This one feels a bit difficult to rate because I think the blurb is misleading and it's hard to get into it without spoiling it. I'll just say: this is marketed as much spookier than it is. I enjoyed what it ended up being, but I could see how someone expecting a full-on zombie novel could be disappointed with this. I loved the reflections on human relationships and how we inevitably change, how we deal with loss. My one big qualm within the book is when Zharie goes camping with Bo and his friends and there is a very clear consent issue with her being uncomfortable and unsure about some of the activities they're doing and there isn't anyone there to say, "You don't have to do this"--instead she feels pressured and it almost feels a bit like hazing.

I don’t know if I can convey through my words how excited I was for this and then how much I enjoyed it. This book was so much fun! I don’t know the last time I’ve read a zombie book. And certainly not one with a bi-racial character.

Ok, so I’ve said before that I thought zombies in books were weird, and zombie love interests were even weirder. But funnily I didn’t care about any of this when I heard about this book. I still needed to get my hands on it. As it turns out the zombies in this one aren’t terrible. Granted there’s still some hanging flesh and constant groaning, but they aren’t scary. I could tell from the beginning that they represented something, but I wasn’t sure what. Especially when her mom turned out to be one too. But as it goes on, you can see what they are really meant for. It doesn’t tell you until the end, but I think readers can figure it out.

The plot was ok, but it was all over the place. I really didn’t know what to expect besides the zombie thing, but where the plot was going, I had no idea. But it was still ok. It held a lot of surprises like the dad situation, the third act break-up thing, and her current family thing. It was a little jumbled, but it was still good and easy to follow.

The romance was weird. Why? Because she was trying so hard to say she didn’t like him and he just took it. He was actually really cute. He was a skateboarder, real down to Earth. I liked the way they interacted. And I LOVED the way he supported her no matter what it was about. Even when he didn’t know what it was about lol But them together was very cute. I was happy when they stopped the crazy and they finally got it together. It was refreshing.

The narrator was fine. I haven’t read anything else by her, but there’s a lot when I went to find out. The performance was good. Like she did different characters fine. I did wish we had some of the moaning and groaning from the zombies. Maybe it’s in the final copy and not the one I listened to. Other than that, that’s the only thing that I felt was missing.

As a whole, this whole message is a good one. The zombie message and all. It wasn’t what I expected, but that’s ok. I think my work teens will enjoy reading this and we’ll have a lot to talk about, so I might be recommending this for our work program. Yes, it’s that good.

I listened to this on audio courtesy of Netgalley , I enjoyed it this way cause , the narrator brought the book to life .It is an intriguing look at life , death and love.

The narrator did a great job of conveying a mood and tone that I would imagine the main character Zharie would embody. This novel is about grief, love and loss. Zharie sees the undead all around her, but there is a connection that she can't quite put her finger on that makes some people zombies and some not. There is also the added intrigue that her new friend Bo is sometimes human and sometimes zombie. There is a melancholy that the narrator captures really well.

This is a very beautiful and well done story following grief, love and loss. The prose is so good and lyrical and I really enjoyed the horror that was woven throughout. The descriptions were so vivid and I really enjoyed my time reading this book.

I did wish for more exploration of the budding friendship that Z has with Bo's friend group. More time devoted to these relationships, could have brought more of an emotion impact with the plot. This was a really well done novel (and audiobook!) with some great horror aspects!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

The Undead Truth of Us reads like a John Green novel with zombies, which is pretty awesome! Don't go into this book expecting a full on zombie novel. In a lot of ways, the zombies are a metaphor. This is a book primarily about grief and heartache. It is definitely emotional, I just didn't connect to it in the way I was hoping to. I think I went into it with the wrong expectations!

The Undead Truth of Us was such a beautifully written book about grief, love, and zombies. I look forward to reading more from Britney S Lewis.

Five stars to the narration. She did a great job capturing Zharie's voice and she did it at a nice pace where I didn't have to change the speed to 2.0 just to make her sound normal. I could clearly picture the imagery in the story which she brought to life.

Emotional, beautiful, relatable. Made me grieve for someone that is not real nor in my real life. Teared up a few times most likely because i know the feeling Zharie felt for a few things, loss of a family member and dealing with someone who never wanted her in their life. The healing ways in this book is for sure eye opening and something we should all be thinking of doing once in while to heal our own self.

I truly loved the concept of this heartbreaking story.

The Undead Truth of Us is very much not a typical zombie book. There aren't undead, brain eaters clumsily milling about waiting to attack at any second. It's not those kinds of Zombies. Instead, the main character is the only one who can see them for what they are. To anyone else, they'd just be normal people. This is due to the main characters perception of the world and not due to any Mad Cow Disease or other usual zombie outbreak initiating event. It took a little while to get used to being in the main characters head. What she sees is often not what is real, but an altered version of it. I lost my mother young, so her grief was something I was able to easily relate to and was thought out and descriptive throughout the novel. This book doesn't move fast. If you are one of those readers who likes your story to the point without too much detail, you probably won't love it. But if you like immersive and descriptive works with poignant, thought-provoking plots then this is the book for you.

