Book: Dread Nation

 Book: Dread Nation

Author: Justina Ireland

Pages: 464

This is my 54th read for the year

This is the story of Jane McKeene.  When the Civil War ended and instead of the people killed in battle being dead and buried, they rise up and become a hoard of zombies praying on those who were still alive.  Jane, a young girl who was trained at the Miss Preston's School for Negro Girls at the age of 17, has been told her whole life will be to put down "shamblers" and be an attendant to a white woman to keep her safe.  Jane and a classmate Katherine are sent away from the school after being caught helping their friend, Jackson, get answers about where his sister was.  They are sent to a walled city called Summerland far from hom, wondering if they will ever see their families again.  While there, Katherine is mistaken for a white lady, and Jane convinces her to use this to her advantage to figure out what the secrets are in this town and how they are going to get out.  Jane is sent to work to defend the wall, and she meets a scientist named Gideon who is working on a vaccine to help protect people from shamblers.  Jane realizes that the shamblers seem to be getting smarter and more organized and she tries to convince the heads of Summerland to flee or band together to fight.  In the end, the citizens of Summerland will have to make a choice.  And Jane realizes she can only look out for herself.

This book was terrific.  It was a definite 4.5 star read for me -writing is wonderful, the story engaging and interesting, and I looked forward to listening to it every day. Jane was a terrific character, as was Katherine and Jackson - the other two main characters of the story.   What pushed it to 5 stars for me was the narrator.  She was perfect.  

This is a clever, unique and creative take on a post Civil War world, and I am glad I found this book.  I have already started the second book.  

Stars: 5