Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

From the Publisher

Quiet, unpopular, non-cheerleading Mia is blissfully happy. She is dating super hot football god Rob, and he actually likes her and asked her to prom! Enter Samantha—cheerleading goddess and miss popularity— who starts making a move for Rob. With prom in a few days, Mia needs to act fast. So she turns to her best friend, Candice, and decides to do a love spell on Rob. Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class, making herself their leader! At first she is flattered that everyone is treating her like a queen. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up, because in a few days, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. She's sure she and Chase can figure something out, but she suggests that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy.

Children's Literature

Mia Everett only wants to go to the prom with hunky Rob Ziggerman and for the first time in her life, it looks as though Mia will get her man—except that Samantha is doing her darnedest to snag Rob for herself. So Mia does what any self respecting teen will do—she goes straight for a love potion. Of course she does not really believe in such things, but her best friend Candice is a bit of hypochondriac and frequents a suspiciously occult shop in an old plaza. It has the right ambiance and the proprietor promises the right results. But the spell begins a series of events that has Mia avoiding friends and hiding out in storage closets with strange newcomer Chase Miller—an undercover agent for the Department of Paranormal Containment. It seems that the spell was one which will turn the entire senior class into zombies, zombies wanting only Mia, for dinner. Even Candice finds Mia an irresistible morsel before Chase can propose an option to reverse the spell. While the novel adds to a growing interest in the zombie phenomenon, there is also something sweet (no pun intended) about the story line. Much like romance novels of old, this is really a story about the highs and lows of high school relationships; the paranormal is just a new twist on a familiar story line. Young adolescent girls will enjoy both the romance and the adventure of the story much as their mothers enjoyed the twists and turns at "Sweet Valley High." Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson

VOYA

When Mia's dream-come-true plans for the prom begin to look questionable, her best friend, Candice, steps in to help. The problem is that Candice's help involves bad magic, a love spell that is not really a love spell. The spell actually is a Viral Zombaticus that begins to turn everyone at the senior class awards ceremony - students and teachers alike - into flesh-eating zombies, including Mia's dreamy prom date, Rob, and Candice. Fortunately the transformation comes in stages, which gives Mia and Chase - the new guy in school who just happens to be a zombie hunter for the Department of Paranormal Containment - a chance to reverse the spell and save the senior class from extermination. Pulling from many of the most clichEd of teen topics - popularity wars, obsessing over a prom date, battling with a sibling - this book might not be the most original of the trendy horror genre, but it still has its charm. Readers are told, for example, that protagonist Mia is an avid Buffy, Angel, and Supernatural fan, which despite being a rather undeveloped trait, works to build a character who probably looks a lot like the ideal reader of this book/genre. This title will probably be well circulated, but it might not be well remembered. Reviewer: Jennifer Miskec

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10

Mia is ecstatic. She is the "smart girl" who has finally been invited to the prom by the football team captain. But when she suspects that the cheerleading golden girl is making a move on her date, her insecurity gets the better of her, and she seeks refuge in the occult. A friend convinces her to purchase a "love spell" from a local "herbalist." Unfortunately, it is the wrong one, and she turns her entire school into flesh-eating zombies whose biggest craving is Mia. Enter Chase, a mild-mannered new kid who happens to work for the Department of Paranormal Containment; obviously, with Chase on the scene, the football captain is old news. Zombie Queen is light, fast-paced, and not particularly scary. Vaguely reminiscent of Men in Black , this book will quench the thirst of the Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine set.-Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

Product Details