Quickie Review: Dust by Joan Frances Turner and a giveaway!

Nine years ago, Jessie had a family. Now, she has a gang.

Nine years ago, Jessie was a vegetarian. Now, she eats very fresh meat.

Nine years ago, Jessie was in a car crash and died. Nine years ago, Jessie was human.

Now, she’s not.

After she was buried, Jessie awoke and tore through the earth to arise, reborn, as a zombie. Jessie’s gang is the Fly-by-Nights. She loves the ancient, skeletal Florian and his memories of time gone by. She’s in love with Joe, a maggot-infested corpse. They fight, hunt, dance together as one—something humans can never understand. There are dark places humans have learned to avoid, lest they run into the zombie gangs.

But now, Jessie and the Fly-by-Nights have seen new creatures in the woods—things not human and not zombie. A strange new illness has flamed up out of nowhere, causing the undeads to become more alive and the living to exist on the brink of death. As bits and pieces of the truth fall around Jessie, like the flesh off her bones, she’ll have to choose between looking away or staring down the madness—and hanging onto everything she has come to know as life…

Note: I received a copy from the publisher.

Dust is definitely different in that we get to see the world through the eyes of Jessie who is a zombie. Jessie is for the most part a good narrator, but there were times when she read a little too teenage for me. Yes she died as a teen, but it's been 9 years now and at times she sounded like she hadn't matured at all. There are some interesting twists and turns in the story and some interesting side characters you meet along the way. For the most part the story is engaging and enjoyable if you're a fan of zombie and horror stories. One word of warning: This book is not for the faint of heart. Getting every gruesome detail of life as a zombie is at times a bit unsettling, but fascinating all the same.

My final grade for Dust is a B-.

Now, on to the fun stuff!

The publisher has graciously offered to give away a copy of Dust to five lucky winners! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. You must be a resident of the continental United States and the contest runs until next Tuesday the 14th at 11:59 PM PST.

Good luck!