Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. It was all over the place and I literally had to force myself to finish. The emotional appeal hit the nail right on the head but the writing and plot could've benefitted from a little more work.

“Who is Britney S. Lewis?” will quickly shift to, “Ohhh I LOVE Britney S. Lewis!!!!”

Lewis nabbed a great book deal and deservedly so. The Undead Truth of Us puts us hand in hand with Z, a teen girl tormented by loss and maybe zombies. I went into this completely thinking of the film Warm Bodies but what I had the privilege to walk into was an emotional journey that had me laughing at the familiar teen banter and drama, crying as Z navigates through thoughts of her complicated family situation.

The book is written so fluidly with a grotesque mysticism and yet is completely, COMPLETELY human, relatable, understood, felt. With a focus on the importance of relationships, I can’t think of a better book for the world right now.

Connecting with others is essential and is the true beating heart of Lewis’ debut novel.

Based on other reviews, I wonder if this book just wasn't for me - I never quite got that spark while I was reading. The plot is certainly a standout in terms of premise, and the writing was really nice throughout, but in a book where the supernatural/horror element is so obliquely a vehicle for discussing human issues (not to mention one which didn't have a lot of action from subplots), the characters need to be really strong, and I didn't really get that sense. Zharie struck me as a very listless MC, one far more likely to be acted upon than doing very much acting, few of the side characters felt well-defined or as if they could stand up on their own, and I didn't connect to the building relationships (thankfully the narrative informed me that Zharie was bonding with Bo's friends, because it didn't really feel that way to me). The meditations on grief and attachment were certainly interesting and well-formed, and the plotline about Zharie and her aunt was probably the strongest and most clearly delineated, but I definitely felt like I was pushing myself through this book and waiting for the actual story to start and the magic to kick in.

How can a book about grief be written so beautifully?
Right from the beginning, we’re thrown into Zharies reality. She’s watching her mother slowly die right in front of her. I’d say this book is about how confusing grief can be. You don’t just experience one emotion. You experience so many emotions and they come and go whenever they please. One minute, you’re hiking with your friends and then next, you’re triggered and can’t stop the pain.

The zombies!!! What an interesting take on zombies. It was bizarre at first and I almost dnf’ed but I just had to know how it ended. The zombies are in fact a metaphor and it was so unique When she sees the zombies, it’s similar to how easily we can be triggered. The anxiety, fear, the fight or flight and just how out of control we can feel. But there’s also another twist that I won’t spoil

Also, Bo was such a cutie. I’m happy to have received this arc

Tw: loss of a mother and an absent father

This book has a really interesting premise but I couldn't get into it. For me the pacing was super slow. There are so many questions I had and not enough answers to keep me wanting to read. I tried listening to the audiobook at this point but the MC & LI relationship was a bit too cringe. At one point she says she can both lead and follow in her dancing style saying " i can do both" and the LI goes " I've never been with a girl who can do both, hehe"

So Corny! My favorite parts of the book were when she was examining her relationship with her mom but the focus felt like it was on Zombie Boy

This book is chaotically pretty and I absolutely lived for it.

I spoke about this on my TikTok and will be posting a YouTube video about it, but this book was so fun and there were so many aspects I enjoyed. It follows the story of Zharie, a girl who has just lost her mother and moved in with her aunt when she begins to see zombies. She isn't sure why it's happening, but she knows it's all in her head and she's definitely freaked out by it, so she starts looking for a way to cure herself when a boy, who is only half-zombie, moves into the apartment unit above hers.

Reason number one I like this book: the Black girl isn't tokenized in this book and that, for me, is a big thing. I enjoyed that her friend group was diverse and the drama within it was enough without it being overboard dramatic. This book felt like it was for teenagers and that aspect is so important since I feel like some YA books are written for adults.

The romance between Zharie and Bo was really sweet too. It was the kind of romance that I love reading about in YA stories. It was a natural and he wasn't trying to "fix" Zharie or take on all of her problems for himself. Their relationship grew naturally over the course of the book and it was really fun and sweet. I especially enjoyed the fact that they had fun together and with his friends. I feel like that's something that's easily overlooked in romances and I'm glad this book didn't miss a beat.

THE DESCRIPTIONS IN THIS BOOK WERE EVERYTHING. I can only describe it as "chaotically pretty" because it was both beautiful and wild and the vividness of the colors Zharie loved and the zombies she saw were just. . . wow. It was definitely the aspect of this book that MADE this book.

