Synopsis:
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.
But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.
But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies.
And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
My Review:
SO GOOD! You have to read it!
Ok now that that is out of the way let me try to explain what I loved about this book. First of all it was a little different than the books I would usually choose. Honestly, I dont even know which category to place it in. I know that it is marketed as Young Adult but it has some history, science fiction, and horror elements. Either way it rocked my little socks right on off! It is definitely one of my all time favorites.
Jane was THAT girl. You know the bad assed, sassy mouthed, and quick witted type. She was sassy and fiesty and a force to be reckoned with. Katherine was another awesome kick ass heroine in the novel. I loved that the characters were young ladies of color.
This novel takes place in an alternate reality US sometime shortly after The Civil War. Dope idea. The war was never won nor lost because they had to stop fighting due to the dead rising. Yep, I said the DEAD RISING. Although initially I was so put off from the idea of zombies after reading about 5 pages, I couldn’t put it down. This idea was genius. I enjoyed the mix of historical fiction with some good butt kicking and loads of sass.
The writing of this novel flowed well and allowed for an easy read. There were sometimes that I felt that i had to slow down due to the sentence structures but that was because she was emulating some of the speech of the period.
I am highly anticipating the next novel and will definitely preorder.
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