me a copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.







Okay to be honest this title grabbed my attention right away. I wanted it and I am glad I did. This is such a fun and touching story. Zia has the problem of many high school students but add the fact she is a zombie on top of that and you can't help but cheer her on in her journey. Facing the fact she is decaying and what to wear to the party, we never had it so tough. This was a touching story with several themes I liked family, diversity, bullies and young love. I could have read more but the characters are so well developed in this book you get closure in this book and smile at the end.

[K.E. O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read, funny, sad and hopeful all in a mix of dead teenage angst!

There were a few odd spellings that jerked me out the story now and then and crickets chirping in winter, but hey this fiction, so I guess anything is possible.

Overall a fun, engaging, definitely worth a look. Enjoyed it and read it in two sittings.

[Elsbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read a book with a zombie as main character. I never knew zombies could be so nice (when you put a lock on the growling, brain eating part). I really loved this book! Loads of interesting characters (zombies, werewolves, vampires and humans) and a nice plot.
Thanks, Angela Scott, for giving me a chance to read this!

www.storycartel.com

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zia, the Teenage Zombie & the Undead Diaries

By: Angela Scott
Narrated by: Shannon Nicole Locke

Undead was never so challenging! Sooo Good!

Overall: 5 of 5 stars Performance: 5 of 5 stars Story: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed: 06-13-24

Zia, oh Zia, as if the challenges of navigating the social do’s and don’ts of high school isn’t enough, to have to do it as a newly “Living Impaired” teenager? That’s just asking for disaster! Astounding and astonishingly DIFFERENT, “Zia, the Teenage Zombie & the Undead Diaries” transported me to a creepy, hysterically, yet meticulously drawn and defined world where Zombies and other monster types coexist with humans … with uh, stipulations that I’ll leave for each listener to discover, so as not to engage in spoilers! One thing I will tease you with … I expected this delightfully off the wall story to make me laugh and cringe, but I never expected it to … make .. me … cry! The characters are diverse, divinely rich in personality, and totally unpredictable in their behavior! No spoilers, but brace yourself, this is a WILD one in ALL the best possible ways! There are SO many surprises in this delightfully dark, yet hysterically thought provoking listen! I especially LOVED how EVERY character’s behavior reflected their individual growth and change as the story smoothly progressed to its beautifully surprising conclusion! This story, these memorable characters, AND our authors startling vision were brought believably ALIVE by beautiful, crystal clear, emotionally on point narration. I loved every second of this unique, entertaining, and enthralling listen. Five fantastic stars in every single category!

[Brittany O'Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I enjoyed Zia, the voice, ideas of the world concept, the characters, etc. but on the other hand I didn’t like Zia at the same time. Mostly what I didn’t like was the way she talked about how ugly she was pretty much in every chapter. That’s just a personal pet peeve of mine that I don’t particularly enjoy in books. A lot of MCs I’ve read have this character flaw and I just don’t like it. I understand she’s a zombie, so it did make sense, but it was super often. I also thought there was quite a bit of telling me what was happening instead of showing me how the story was playing out, which was part of the voice but I wanted some more visuals/action/etc to ground me in the present. But that being said, I had fun reading it and reading something new, unlike other books I’ve read before! Her family was adorable and the character arcs were very satisfying. There were some funny jokes too. I would definitely read another book from this author!

[John Hinchliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have listened to the Audible version of this book.
This is a brilliantly written story which is engaging and very amusing. I had doubts when I realised it was Teenage Romance but no worries, it tells of a number of Life Impaired teenagers interacting mainly in a school environment, Weirwolves, Vampires and of course Zombies of which Zia is just one. Highly recommended listen. Shannon Nicole Locke does a fantastic job of bringing all the characters to life.

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Zia is a teenager and now she is a zombie. You see Zia was in an accident and her dad couldn’t handle his baby girl being gone so he had a witch doctor bring her back from dead. So now she is a member of the undead with body parts rotting and following off. Zia was a normal teenage girl and like any other teenage girl she had her problems or so she thought until she became a member of the undead society.

Zombies, vampires, werewolves ect… all live in the mix of humans now and are known as the Living Impaired or LIs for short. There are rules that they all must follow in order to live with the humans and they have to wear bans either around their necks or wrist to keep them from wanting to eat the humans. Oh and back to the rules they have to follow. The undead all follow these rules even if they don’t like them well like all rules there are consequences if they are not followed and they are definitely enforced. The undead don’t want any part of these consequences either of course.