The only thing that I would really note about this book that I didn't care for was that the beginning felt a little slow to me until Bo shows up in the story. I don't think it ruined the experience of the book, but it did feel like I was waiting for the book to start in the beginning. But the pacing for the rest of the book was spot on.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I think that anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story with a twist would enjoy this book. And, honestly, I wish more YA books were like this one, where the main character is just a teenager being a teenager without the text being heavy-handed in the delivery of a larger message. This is a debut novel, but I'm already looking forward to what Britney S. Lewis writes next.

The storyline was really unique, I loved that I'd not read anything like this before.
Zharie is definitely not one of the streetdumb like most main characters, based on how she handled tough situations.
The book took emotional turns when it came to Zharie figuring out grief, relationships and everything new around her. She had a very relatable journey, and her character development was great. The storyline of Zharie going on without any support was highly compelling.
The writing and prose were beautiful.
Britney is great at "show don't tell" you can feel what the characters are feeling just by the language and dialogue.
It grips you from page one and keeps you till the end

The Undead Truth of Us is a raw look at grief and hope with zombies at the forefront. When sixteen year old Zharie's mother unexpectedly dies, she begins seeing zombies. She isn't quite sure that they are really there and she doesn't understand why she would be the only one seeing them. Z meets a half-zombie boy who helps her along the way. The romance is a sweet addition to this atmospheric story about grief and zombies. Highly recommended!

I was never really sure where The Undead Truth of Us was going, until I re-framed my expectations. Only knowing zombies, you might expect - like I did - for the story to revolve around the zombies. To be an adventure contemporary about unraveling the zombie mystery. But The Undead Truth of Us isn't that at all. It's a story about loss. Character driven to the core, this debut is about processing our pain, working through our own mistakes, and finding the space within ourselves.

The zombie elements are less of a central driving force and more so another element in this contemporary story. With journal entries throughout about zombies, but also about life, The Undead Truth of Us is less about mystery, and more about Zharie. About her own lingering feelings of anger and grief and the ways in which she has to learn to love and trust again - if she can. It took me a while to wrap my head around changing my expectations. And when I did, I began to enjoy the book more.

The Undead Truth of Us is about Zharie, who begins to see zombies after her mother's death and befriends her new neighbour, Bo and through this newfound friendship she comes to terms with her own grief.

This book is a haunting portrayal of grief and filled with emotional moments. I was expecting a hardcore zombie plot but surprisingly this book is something else entirely! As Zharie grows close with Bo and his friends, she begins to learn about love and the grief that comes along with these feelings. What follows is an exploration of how these things affect a person and manifests in them as zombie appearances. Which only Zharie can see. I really liked her character and the prose makes reading about her relationship with her mother, the new friendships and coming to terms with the hardships in her life interesting. The light horror mixed with life struggles really worked for this story! Also, Bo and Zharie's relationship is definitely cute!!

My only complaint would be that I wanted more from this concept as the pacing is off at times and the story leans on a lot of metaphors and symbolism. But I would surely recommend this to other readers, especially for the Black main characters, writing that brings the emotions to page and a story that is both horror and cathartic.

Haunting, absolutely haunting. If you like speculative fiction, allegories (gory, ha) for grief, and zombies- this book is for you. And I know that was a weird hodge podge of words but it just works so well. Britney Lewis's debut is riveting and you will not be able to put it down.

okay this one took me sooo long to finish it and almost dnf it BUT thank god when i got into halfway everything turns into more intense, i ADORE the plot so much its sooo brilliant. the writing was also great. THE CHARACHTERS IN THIS BOOK ARE JUST AMAZING I LOVE Z AND BO SOO MUCH. this book got the potential that will reach best-selling bcs i know it will. and omg this is my first time reading this type of genre of book. zombie and a lil bit of romance and also grief. very interesting.

"It's like a surrealist explosion up there, and every day, ordinary things aren't as they appear."

Thank you author, Britney S Lewis for the opportunity to read The Undead Truth of Us before publishing date. Seeing someone who looks like me on the cover of a book I now love so much has been such a fulfilling experience--one I will not forget any time soon.

4.75 stars CW: parent loss, grief, gore, infidelity, depression

That line directly from the book is a great description of how this story of grief, parent loss, the grieving process and healing plays out in real time as we follow Zharie who is tumbling through life, "stuck in a labyrinth," and not really living.

