Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies / Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

In a flip book with two stories back to back, best friends Min and Russel sign up to be extras on the set of a zombie film and then learn that there's nothing scarier than high school romance! Original.

Grade 9 Up—In this sequel to Geography Club (2003) and Order of the Poison Oak (2005, both HarperCollins), told in flip-book format, Russel and Min answer a casting call for extras for an upcoming horror film. Russel's parents have just discovered that he is gay, and he is devastated by their reaction. Also, an old boyfriend who dumped him turns up at rehearsals and wants to get back together; while the attraction is still there, Russel loves his current boyfriend. On the flip side, Min is lonely and wants a new relationship, but she can't decide if she's willing to have one with Leah, who has chosen not to come out for fear of losing her friends. All of this is played out against the backdrop of movie rehearsals. What is intriguing about the book is how very differently these two characters interpret the same events, and how oblivious each one can be to what is happening to the other. Hartinger handles a number of fairly serious issues here with a lighter touch than in The Order of the Poison Oak, and there is a lot of humor in this book. The characters' narrative voices sound authentically teen, and the section in which Russel tells about his coming out to his parents, their reaction, and his subsequent talk with the family priest particularly rings true. Min Wei's story is equally well told. Libraries owning the first two books will definitely want this one.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
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