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Summary
Summary
Algonquin Ali Rhodes, the high school newspaper's music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He's a weird-looking guy--goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, Well, I don't really live there, exactly. . . .
When Ali and Doug start dating, Ali is falling so hard she doesn't notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper's fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn't just a really sincere goth. He's a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Ali breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of--at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don't think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews. . . . From the Trade Paperback edition.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Selzer (Andrew North Blows Up the World) takes a delightfully wicked but thoughtful poke at teenage infatuations, vampire groupies, and pretentious goths. It's been years since "post-human" vampires, werewolves, and other undead creatures came "out of the coffin" to protest Megamart's exploitation of zombies as stockroom workers. But 18-year-old Alley Rhodes can't help rolling her eyes at her classmates' continuing obsession ("teenage vampires are a pain in the ass-they never actually mature... but dating one has become the ultimate status symbol"). Then moody singer Doug catches her heart, and she's soon reconsidering her plan to flee Iowa for college in Seattle. She loves his authentic goth look (pale skin, unkempt hair, "moth-eaten suit"), but she's forgotten the first rule of modern dating-Google him. Doug died four years ago, and he's still wearing the suit he was buried in. Now all of her preconceptions are out the window and she has critical decisions to make. With snappy dialogue and a light, funny touch, Selzer creates a readable examination of love, self-sacrifice, and where to draw the line before you lose yourself. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Alley is underwhelmed by the dating prospects in her unusual hometown until she becomes hopelessly infatuated with Doug. But when she accepts that Doug's strange (and to her, strangely lovable) behavior is due to his being a zombie, Alley asks herself what she will sacrifice to be with him. This campy love story mocks the fantasy romance genre while examining unrealistic expectations of romantic relationships. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Algonquin Rhodes Alley the Ice Queen to many and Gonk to her friends is 18, of legal age to convert to vampire if she wants. But she doesn't: Alley's fallen in love with Doug, a zombie teen musician who died four years earlier in a car crash. Selzer brings both the living and the not-full-time-dead to vivid and crackling life in this witty and riposte-filled teen romance. Zingers about racism (vampires don't think much of zombies) and high-school politics involving the nasty guidance counselor, the popular kids, and Alley's own (living) friends ring both true and hilarious. This is one smart goth caper, with plenty of appeal to those who normally wouldn't touch a tale of the dead as well as those who wouldn't be caught crumbling while reading a romance. Selzer writes girls as well as straight, gay, and dead boys with evenhanded credibility and plenty of sass. Gonk and Doug could have been the perfect couple, in another life.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-For 18-year-old Algonquin "Alley" Rhodes, living in an era in which vampires, werewolves, and zombies are the norm is not what it's cracked up to be. Unlike most human girls at her high school, dating, especially the undead variety, is the last thing on her mind. Alley just wants to leave Cornersville Trace, go to college, and make something of herself. But then, while critiquing a local band for the school newspaper, Alley the Ice Queen falls head over heels for the guest singer. Like Alley, Doug truly loves music, and she feels as if he is singing just for her. They begin dating, and Alley overlooks what is obvious to everyone else. Doug isn't just a Goth-he isn't even human-he's a zombie. As Alley's world is turned upside down, she must make decisions with major ramifications for her future. The story is original, funny, unpredictable, romantic, and tragic. Selzer explores some basic teen issues like love, friendship, acceptance, commitment, and loss in a way that is realistic and that will make readers question their own values. An excellent addition to libraries with an occult following.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Ever since the post-humans (werewolves, vampires and zombies) revealed themselves to humans, high school for Alley has been a real drag. The guys are now all goth, and the girls are necrosexual, obsessed with vampires. Alley can't bear the post-human crowd; she doesn't understand why all the girls in school find it so dreamy to have a guy who's "crazy strong, but not strong enough to stay away from her." Then Alley falls for the fabulous musician Doug. Doug's a little pale, like all the goths in school, and maybe he smells a little funny, but she adores him and his killer taste in music. When Doug turns out to be a zombie, Alley has to overcome her prejudices to be with the man of her dreams. Simultaneously a scathing parody of the paranormal-romance genre and a sweetly romantic paranormal love story in its own right, Alley and Doug's courtship will even appeal to Twilight fansat least, to those Twilight fans with a sense of humor about the object of their affections. Hilarious. (Fantasy. 12-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.