YA Zombies: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has basically become an institution in the zombie literature world. While it is not necessarily a young adult option, many older teens have latched onto the graphic novels. With this idea in mind, I need to point out that some of the themes and scenes can get quite brutal and gory. Therefore, this adult-to-YA crossover should only be reserved for older teens—as in AT LEAST 16 years old.

 

Ok, with that caveat out of the way, we can really get into it!

 

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman is actually an ongoing series of graphic novels. The story follows police officer Rick Grimes who wakes from a coma after being shot in the line of duty. Rather than being greeted by his wife Lori and son Carl, he finds his town is overrun by walking corpses. The first part of the series follows Rick trying to be reunited with his family, which happens in a rather unexpected way. Then, they must work to survive in this new, vicious world while trying to still have a life. It truly is amazingly written and has stunning artwork, courtesy of artist Tony Moore.

 

 

 

Bring It to Life (BITL)!

There are actually two awesome ways to bring this graphic novel to life. The most obvious is of course The Walking Dead television show on AMC. The first season is quite short, but it really does a nice job of presenting this new zombie world and introducing Rick and his family as primary characters. Those who are already familiar with the graphic novels might find the second season to be better though since it picks up at the Greene family farm that is a notable setting in the first stories.

 

 

The second way to bring the stories to life is to actually zombify yourself! AMC created several ways for users to turn a picture of themselves into a walker. There is a smartphone app, an email service that chooses good pictures to zombify, and a way to upload fan art zombified self portraits to compete in the Zombify Yourself Challenge to have the picture appear during an episode of The Walking Dead! More information can be found at http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead/zombify-yourself-challenge

YA Zombies: Warm Bodies

While there was a little bit of romance in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, it certainly took a back seat. Therefore, I thought I would shake things up with a zombie story where the romance is in the forefront. Obviously, the best example in my opinion is Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.

 

The book draws multiple parallels to Romeo and Juliet, and it is obvious that integrating the Shakespeare classic was the main original goal. I mean the main guy’s name is R while the main girl is Julie. Yet, despite the foundation in this tragic romance, things move away greatly from there. The basic arrangement is a zombie named R falling in love with a human named Julie. Now, how R falls for Julie (whether it is just the connection between them, the fact that R ate the brains of Julie’s now dead boyfriend Perry, or some combination of the two) is unknown. The story goes deeper than this love though. It investigates what it means to be human, what are innate human desires and needs, and how love can heal. There is action, drama, and plenty of comedy intricately woven into the book in addition to the romance. Honestly, it is definitely worth a read. Even those who are not interested in zombies or those not interested in romance can find something they enjoy about it. It has become one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. It is also a quick and easy read—which means you can’t duck out of reading it due to not having enough time!

 

 

Bring It to Life (BITL)!

 

Watch Warm Bodies!

 

The novel was converted into a film in 2013. While it did not get a great deal of promotion or widespread notice, the movie is truly amazing. It is actually one of the better book-to-movie conversions. The film holds true to most of the original novel with a few exceptions to make it fit better with the movie format. However, it is incredibly true to the novel. Almost all of the major themes and events are part of it. The only super difference is that the movie decided to enhance and work more with the comedic aspects of Warm Bodies, particularly R’s inner monologue. Despite this shift, I think it makes the film work even better. Get everyone together for a viewing!