Higson, Charlie.
THE DEAD
New York : Hyperion, 2010
IL YA
ISBN 1423134125

If you don’t know or haven’t read The Enemy, the zombie disease only affects people sixteen or older. It starts with the symptoms of a cold. Then the skin begins to itch, and spots appear--spots that soon turn into pus-filled boils.

Once the teachers at Rowhurst School in London go on the attack, Ed, Jack, Bam and the other students know it's time to escape and make their way to London.  It’s a bit easier to escape the adults – they’re usually disoriented and wandering.  But once on the move, the students run into teens, who are stronger and more energetic, and hide in the shadows for unsuspecting victims.

It’s all a desperate journey to get to a fortified shelter – a journey that brings them to hitch a ride on a bus driven by the seeming last lone uninfected adult on the planet…unless…

The Dead is an exciting book.  And it’s gross.  The descriptions of decaying zombies is vivid.  But the other characters are fleshed out and well-rounded.  We care about them, and we want them to get to safety (even the annoying girls on the bus)  Higson doesn’t pull any punches or favor one character over the other.  The Dead will keep readers enthralled because you never know what might be waiting around the corner. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)