Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Publisher: Atria
Publishing Date: April 26th 2011
Pages: 239
Genre: YA Post Apocalyptic Romance
Series: Warm Bodies #1
Source: Audio

  

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between.

I hadn't heard of this book before I saw the movie trailer. Once I found out it was book I had to get my hands on it. I saw it on Audible and had to have it. I couldn't wait. This book did not let me down. It was amazing. A sweet romance, lots of zombies, tons of humorous moments, and of course zombies... oh I mentioned that.

R is a zombie who lives in an airport, has fellow zombie friends, and who eats brains. In this zombie book they actually eat brains. There are also two types of zombies... the ones like R, still pretty much fleshy and can somewhat have thoughts kind of and then those who are nothing but bones and killer instinct. R ends up eating a brain that gives him memories of Julie and when he sees her he does not kill her or allow any other zombie kill her. He ends up escorting her home and falling in love with her. Oh and every moment he spends with her, he becomes a little more human. 

I honestly didn't know what to think going into this book. I saw a couple reviews and they were good, but I was afraid... The movie preview looked so cute and I have a rule, can't see a movie from a book unless I have read the book. So I had to read the book. I absolutely adored the book. It was so cute, funny, emotional, and a bit creepy at times. It had all the good stuff from a zombie book with a bit of love and the point of view from the zombie. That is of course what made it so funny. 

R is a great character. He starts off kind of bored of being a zombie and just eating his way through his undead life. He lives in a plane at the airport and has a few friends that are also zombies. Most zombies can only grunt or so but R has been slowly learning to put some thoughts into words, one or two syllables at a time. I love hearing the story from his point of view, slowly watching him become less dead like and more human like. He is just a zombie at the beginning but he becomes a very sweet and caring zombie person by the end. 

Julie is also a great character, strong, determined, and very non judgmental. She has a hard time living in a zombie infected world with a very straight laced military father. Now she has to deal her boyfriend getting killed, being zombie kidnapped, and finding her way back home alone (well with a little help from a sweet zombie). I liked the way she handled R and the entire situation at the airport. She is a very forgiving person and is also very sweet. 

The writing was amazing, very funny, bunch of laugh out loud moments. The story made sense even though in my head I know it shouldn't. The story was a new side of zombies and it was very entertaining. The pacing was well done and it was never slow or boring. A very well done book. 

I would recommend this book to pretty much everybody... Full of humor and zombies with a side of romance. I can't wait to read more and to see the movie.