Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby (BOOK REVIEW) 5/5

It’s a rule of mine to always judge a book by what it is trying to deliver. On this, Ms. Ashby hit the nail on the head. While some people may look at this book and groan at a cheesy concept, or see the cover and think it’s tacky, I can’t recommend this book enough as a cute middle-grade romance novel. I needed a fun read, and this fit that need. The characters are funny and mostly likable, with high school stereotypes done right, and by the end of the book I had fallen in love with them. The humor is upbeat and fitting, the serious parts hit you emotionally, the romance is cute and well earned, with sweet moments that make you want more. I liked the twist against the usual zombie outbreak- there is no secret plague in the water, or sudden flesh eating virus. Instead, it’s a simple case of a chaos maker, a witch from a shady shop, a paranormal investigative unit that tries to shut down these situations, and a high school girl who wants a boyfriend.

She does get the boyfriend, but not the one she expected, a wonderful story twist. It’s a classic tale, with all the familiar story beats, but it’s so uniquely done. I love the tale of the high school girl going from wanting the dumb but pretty jock, to wanting the quiet, weird kid. This novel, to my surprise, also has quite a bit of depth to the story. Unlike some high school romances, it doesn’t play off as shallow.

This book is the one I chose for Z in my alphabetical romance read challenge, and I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed this read and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a cute, quirky romance with some paranormal elements.