The audio narrator does an exquisite job at depicting the characters emotions when narrating. I could audibly hear Zharie's emotions and the way the dialog would build up and break down. Lewis does an incredible job at letting you inside Zharie's head and her thought process.

This is the kind of book I hope every young adult gets to read. There are so many great moments with dealing with grief, loss, and change. Zharie goes through many hard ships but Lewis also shows us these unique moments that you only experience in young adulthood. The camping trip had me all in my feels from just the nostalgia of these types of experiences with my high school friends.

Grief and loss are dealt in such a compassionate way that you but you also get to see the gritty details of Zharie's pain. The way Lewis depicts large moments with color association was so unique and added a lot of impact to the story. I don't know how I haven't mentioned ZOMBIES yet but as the story unfolds and you learn more about the zombies it makes you stop and think about all the zombies in your life.

This is such a beautiful book that also includes other YA novels like my personal favorite, Looking For Alaska. Once Lewis brings up John Green its hard to not compare the significance to her novel and Greens because the core of her book is what makes Green's books so good. Yes there is grief and loss, but there is also adventure, self discovery, and so much more in this story. Lewis's debut shows so many strengths and promise I can't wait to read everything else she writes.

If you have ever found yourself obsessed with a John Green novel this is for you. If not, this is still for you. There were also these moments of pure euphoria that reminded me of the same nostalgic feeling in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I learned of this fascinating book through the author's tiktok, and I'm so glad I did.

I went in assuming this was a dystopian/zombie novel - and within the first two chapters I knew that was not the case. Instead we have an unreliable narrator dealing with grief, depression, PTSD, and deep, deep trust issues. Zharie, our heroine, sees zombies. But she's the only one who can. Kids at her school, her mother, her love interest.... All zombies. But Zharie also can look out over the city and see swirling skies made up of lights and stars.

Sound familiar? About halfway through this fascinating book, you start truly equating Zharie's imagination with that of Vincent Van Gogh. The beauty of his haunting paintings came from personal tragedy and depression. And Zharie's view of the world around her is the same.

This book features a strong black teenage girl as it's heroine, and a black/asian boy as her love interest. The diversity is what immediately drew me to the book, and I'm glad I trusted my instincts. Though this book was not what I expected, it exceeded those expectations so much.

I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy stories where the MC is overcoming trauma. This will not disappoint.

Let's just start with, 'YA' isn't always just for young adult or teens. This is a beautiful Coming of Age book that is a fun read and captivating for all. Personally, I love Sci-Fi but I've never done any zombie fiction... And this was a nice, soft, easy introduction! Zharie has lost her mom and is coping with her new reality.. while SHE is not a zombie, she does feel a little 'undead' as she's navigating her new world without her mom, with her aunt as her new guardian, and trying to make new friends. There's mystery, love, loss, zombies, friendships/relationships,.. there's self exploration and there's passion (For life! For dance! For connections!). Lewis' writing is phenomenal; she weaves this story into your heart. And there is truly something in her words for everyone.

When I was reading this book It was taking me awhile to get into it, so I tried listening to the audiobook. I did enjoy the narrator but the book itself wasn't captivating me like I feel like it should have been considering the subject matter, Overall things moved too slowly and it felt painful to continue especially when the Main Character and Love Interest were so... corny.

4.0
I really liked this book and think that everyone who loves YA should indeed read this book, it was emotional, beautiful and not your typical Zombie book.
A young black dancer see Zombies and she falls into a romance with a Zombie boy all while sharing to each other their tragic stories.
Zharie misses her mother and it shows, there were times I wanted to cry with her and give her a big hug and tell her its going to be okay.
This book is for anyone who has experienced grief and how it can affect us.

3 stars

This novel features an interesting concept that feels quite fresh, which is ironic considering the amount of rot discussed here! Lewis's voice is one I'm interested to hear more of in future efforts.

Zharie, the m.c., is living in an unusual state. At 16, she's very much isolated in grief but in a unique way: seeing people around her as zombies. Her mother's death prompts this new state, but the zombie semi-apocalypse is not limited to just this case. As Zharie navigates her grief over this central loss and how her interactions with the world make her feel even more isolated, she begins to explore added losses she has faced (and is continuing to experience) now. Zharie really reinforces that tried-and-true notion that growing up is hard to do.

I was grateful for the content warnings at the top of the book, but I underestimated how much some of the body horror was going to gross me out. It's not constant, but it's not a one-time situation either, so I suggest that readers do not attempt to listen while cooking or eating, for example. This, along with other minor but frequently placed details, drew my attention away from the interesting character growth and plotting at times. One great example of the other small but intrusive details is Zharie's exclusive reference to her father as "the sperm donor." As a person with a less-than-ideal dad situation of my own, I fully get the sentiment, but this got distracting quickly. My hope is that some of these sticking points get edited out before the final draft, but perhaps others will be less hung up on them than I was.

Overall, this is an undeniably unique concept, and I am really looking forward to what else Lewis brings forth in the wonderful world of YA.