But like with everything there is always someone who thinks they can do or get what they want or they think they are strong and can break the rules and get by with it if they have enough people willing to back them up. One of the vampires is going around trying to talk all of the Living Impaired into standing up to the humans because they want to be at the top and have all the power. They don’t like being controlled by the humans.

But like Zia not all of the Living Impaireds want anything to do with breaking the rules. They just want to keep on living their now normal lives. All Zia wants and can handle at the moment is just being a zombie and worrying about the guys that want to be her boyfriend and take her to the high school dance. She has enough to worry about with her new family like her step-sister who can be a pain at times and then turn right around and be sweet and help Zia when she needs it. But one good thing about having a new step-sister is she also has a new step-mom who is a very sweet woman and treats Zia as if she is still alive and not undead. She has never made Zia feel as if she is gross or anything like that. She has tried to be the best mom to Zia as she can be. And Zia loves her very much and never wants to hurt her step-mom, dad or any of her friends, especially the human guy who likes and wants to be her boyfriend.

This is not the first book that I have read by Angela Scott and definitely won’t be the last. I have 100% loved and enjoyed reading Zia, the Teenage Zombie and the Undead Diaries. I would love to read more about Zia, her friends and her family. I would also like to know some of the other Living Impaired’s history. Zia’s heart may not beat anymore but she has one of the biggest hearts of any human in the story.

[Aj Sterkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a strange surprise. I worried I’d hate it, but it turned out to be fun.

The novel delivers what the title promises. Zia is a teenage zombie who keeps a diary of her high school experiences. She wants to be a normal teen girl, but when she goes to prom with her horde of “Living Impaired” friends, it nearly causes a zombie apocalypse.

I was hesitant to start this book because I didn’t think I’d be able to take a zombie narrator seriously. I love idiotic kids’ books, but if a story is labeled “young adult,” I want it to have more depth. I worried that ZIA would be funny and nothing else.

It turns out I shouldn’t have worried. ZIA is funny, but it’s also gross, and sweet, and has a lot to say about being an outsider in our society. Despite her maggot infestations and rotting limbs, Zia is relatable. She wants to be loved and accepted, but humans don’t trust her. The story shows her struggle to live in a society where she’s looked at with suspicion. Her classmates are constantly armed. One wrong move could get Zia decapitated. The book made me think about how much a person should change in order to fit in. Zia wants to be human, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t be human. Part of her also wants to be a brain-munching zombie, but then she’d be killed. She can’t win. She’s always trying to be something she’s not. Who knew a zombie novel would give the reader so much to think about?

For me, the book has too many characters. The minor characters aren’t developed very well, so it was hard for me to remember who is a human, zombie, vampire, werewolf, etc. The minor characters were mostly just names to me. This is somewhat frustrating because Zia has a male best friend and three different boys who are interested in her. (Would that be a love square?) Early in the book, I had a hard time remembering who (and what) was who.

I also wish I had understood the stakes of certain events better. Sometimes Zia’s reactions seem out of proportion to the events that happen. She freaks out over playing truth or dare, and she freaks out over a movie that shows zombies behaving badly. There’s a mysterious council that can kill Living Impaireds who misbehave, but we don’t learn much about them. I could have related to Zia’s reactions if I had understood the council, their reputation, and their power better. 

ZIA, The Teenage Zombie & The Undead Diaries is a quick read that will leave you smiling at the end. I just wish there had been more worldbuilding.





I was given a free copy of this book for the #ReadIndie Challenge. This did not influence my review.

 

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://fallenoverbookreviews.blogspot...

