Book Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Glad I finally gave this book a chance after sitting on my TBR list for months. 455 pages in 4 days. That's the quickest I've ever finished a book that long, with the help of switching between listening to the audiobook as well as reading on kindle.

I loved Jane's character and the plot of civil war era zombies. Also, the author naming them Shamblers instead of 'undead' or something generic. It gives her book a uniqueness, similar to how The Walking Dead coined 'walkers'. This was the perfect YA book for those who love Black MC's and a mix of horror/SciFi. Jackson was a nicely written love-interest as well, hitting all the 'swoony, bad-boy charm' marks that I love in YA. I do wonder if the twist about Jane's mom and the truth about what really happened to the Major were added later in the story. While it fits perfectly with the characterization of Jane, a bit of it felt like it didn't particularly flow with things that were described or said earlier on. This also feels like a book that wasn't originally going to have a sequel, which somewhat diminishes my interest in reading the next installment.

While I loved this story, after checking out the summary of Deathless Divide and skimming a few reviews, I think I'll wait to read the sequel. It's giving me "Allegiant" vibes and anyone who knows me, knows that book and I have a complicated relationship. Lol. Sometimes it's okay to end things and allow the reader's imagination to draw their own conclusions. And I'm wondering if that's the case with Dread Nation? Either way, I recommend it.

This book is available on amazon and Scrib'd.