Review - My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

Goodreads Blurb:

Angel Crawford is a loser

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

My Thoughts:

I had my doubts going into this book, but in the end I really enjoyed it! I'm the kind of girl who likes her zombies mindless and moaning, which Angel definitely is NOT. Putting my zombie-bias aside, I dove into this book and found it a lot of fun! The story focuses on how Angel adjusts from being a pill-addicted loser to being a working class zombie. There's also the subplot of a string of decapitations that Angel believes are connected and the mystery of what exactly happened the night Angel became a zombie.

Holy moly, did Angel ever do a LOT of growing over the course of this book. So much so that I would not hesitate to say that becoming a zombie was the best thing that ever happened to her. In her old life, she was a complete loser going nowhere fast, but becoming a zombie forces her to take charge of her 'life'.

Angel was a really awesome storyteller in this book. I loved her, even though we had absolutely nothing in common. She lived in a crappy trailer in the swamps of Louisiana with her dad, while I live in a condo in snowy Canada. She's addicted the pills and can't hold a job, while I'm in university trying to maintain marks high enough for vet school. Her home life is crap, my parents are awesome... and you get the picture. Despite this, Rowland makes Angel so genuine, funny and all-around awesome, that you can't help but root for her!

One note, this book is definitely not for younger readers. Angel has quite a mouth on her, plus there is mature subject matter regarding substance abuse and domestic violence. Just so you can't say I didn't warn you!

On the Cover:

I love this cover. I love the bright pink and I love the illustration, I love the way she's holding her head defiantly and the whole package. Well, the zombie boobs are kind of gross, but I still love it!

My Favourite Character:

Angel! She was just so funny and real! Although in real life, I'm way more likely to be friends with Nick, who turned out to be pretty decent in the end. I wish we saw more of him!

My Favourite Scene:

When Angel describes herself as running like a cheetah/gazelle. Mostly because I imagined what a cheetah/gazelle would actually look like!

Rating: 5 hearts

Source: Public Library

Where to Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Bonus: Check out this interview with Diana Rowland about the book!