As this was my first ARC I was very excited to dive into Zharie's story! I thought that this story did a great job of showing the true journey of grief & how hard it really is. I enjoyed getting to watch Zharie as she adapts to her new reality of seeing zombies everywhere & also how she navigates her new relationship with Bo. I just overall wish I would have loved the characters more. They felt a little unmemorable to me & the zombie concept didn't really click for me. Some of the language that was used felt a bit dated & took away from key moments. I loved Zharie's story but just wished she would have stuck with me after the last page.

Thank you NetGalley & Disney Publishing Worldwide for the ARC!

It is the best thing when your most anticipated book of the year lives up to your expectations-- or even exceeds them. That is the case of The Undead Truth of Us. I thought the premise sounded fun all this time-- zombies! a dancer MC! but I didn't expect to be hit so hard with MORE. There *are* fun parts to be sure, things I loved, including pure friendships, a love that blooms so naturally it never felt forced for the sake of having it, the dancing, references to art and color and music and times my heart was lightened.

Yet, that's not all. The lyrical, surreal prose blew my mind, the way my heart connected with Zharie's heart, the way hot tears streamed down my face as I felt her grief, as she tried to make sense of what was happening to her, what had happened to her mother. The themes of forgiveness, and loss, and courage to live in the face of that loss. I got what I needed from this book, but I didn't even know I needed it. I've already preordered a hard copy and I cannot wait to return to it again.

This is a stunningly beautiful debut by a talented author. Watch out for Britney S. Lewis. I am a fan for life <3

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

First I wanted to thank Brittney S. Lewis and NetGalley for choosing me to receive an eARC. This book releases on August 8, 2022 and I’ve already preordered.

Not only is this cover gorgeous but the story is so captivating. Yes, this book has Zombies, but not the super gory zombies you think of when it zombies come to mind.

We follow Zharie’s journey of grief and how she begins to heal, make new friends, makes her way back to her passion of dancing and fall in love throughout the book. Her grief makes her see zombies, it makes her see colors and flowers and vines come from the ground. When I was reading these particular scenes I immediately got transported to a surrealist painting maybe because the author references Van Gogh, but that is exactly what I would imagine that Zharie felt when she saw the colors radiating from each person.

When we finally found out why Zharie is seeing the zombies everything in life clicked not only for her but for me too. I loved how the author made the metaphorical connection between love, grief, loss and the undead.

There is a thin line between light and darkness; love and grief. “The Undead Truth of Us” does a good job of illustrating these ideas through the love and loss of a young girl navigating her life without the person she loved, loves, most in the world. This book is enchanting, disturbing, and inspiring.

I feel the message behind this was beautiful absolutely original. The execution fell a little short for me. The synopsis was a little obscure but the basis of this story was about the zombies and what they represent. Although that was a main plot point in the beginning and the end i feel somewhere in the middle up until 50-60% that was pushed to the side and it felt like a different story. I love the way the author developed the characters. It was excellent. The ending didn’t feel rushed either. The writing was a bit off putting and the dialogue was not my cup of tea. This is a ya and it definitely read like a ya.

Beautiful writing on a beautiful story. Zharie thinks in paintings, the cover is amazingly fitting and her thoughts bring those paintings to your own brain. The romance is well done and the character driven plot is well executed.

“We didn’t really fly, but in that moment, it felt like we did.”

A beautiful, haunting portrayal of grief and love full of gorgeous prose and bittersweet feels. Can easily see this book becoming a new classic for teens!

I received this book as an ARC and really enjoyed reading it. It was interesting trying to figure out what was going on with the zombies and Zharie's grief brought me to tears a few times. It wasn't what I was expecting it to be at all and truly enjoyed how different this is from any other book I've read. It was a little too poetic for me, but that's not a problem at all! Just a personal preference.

I've spent ~12 hours trying to come up with words to describe how I felt after reading this novel. From the beginning I was sucked into the imagery and beautiful prose of the story as well as the curious about what the heck was happening??? I don't know what I expected when I heard about this novel and began reading but this was so delightfully unexpected and original. The characters were rich and complex and I felt for (almost) every one of them (LOOKIN AT YOU SPERM DONOR). I'm a lover of Van Gogh as well and I felt that this story was like one of his paintings written down into words. Just all around beautiful, sad, delightful, rich, and enjoyable. I couldn't put it down once I started it! Thank you so much for the ARC!

Read from: February 5, 2022 - March 4, 2022

Big thanks to the publisher for approving my request for an eARC of this book. It does not affect my giving of an honest review in any way.

This debut novel offers a beautiful story of grief, friendship, and love, in a contemporary setting with a beautiful twist of science fiction. It follows the life of black teenager Zharie Young, who has begun to see zombies after the death of her mother. This story is her uncovering the truth of the dead she sees as she shifts between fiction and reality.

