Algonquin (Alley) Rhodes, music aficionado, does not want to date a post-human. In fact, she and her friends of the Vicious Circle make fun of those in her high school that blindly follow the goth trends and wish to “convert” to become a vampire or zombie.
She has never been on a second date with a guy, walling herself off from having a serious relationship with someone from her small town of West Des Moines, Iowa. Alley wants bigger things in her life, wants to live somewhere other than her small town. That is, until she meets Doug Benchley, a guest singer for an otherwise awful band. As she finds herself losing her heart to him, she discovers certain things about him she never would have expected. His oddly colored goth makeup? His skin. The medicine he has to take every four hours? Embalming fluid to keep him from disintegration. Why? He’s a zombie, originally (and illegally) risen from his grave by Megamart to haul boxes. Though Doug is free to do what he wants, Alley must decide if dating a zombie and perhaps giving up her dream of moving away is worth the sacrifice.
Alley is such a multidimensional character, and Adam Selzer allows readers to follow her thoughts and decisions throughout the book. Though at first blinded by her first love, Alley demonstrates her strength of character by not sightlessly refusing Doug just because he is a zombie. Even Doug is shown as a strong character, though admittedly flawed. The action-filled ending moved almost too quickly for me, but was still satisfying enough to allow a reader to feel Alley’s pain. I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It was a hilarious novel full of unexpected plot twists and amazingly developed characters. I would highly recommend this book, even if you don’t normally read books with a supernatural twist, as a fun, short read for relaxation!
Review by Rachel M.
