A Small Zombie Problem (Zombie Problems #1)

August’s discoveries of family secrets unlock even greater mysteries, and readers who like macabre tales tempered with butterflies will eagerly follow Campbell’s likable protagonist onward to his next adventure.

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August wishes to have friends and adventures, and to go to school, yet he's never left the crumbling house he shares with his eccentric Aunt Hydrangea, who lives in her past glory as Miss Chili Pepper Princess. The novel's setting in Hurricane County, a "soggy part of the nation...a place where water reigned, and nothing could truly be called solid ground," gives a nostalgic feel of a time gone by with formal teas and dinner parties. August's life is looking up when he finds himself invited to tea with an aunt and cousins he never knew existed. Then, he inadvertently reanimates a zombie, Claudette, who will not leave his side. August learns that not everything is as it seems when Claudette turns out to be his best companion. August's lonely character is well developed; he seems timid at first but gets braver as the book progresses. The ending is predictable yet lighthearted, hinting strongly at a sequel. Campbell's strong use of figurative language evokes vivid imagery and paints a picture in the reader's mind. VERDICT Reminiscent of Roald Dahl in uniting the macabre with realism.—Elena Schuck, Mattacheese Middle School, Marstons Mills, MA

Campbell (Flora & Ulysses) leaps assuredly into middle grade fiction in this, well, spirited series opener featuring a cast of enchantingly eccentric characters. August DuPont lives in the garret of his family's crumbling manse with his quirky Aunt Hydrangea, who, fearing for his safety, refuses to let the 11-year-old outdoors. August's only knowledge of peers derives from a TV show about a group of friends--a program that he views, via telescope, on a TV located on a ramshackle houseboat nearby. Lonely and longing to "join the world," August insists on accepting an invitation to visit Hydrangea's equally offbeat sister, Orchid, estranged since she married a descendant of the ruthless entrepreneur who drove the DuPonts' prosperous hot sauce company out of business. Venturing beyond the garden gate for the first time, August gets a whirlwind introduction to the real--and not so real--world when he meets an undead girl in a cemetery, who removes and offers him one of her eyeballs, then refuses to leave his side. With wry humor and inventive plotting, Campbell reveals August's tangled, magic-tinged ancestry while shaping a poignant portrait of a boy--and a zombie--in search of friendship. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (June)