ZOMBIE TRAIN

Kids survive the zombie apocalypse on a train to nowhere.

Nearly a year ago, a parasite turned all the grown-ups into zombies. Twelve-year-old brakeman Wyatt is leading his riders on an endless loop “from Colorado to Wyoming to Utah and back,” hoping that they can find a cure. In the caboose, the nurse experiments on patients with a blood serum, but the passengers struggle with the knowledge of how they’ll inevitably end up: 14 is the age when people become susceptible to the parasite’s effects. Wyatt and the crew hope to find Nirvana, a military medical facility that may hold the cure. Along the way, Wyatt grows closer to Ryle, a girl who's survived the harsh conditions of the wasteland. Meanwhile, mutiny threatens the train as narcissistic crew member Diesel uses others to try to seize power after Wyatt is made conductor. Diesel isn’t the only threat, however, with feral children planning coordinated attacks on the train. The characters are diverse in physical appearance, background, personalities, and skills. Appropriately disgusting descriptions and puns establish the dark humor that pervades the work, and natural-sounding tween dialogue and a fully developed dystopian world are strengths. The novel feels overly long, however, and the action sequences become repetitive; the storyline surrounding the search for the cure moves very slowly. The abrupt ending may point to a sequel.

Jam-packed and unevenly paced.