The best and only way to say it is that this book fucked with my mind in the best way possible. I have no more words to describe this book. It really wasn’t at all like I expected it to be. Not a fan of zombies in general, but what the fuck? It started out extremely slow, but the story builds up halfway through and you really won’t be able to put it down! This book incorporates perfectly flawed and intriguing characters that drove the story to its subtle plot twist that kept me hook towards the end. Not only does this story tackle grief in the most unexpected way, but it talks about why forgiveness and acceptance is a significant step to moving on.

Your heart will break for Zharie.

Zharie is thrust into living with her aunt who really doesn't want to deal with her. As she tries to figure out her place in the world without her mom, she's also dealing with her grief in unexpected ways and trying to fit in with new friends. I really enjoyed the writing and the authors prose was easy to read and pulled me in right away. At first the story is a little hard to read as you're trying to figure out things, but as you progress, you start to understand it better and I was pleasantly surprised by the different take.

This is a story that perfectly explains grief and love. By the end, I was heartbroken for Z, but was glad how the author tied up the ending. I highly recommend only if for the unique take on a tired zombie genre.

3.75

this book was so good and interesting! ive never read anything like it before, but to be fair i dont tend to read horror. the vibes of the whole story (the art, the zombies, bo and his friends) were amazing. not sure how i feel about the general ending.
also, the main character calling her father 'the sperm donor' is one of the worst things ive ever read. sorry. but i mean, he is really terrible, so i kind of get it.

In this age of reboots and remakes I found this story to be refreshingly original. I haven't read a YA book that depicted anxiety so realistically since John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. 

If you're looking for something scary, gory, or violent, this isn't the book for you.

This book is more of a coming of age story than one of horror. In order to find out why she's seeing zombies, Zharie starts to take more risks and ventures outside of her comfort zone to experience life among the living, instead of dwelling on all of the death in her head. In these strange, depressing pandemic days we're living in, I think a lot of people will relate to that. I certainly did.

There's a romance that develops but it's not the focus of the story. Everything revolves around Zharie figuring out what lead to her mom's death and what it had to do with the zombies that appear afterwards.

The plot twist wasn't as shocking as I thought it was going to be, but it turned out to be something I wasn't expecting so it was still a page turner. A couple of scenes toward the end felt a bit rushed but Zharie got her closure and I was fully invested in the story from beginning to end.

I loved seeing the world through Zharie's overactive imagination where sometimes the world flipped upside down, or the grass became the ocean, and where colors could be seen everywhere not just in objects, but songs, feelings, words, etc. The references to Van Gogh throughout were also a nice touch.

I thought the zombie imagery was done very well. I noticed that this imagery even comes up sometimes when there aren't any zombies around. Like when the thought of doing something unpleasant made Zharie feel like her skin was disconnected from her body or when she was feeling anxious she would chew at the dead skin on her lip, or feel like a lump of slime was in the back of her throat. 
The zombies here weren't like the ones we usually see in movies, but represented something bigger. It made me think about how I felt after I had my heart broken. And how I've seen the way love and heartbreak has completely transformed some of the people in my life.
Haven't we all been zombies at some point? Or witnessed someone in our lives become one?

This book may not be for everyone but I think if you're a fan of YA, especially John Green, (who is mentioned a few times throughout) and are looking for an original story that deals with grief, loss, anxiety, first loves, heartbreak, letting go, and stepping out, you will enjoy this book.

I loved this book and highly recommend it! Thank you so much Britney Lewis and Netgalley for the  ARC in  exchange for an honest review!

I spent several minutes trying to formulates words to properly express how much I loved this book. The chilling pain of grief and love, wrapped into one beautiful tale of heartache and loss. Lewis does a fantastic job reeling you in with the opening lines, making you want to ignore your boring, mundane responsibilities to figure out just why Zharie is seeing zombies when no one else can. Even the last few lines had me staring at the wall with an open mouth and raised brows. Truly phenomenal.

Zharie is a regular Black girl doing regular Black girl things-- until people start turning into zombies before her eyes.
The Undead Truth of Us is a beautiful story of grief, love, and learning to breathe again. Full of beautiful metaphors and a twist that rocked my world, this book is easily in my top 5 for the year.

Mark your calendars people. August 9th. You need to get your hands on this book. It is claiming one of the spots for top books this year because it was STUNNING. I actually love fantasy or contemporary books with horror aspects and Lewis does it brilliantly with this one! Her take on zombies is heartbreaking, unique, and beautifully written and her command of prose is just gorgeous. She can be pulling you from a sweeping description of what it means to be human straight into the horrifying face of the undead.