This is a post-impressionist, magical realism, and wholly vibrant exploration of how grief can make us like the walking dead. I absolutely love the imagery and setting Britney used to create the contrast between the roll-tide of grief and clarity throughout Zharie's journey. Much like real life, Zharie's jounrey to clarity and understanding of life, and her special gift is not linear.

I think Zharie's story is something we all experience at some point when we lose someone whether to death or other circumstances and we are become aware of what losing feels like. I think this story captures the beauty of the stages of grief in a way young folks will find relatable and approachable. The use of zombies and zombie-fication is timely and easy to grasp on to. I cannot wait to see this book on shelves and to have this book in my home--and to share with the young people in my life.

This book was a powerful look at grief and love and learning to harness and use own one’s power.

I thought I had this book figured out…until that very last paragraph. Now I’m not sure if my thoughts are correct or not. That one paragraph can change the way the entire book is read.

And that’s amazing. That’s powerful writing.

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Thank you to the publisher, the author, Britney & Turn the Page Tours for my ARC of this book. Receiving these materials in no way impacted my review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I was really looking forward to reading this book. The author had me at skateboarders and zombies. There is something very wholesome about this story and I think the author does well handling the grief of a lost loved one and the anger of someone who feels abandoned. Loved the diverse cast and incorporating some skateboarding culture. There was also beautiful imagery and sentence structure throughout the book too. However, I thought there was also some cringe-worthy sentences and word choices as well that stunted the read for me. The story overall I felt was fine. But I never laughed out loud and while I often felt sad, I never felt sad or invested enough that I actually cried. And then that ending. Listen, that ending was not ok. I was waiting for Bo to be like....sike! And no. It just ended on a cliffhanger that made no sense. The book was good, but I think with more time and revision, it could’ve been better.

This book broke my heart. It is such a raw and honest portrayal of grief and heartbreak. I can’t remember the last book I read with an unreliable narrator, so Zharie’s narration took me by surprise! The whole story is told from her perspective as she starts seeing zombies following her mom’s death. Then she meets Bo and his friends, and for the first time, she feels like she has a place where she belongs. But she can’t seem to hide from the zombies and the grief that plagues her. Getting to follow Zharie on her journey of healing and growing was really special. My heart was wrenching with her throughout the whole book. Honestly, my favorite part of this book was getting to know Bo’s friends. Mika, Andrew, Jesus, and Charlie were all so effortlessly cool and I wanted in on their friend group!! The romance between Z and Bo was also super cute which was a plus. Lewis's writing style is poetic and therapeutic which made this such a page-turner. I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend for fans of zombies and YA contemporary.

What a read! This was a mix of zombie/horror, romance, and grief and I loved it! I think the way that Britney described Zharie's grief in losing her mother and being uprooted was really well done. I also thought the metaphor for her seeing zombies at the end was pretty cool and made me think a lot about what baggage we are all carrying. This is a book that will make you feel a lot of emotions, keep you entertained, and will make you think about life.

Thank you Disney-Hyperion for sharing a copy for early review!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This was an interesting one, I don’t know what I was expecting amongst zombies and metaphors but then this book I could not put down. I was expecting zombie fights/world domination and in turn found something deeper and more sentimental.

One of the highest forms of praise I think I can give to a book is simply to say that it was unlike anything else I have ever read—and that was definitely the case here. It ended up being so different from what I expected going in, but in the best way. I don’t really want to get into it too much because this book was an *experience*, and I think it’d be best to go in knowing as little as possible. Just know that this is a hauntingly beautiful and utterly surreal look at what it means to grieve…and to love.

The only thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that, to me, the ending felt sudden. I didn’t hate it exactly, I just wish it hadn’t felt rushed. I would still absolutely recommend this book, especially to fans of YA and in particular, fans of John Green. I know this book will stay on my mind for some time; I just adored it.

In TUToU, Lewis has truly crafted a new genre of horror. This novel's mood and tone are reminiscent of the emotionalism and confessional interior of Sylvia Plath and Kate Chopin. But while this narrative is carried by Zharie's grief, it never overwhelms in such a way that the prose becomes too metaphorical for its target audience. John Green is the stylistic comp for this book and the similarities in prose are as clear as the book's underlying themes of brokenness, love, and closure. The main character's emotions are described deftly but also in an engaging manner that captures the raw vulnerability of one's teenage years. TUToS is an angsty, thrilling, wondrous contemporary cerbral horror that will leave readers thinking long beyond THE END.