Zom-B by Darren Shan

Synopsis (From Goodreads) 

Pages: 217
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Released: 27th of September 2012

When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.

B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. And when dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks. 

That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers. 

 What I Have to Say

This was my first Darren Shan book and I really enjoyed it. It was well written, with interesting characters and a good plot. And I get what he was doing with the racism angle, I really do. The only thing is that for a zombie book, there really weren't enough zombies in it for me. 

That said. The main character, B, was really interesting. It was good to see a character who is actually the bully rather than the bullied. There's a lot of books about bullying, but they're all told from the victim's viewpoint. I think a lot of authors do forget that a lot of bullies are victims themselves and that their viewpoint is just as interesting as anyone else's. 

All in all, I loved this book. I really recommend it as a good read. But I do think that it needs to be stated that the zombies take a back seat, and the plot is mostly about racism and bullying. Which is no bad thing.