My Rotten Life

August 24, 2009
In the first book in the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series, fifth-grader Nathan knows what it's like to be an outcast: he sits at the Second Besters table at school with kids who “score somewhere around minus two on a popularity scale of one to ten.” Then, he is doused with “Hurt-Be-Gone, the world's first all-natural, totally safe emotion killer,” which turns him into an almost-zombie. Unable to sleep or feel pain, Nathan masters the toughest video game on the market and leads his school to a track meet victory by doing hundreds of pull-ups. Lubar (True Talents
) entertains with a “Wouldn't it be cool if...” kind of story that kids often try to write and especially love to read. Gross-out moments abound, such as when Nathan gets a fork stuck in his nose and later watches as his thumb pops off and is almost eaten by a dog. The over-the-top narrative will appeal to readers who like their humor twisted, and might even have some wishing that they, too, could be a half-dead zombie. Maybe. Ages 8–12.

February 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-Fifth-grader Nathan Abercrombie suffers the usual humiliations of middle-grade life: rejection, teasing, gym class. Then one day his friend Abigail's scientist uncle uses Nathan as a test subject for Hurt-Be-Gone, a serum that makes bad feelings disappear. The unexpected side effect is that Nathan turns into a 10-year-old zombie who must weigh the pros and cons of being undead while his friends engage in zany hijinks to find a cure for his condition. Matthew Brown and Kathleen McInerney provide excellent performances, using different vocal inflections to give each character in David Lubar's humorous tale (Starscape, 2009) a unique personality. For instance, Nathan's friend Mookie speaks in a slow, slightly nasal tone that reflects his dopey, if well-meaning, personality. Abigail's dialogue is rendered in a confident, matter-of-fact tone. Although Brown often changes his pitch to indicate Nathan's feelings, he generally reads in a calm, resigned tone. Nathan's adventures are introduced with mock-eerie, synthesized harpsichord music which recalls cheesy, B-grade horror film scores. At the end of the novel, the author reads his short story, "Frankendance." This audiobook serves as an excellent introduction to Lubar's mildly creepy tales and is sure to appeal to reluctant readers. A first-purchase for public libraries where audiobooks are popular."Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.