Review of Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

 Ireland, Justina.  Deathless Divide.  Balzer+Bray, 2020.

This second installment of the Dread Nation duology picks up right where the first book ended.  During the Years of Discord, the time period just after 1863, “shamblers”, or zombies, have taken over the settlement of Summerville, Kansas.  Jane McKeene and Kathryn Deveraux have decided to travel together, heading to Nicodemus, Kansas, the site of a Negro settlement founded by Freedmen and Quaker settlers.  It is supposed to be a secure, welcoming refuge, but it turns out to be just another social-experimental community run by deceitful and criminal characters.  When Nicodemus is also overrun by shamblers, the girls part ways, each heading down their own path.  These two black girls trained in the art of fighting shamblers started out as enemies but ended up as frenemies.  They eventually hope to make their way to Haven, California, a safe Negro settlement near Sacramento, where they believe Jane’s mother is living.  Along the way, they each endure heartbreak, sacrifice, and challenges.

This well-crafted historical-fantasy series has such an unusual concept—that of black, mostly female, zombie hunters during the Civil War and Reconstruction Period. If you are looking for a book that is character-driven and has warrior heroines, look no further.  Both Jane and Kathryn, plus a few other minor characters, have spunk, grit, and determination.  They manage to overcome obstacles within a sinister setting and find intelligent ways out of dangerous situations.  The book is told in alternating chapters in both of their voices, and each chapter begins with a quote either from Shakespeare, the Bible, or some other literary work.  

This series contains, numerous social conflicts—exploitation of the black race, social tensions between native Americans and black characters, and relations between Chinese families and other races.  Add to those conflicts the themes of racism, nationalism, identity, kinship, resilience, immigration, bioethics, and vaccinations, and you have plot that is rich in layers and textures.

Hand this series to readers who love action, zombie stories, and alternative historical fiction.  While it is not necessary to have read the first book, it would be extremely helpful.  I had to go back and reread parts of Dread Nation to bring myself back up to speed.  I highly recommend this book and the whole series to high school and public libraries, and I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Slayed by Amanda Marrone

Slayed by Amanda Marrone; Simon Pulse, 2010.

Daphne Van Helsing has been hunting and killing vampires since she was twelve years old. Her family is descended from Abraham Van Helsing, the legendary vampire hunter. Daphne would love to be able to live in one place for a long time and make friends. Instead, she has been sketching imaginary friends in a notebook while her parents drag her all over the country for “vampire gigs”. She is surprised one night to find Kiki Crusher, formerly aka Maybelle Crusher, daughter of the lead singer of “The Disco Unicorns”, in a bar in Bristol, Maine. Kiki inadvertently saves Daphne’s life and becomes a vampire-hunter apprentice. Kiki begins on-the-job training, and she and Daphne discover that the vampires in Bristol have morphed into super-human vampires, which are much more difficult to kill. The Van Helsing’s rivals, Nathan Harker and his handsome son, Tyler, descendents of Jonathan Harker, another famous vampire hunter, arrive in town, intent on taking jobs away from the Van Helsings. Will the vampire hunters be able to get along and rid the town of the killer vampires, or will they perish in the process? However, there are more sinister forces at work, and evil is filtering into Bristol!


Amanda Marrone has done a terrific job of getting into a teenage girl’s head to describe how Daphne feels about vampire hunting. The descriptions of staking and decapitating vampires are quite bloody and gory. Daphne is torn between carrying out her duties and wanting to give it all up to be a “homebody”. There were lots of vampire facts in the book, which gives readers a crash course in their background. I had no idea that a vampire actually has to drink all of a human’s blood in order for them to actually become a vampire! A little nibble just won’t do it! This book was really funny, even though there was so much violence in it! Kiki is a real hoot, and she stepped right into the vampire hunter role like she was born to it! She pulls no punches and even becomes the bff that Amanda has never had!

Slayed is a funny twist on scary subject! I recommend this book to high school and public libraries!