ADVANCED PRAISE
“An irreverent and twisted coming-of-age story with one of the most shocking endings I’ve ever read.” - Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook
“If you are a ‘youth spy’ and want to know how teenagers feel and what they say when adults aren’t around, Zombie–a funny and very authentic, well-written first novel by J. R. Angelella–should definitely be the next book you read.” - John Waters, author of Role Models, and filmmaker best known for his cult films, including Hairspray and Pink Flamingos.
“Without a doubt, J. R. Angelella is a truly gifted writer, and Zombie, his first novel, is one of the smartest, strangest, and most beautifully crafted coming-of-age stories you will ever encounter. I eagerly look forward to see what he comes up with next.” – Donald Ray Pollock, author of The Devil All the Time and Knockemstiff
“Your home life’s an apocalypse, school’s the plague, and you’re growing up in a wasteland. To survive this zombie movie of a life is probably going to take more than you’ve got. But a world where the dead walk is also a world with miracles. Have faith. Read this book.” – Stephen Graham Jones, author of Growing Up Dead in Texas
“I suspect rollicking might be the best over-used adjective for Zombie by J. R. Angelella.” – Stephen Dau, author of The Book of Jonas
“J. R. Angelella’s Zombie is Holden Caulfield meets Eyes Wide Shut and Fight Club. It’s like riding the Cyclone thinking you were on the Scooby Doo.” – Rick Angelella, 2011 Cinema Audio Society Award Nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing and father of J. R. Angelella.
DESCRIPTION
Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker is obsessed with zombie movies. He attends an all-boys Catholic High School where roving gangs in plaid make his days a living hell. His mother is an absentee pillhead, his older brother a self-diagnosed sex-addict, and his father an ex-Marine realtor who disappears night after night without explanation. Jeremy navigates it all with a code cobbled together from Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, Planet Terror, Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead:
• Avoid Contact
• Keep Quiet
• Forget the Past
• Lock-and-load
• Fight to Survive
The code is put to the test when he discovers in his father’s closet a bizarre homemade video of a man strapped to a bed, being prepped for some sort of surgical procedure. As Jeremy—troubled but ever-optimistic—attempts to trace the origin of the video, this remarkable debut moves from its sharp, precocious beginnings to a climax of almost unthinkable violence, testing him to the core.
For Zombie Publicity:
To request an interview, an appearance, or review a copy of Zombie, please e-mail Michelle Rafferty at mrafferty@sohopress.com.