The premise intrigued me because of this aspect, but I was pleasantly surprised with the romance between the main character Zharie and the boy who moves in downstairs, Bo. Their dynamic is hilarious and adorable and everything I’m sure we all dream about. One of my favourite little things about Zharie's character were all of her well-rounded interests. From West Coast Swing dancing to a fascination with Vincent van Gogh, she felt like a real person on the page (and someone I would totally be friends with). I really did appreciate the references to van Gogh through the book because he and his story are an inspiration to me personally and it was refreshing to see him represented by more than just a few cliche remarks about The Starry Night. All of her interests were so well researched and developed that it really just added to the depth of her character. In fact, all of Lewis’s characters are rich and make me want nothing more than to be sucked into the pages to join their friend group. Honestly, the characters are what make this such an addicting read as you can't help but be pulled in by their humour, compassion, and humanity.

No review would be complete without commenting on the ending. I had to read it six times just to make sure I was reading it right. It gives you this lovely bit of closure and peace and then completely flips everything around and you are left reeling. However, it still functions well as a standalone and I think it is just such a perfectly crafted ending. (but please britney do not take that as me saying i don’t need a sequel to move on. i’m begging you to write one)

Everything about this book is so captivatingly human. It is a tale of grief and uncertainty, love and loss. There are times when you don’t know what is going on, but that’s because Zharie doesn’t either. This book is her journey and we are forced to take it with her in all of its ups and downs, triumphs and losses, until the very end.

Where do I start. Speculative fiction, especially those that dabble in the surreal will always have a special place in my heart. This book took me a couple chapters to grasp on to. I was as confused as our lead. I was a little lost and a lot freaked out. However, after the fifth chapter I settled into the story. My belief was suspended and I was along for the ride. This story follows a young Black dancer named Zharie Young in the aftermath of the death of her beloved mother. To make matters even worse she is seeing zombies. Once I swallowed that premise I was taken for a very beautiful ride. The surrealism was great. I was able to lose myself to the imagery of the story. At times some of the metaphors used would collide with each other but mainly they met in a dance similar to the West Coast Swing that our lead loves so much.

The novel above all else read truly honest. I felt like I knew Zharie. She could be my sister. She could be me. I love that she is pretentious. I can see her truth even when it feels muddled. She is real developed character.
I also really enjoyed the gorgeous colorful cast of background characters that Lewis provides us with. Bo is the boy next door and Charlie is the girl we all want so badly to be.

My few criticism is that I wish we got more about the zombies and the deeper meaning behind them. Sometimes the allegory felt stretched too thin and other times it felt like it was played with enough.
While I love Bo, I wish there was more to his other story, without giving anything away I think there could be so much more there.
Everything isn’t always Black and White and Lewis does an excellent job of portraying this.

I cried quite a lot actually. I always reach a point in novels where once I reach the top of a hill I tumble downwards. And once I started crying I could not make the tears stop. My heart breaks and was rebuilt and truly what more can you ask for in a story. Zharie will stay with me for quite a while, I know that for a fact. Even with its typical debut blunders this debut shines and dances. Love and grief are two sides of a fragile coin and this novel does it’s best to balance them.

Highly recommend, especially to lovers of thought provoking stories.

“To the moon and never back”

🌻I was initially drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover art but I am happy to say that the book was equally enticing! This YA book will be an instant hit when it releases.

A surrealist take on love, loss, and grief. Not your typical zombie story but plenty of gore filled descriptions, emotional moments, and lovable characters (except for one!). Lewis’ unique take on grief, death, and coping is a wonderful resource and escape for any young reader going through a similar loss. Not only that but the emphasis and importance of having a solid system of support and family which the main character, Zharie finds through a new group of friends is both cathartic and heartfelt.

An excellent novel and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy come August! If you enjoy reading YA books you will want to preorder this one!

** spoiler alert ** I received this book through NetGalley as an ARC, and I'm so so glad I did. This was an amazingly beautiful story about a young black woman dealing with grief and loneliness. When I finally realized why Z was seeing zombies I was so sad for her as well as the people around her. Finding out that her mother died of a broken heart but then finding the strength in herself to go out and confront her bio father, it was just so good. I would have loved just a little bit more at the end but I also really can appreciate a sudden stop. Highly recommend for anyone looking to check out new authors, and a book with a new take on zombies.

As a dancer myself it was really cool to see that portrayed as well, in the moments where Z connected to the world through her connection to dance I was able to be right there with her in a way I haven't connected with other characters before.

A very very small possible correction, there were a few instances of the word 'hoovering' being used, but I think it was supposed to be 'hovering'. It was near the end of the camping scene with the Charlie and Bo stuff happening.

Overall I'm very excited to read more from this author.

Beautiful debut. The zombie magical realism pairs well with the themes of grief and love. Sketchy in places, but overall very well done and will look for this author in the future.