My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

Book Stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Zombie
Mass market paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release date: July 5, 2011

Series: White Trash Zombie #1

Source: Personal shelf

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Angel Crawford is a loser.

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue--and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey--just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

I'm a big fan of Diana Rowland's work -- her Kara Gillian series is absolutely amazing. But the whole idea of a white trash zombie was so out of left field that it took me a while to pick up a copy of MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE. Having read it, though, I'm so glad I did, because it's a fresh take on the zombie oeuvre that filled with brains, murder, and self-discovery.

Angel Crawford is the epitome of white trash. She has a loser boyfriend, a drug problem, no job, no diploma, and an alcoholic dad, and she lives in a filthy trailer with a beer can-strewn driveway. But then she has an accident and wakes up in the hospital as a zombie, though she doesn't know it at the time, and a whole new life begins, thanks to a mysterious benefactor. All of a sudden, Angel has a job at the morgue as a body and an inexplicable craving for brains, the start of her new leaf. Over the course of MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE, Angel tries to figure out what she wants to do with her undead existence: does she want to go back to her junkie ways or make something of herself? Diana Rowland has done a wonderful job of writing Angel's character arc and you'll find yourself really rooting for Angel as the story progresses.

Angel also spends some time investigating bodies that have been turning up without their heads, partially because of her job and partially because she's a zombie and zombies love brains. No head means no brains and it raises a lot of questions for Angel. In fact, questions are kind of theme in MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE because Angel wants information about who made her a zombie, how zombies live, who's killing all these people, and what she should do with her life. Questions and mystery abound, which make it so difficult to put the book down.

I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE. I had expectations since I love the author's other work but I found Angel and her world to be completely captivating. Diana Rowland has created some fantastic world mythology and I look forward to seeing where she takes Angel and her friends next, now that Angel has a better grounding in how to be a zombie. Thankfully, the second book, EVEN WHITE TRASH ZOMBIES GET THE BLUES, is due out in a couple months so I won't have too long to wait!

Before I sign off, I just want to say how much I LOVE this cover. Dan Dos Santos has perfectly captured Angel's attitude and I love the little details, like the "I love brains" tattoo and the title font. This is one book you can definitely judge by its cover!

Read an excerpt

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by jenn at Monday, June 11, 2012

 Diana Rowland, Penguin, Review, Zombies  13 People left their mark

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In My Mailbox - Vlog

Before getting to serious business, I would like to thank The Story Siren for hosting In My Mailbox every weeks =)

 

I had a great response last week with my very first vlog so I decided to do another one this week ^^

Also because many of you asked, my kittens are in the video, you can’t see ‘em all that well at the beginning but I added a better shot of them at the end =)

 

Books I talked about:

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Have a great week!

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by Tynga at Sunday, July 25, 2010

 Diana Rowland, in my mailbox, Maggie Stiefvater, Nicole Peeler  21 People left their mark

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Book Covers + Shout-out

There have been some amazing covers popping in the last week and I thought I would share them with you! (by release date)

The Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Release date: 12/07/2010

 

I couldn’t find a product description for that one, but this is the final cover. Richelle revealed it this morning. I am so excited about this title and while I want to read it now and know what happens to Rose & Dimitri, I’m really sad that it will be the end of their story.

Thankfully, Richelle is working on another series, set in the same world, with some characters we already know, to be released in 2012. She even said we might see Rose a bit!

 

 

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Release date: 12/28/2010

A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.
Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.
Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot—a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger—in more ways than one.
Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her—not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Once a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Release date: 12/28/2010

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.
Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight. Brandon may be Celeste’s hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend’s Run.

 

 

 

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

Release date: 12/28/2010

 

 

When Ellie Faneuil first sees Michael Chase, she feels an instant connection. They soon learn that they share more than a powerful attraction: They have powers that are otherworldly. Together they go in search of what they are...and find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict. But will they choose the same side?

 

 

 

Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Release Date: 01/04/2011

 

 

 

 

No Description available yet, but this is the third book in the Kara Gillian series!

 

 

 

 

Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Release date: 1/25/2011

Emily Webb is a geek—and happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old movies, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for parties. And she definitely doesn’t start fights or flirt with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that…the same night a classmate—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.
The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. With every nightfall, she gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes; she’s also becoming strong, fast, and utterly fearless. Has she been bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is she becoming something else entirely—something not human?
As Emily hunts for answers, she learns that she’s not the only one this is happening to—other teens are changing as well. Who is turning them into monsters, and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

 

Nightshade by Michelle Rowen

Release Date: 02/2011

Jillian Conrad never believed in vampires. But she’s just become a living, breathing weapon against them. Attacked by a desperate scientist, she is injected with a serum that was supposed to act as a deadly poison to vampires. And when the scientist is gunned down in front of her, his secrets die with him.
Declan Reyes was only half-vampire, but he hates them with all his heart. He knows that the poison in Jillian’s veins could finally destroy the undead kingdom. Also, the serum has had an unintended effect, making her blood irresistible to all vampires—including Declan, whose bloodthirsty traits are driven into a frenzy by her.
Driven by duty to protect her and by instinct to crave her, Declan takes Jillian into his shadowy world of blood and battle. But he soon realizes his increasing need for her may be a different kind of hunger…

Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer

Release date: 4/5/2011

 

The last thing Tansy wants to do is move with her family to middle-of-nowhere Texas. But once there, she is immediately drawn into her new home’s disturbing history. Through the lens of her camera, Tansy enters a surreal black-and-white time and finds her life linked to mysterious, troubled Henry, who lived in the very same house and died as a teenager decades earlier. But the more time she spends in the past, the more her present world starts to fade away, and Tansy must untangle herself from Henry’s dangerous reality before her own life disappears completely.

 

 

Teeth Anthology

Release date: 4/5/2011

Sink your teeth into these bite-sized tales exploring the intersections among the living, dead, and undead. The vampires in these stories range from romantic to chilling to gleeful—and touch on nearly every emotion in between. The one thing they have in common? Their desire for blood....

Contributors include:
Genevieve Valentine • Steve Berman • Christopher Barzak • Neil Gaiman • Delia Sherman • Garth Nix • Suzy McKee Charnas • Kaaron Warren • Cecil Castellucci • Jeffrey Ford • Nathan Ballingrud • Kathe Koja • Catherynne M. Valente • Melissa Marr • Ellen Kushner • Cassandra Clare • Holly Black • Lucius Shepard • Emma Bull • Tanith Lee

 

Red Glove by Holly Black

Release date: 4/5/2011

 

 

 

Couldn’t find a product description for that one, but it’s the second book in the Curse Workers series and I really liked the first one and I’m looking forward to Red Glove!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, I wanted to let you know that I offered my ARC of The Ghost & The Goth by Stacey Kade for an ARC tour. There are still a few spots available if you want to join! Please visit Good Golly Miss Holly’s blog for details!

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by Tynga at Tuesday, July 20, 2010

 Bree Despain, Cover, Diana Rowland, Ellen Schreiber, Heather Terrell, Holly Black, Jeff Sampson, Jennifer Archer, Michelle Rowen, Richelle Mead  15 People left their mark

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