I received this book via Story Cartel to give an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book just the title had me wondering what would a zombie have a diary about? Well Zia is a teenage zombie who starts each chapter with a small paragraph as a diary and then proceeds to tell us what is going on. I guess that is the best way to put it.
After an accident Zia's father had her brought back to life as a zombie. Zia of course doesn't like being a zombie especially since it is nothing too cool and your body is just slowly decomposing and if it wasn't for the band around her neck she would be munching on brains.
Now we have vampires, werewolves and zombies all living together quite peacefully even though humans really don't feel comfortable about it. So when a new group of Li's "Living Impaired" come to Zia's school it seems okay at first but something seems to be a brewing as we read on.
Zia has so much going on for her from dealing with being undead, to having a crush, fighting with her stepsister, and trying to get through school. There is humor within the story along with of course teenage drama.
Now along with the paranormal living among the humans there are rules and rules are meant to be followed. If they are not well lets just say you don't want to know what will happen to you. So what happens when the rules are broken?
I have to say I really liked the island of Exile. I don't want to give anything away that deals with it but it sounds like a paradise.
Now the reason I give this book a four rating is because when I read a zombie story or anything with the paranormal I like to know more about the things that go on.
For example there is a council within this story, how did this council come to be? Where did Zia's dad find someone to bring back is daughter? There seems to be a world that lives within the human world that seems to be a bit of mystery. Or it seems that way to me.
Other than that I found this to be a great teenage zombie read one that I highly recommend to teenagers and zombie lovers.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a boating accident killed Zia , her father was desperate and went to a Witch Doctor and got Zia resurrected as a Zombie. Now living in a world which is divided between Supernaturals aka Living Impaireds and Humans , Zia must learn to navigate through her newfound world and if that wasn't as bad she has a new step-family and an annoying Stepsister who is the same age as Zia. Being a Zombie isn't all fun and games and in terms of the LI's being a Zombie is the bottom of the supernatural rung in term of prettiness as how pretty and beautiful can you be when you have a constant rotting corpse and the occassional maggot hanging out of your body, not to mention the odd limb coming apart now and again. Prior to becoming a Zombie, Zia had a boyfriend but once she became a Zombie all that disappeared , but now she has not one guy after her but three . Two are Zombies and the one she is attracted to most but knows she can't be near him is a human and there are rules about fraternizing between Zombies and Humans - a "stick to your own kind' rule. When a new bunch of LI's appear at Zia's school and start a revolution against the rules , will Zia be caught up in the mess when she tries to stand her ground ?
Being an average teenage girl is one thing and hard , but being a Zombie and a Teenage Girl is so much harder - whoever says that life gets easier once you pass hasn't met Zia The Teenage Zombie.
This was a fun read and reminded me of the Generation Dead series by Daniel Waters and the book I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked it by Adam Selzer.

[Becky Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Angela's bio, she states that her "zombies don't sparkle, and they definitely don't cuddle." I think she has proven with this adorable teen love story that she should rewrite her bio. Some of her zombies--at least in this particular world--can be loveable and cuddly.

Because our protagonist is a teenager, it is fitting that the story alternates between prose and diary entries. The diary entries are short and to the point. I think Angela did a fine job of harnessing the feelings of a teenage girl who continually finds herself in situations where she could get in trouble. And, it just so happens, each time it's because of a boy.

I adore this story and the less horrifying approach to not only zombies but other supernaturals, like vampires and werewolves. There is the stench of rotting flesh as well as flesh-eating maggots, but that takes a backseat to Zia trying to fit it after waking up dead...undead, that is.

Zia, the Teenage Zombie and the Undead Diaries is for fans who not only can handle a bit of a teenage love triangle, but also those who like functioning zombie stories, not just the shambling, brainless flesh-eating zombies.

[Paranormal Tendencies · Rating 4 out of 5]

High school has enough drama without being undead. Zia has to go through crushes, dances and avoiding her former BFF all while rotting, smelling and having to fight off maggot infestations. yuck! But it doesn’t take long for Zia to discover that even though her heart isn’t beating, it can still be broken.
I was a little skeptical when I started this one. How can a zombie be a part of functioning society? The author gives a pretty unique explanation for that. So undead aside, Zia now has to get used to her new “life”. The rotting, the appendages that want to fall off and surprisingly the boys. Zia’s story is great! She has normal teenage drama and she’s pretty resilient. Sure she shuffles, but she’s doing pretty well.
This book had drama, humor and a little mystery. It had a surprising ending that will leave you with a smile.
I give Zia 4 stars. What a fun zombie read!

[Katie Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about a teenage zombie? Yes, please!

I've found that Angela Scott really knows how to get into the teenager point of view. All of the books I've read so far are really good and she's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors=)

This book offers a different look into the life of a teenager; that of a teenage zombie. There are other undead creatures as well and high school is filled with them. Humans aren't too thrilled with that, and there is a small faction within the high school that isn't too thrilled with the way they are controlled.

Zia ends up in the middle of it. And with three boys-two zombies and one human-working their way into her heart and the added threat of unhappy undeads, high school is suddenly a lot more interesting than when she was human.

I cannot recommend reading this book enough!