This was a strong debut! Everything from the plot to the character development was great. We have adopted this text as part of a "discovering self" mini unit for middle readers.

This book was such a touching read on grief and healing and navigating new situations. The. prose was lovely, the characters were so likable and real -- I truly enjoyed this one.

Lewis's storytelling is descriptive and imaginative. I love her writing style, it's so unique. The intrigue kept amping up throughout the novel, and had me changing my mind about what I thought was happening a dozen times. I can't wait for her sophomore novel.

The undead truth of us was a really fun read about grief and love.

Before Zharie’s mom dies she turns into a zombie. She wants to figure out what is happening and why she is the only one who can see them.
I loved the writing of this book. It showed Zharie’s grief and how it was affecting her.

Zharie was also a great Protagonist. She is pretty closed off at the beginning of the book but learns to put herself out there. Also loves to dance and expresses herself through that medium.

The ending was one of the best parts of the book. I’m hoping that it leads to more books in the future because I’m excited to see more about Zharie.

The one thing I was not the biggest fan of was romance. I didn't feel the chemistry between Zharie and the love interest Bo. I wish they had a few more scenes together but mostly personal preference.

Overall a great read you enjoy character-driven stories about grief and main character growth then this book is for you! 4 stars!

For a book that's main purpose is to tackle grief, I think it did a solid job of covering it. Overall though, for me the execution was lacking a little bit. There were so many amazing ideas in this book like the idea that the zombies were a metaphor for her grief and the culmination of heartbreak took her mother, but still somehow the plot felt a little aimless despite all of this and the killer visuals Lewis was writing (I could see this being a fantastic YA movie with all the clear visuals she gives). In the end, I gave this three stars because I really felt and empathized with Zharie but was disappointed in the execution.

The book kept me engaged throughout. I really enjoyed reading it. The topics of grief and love can be felt throughout the book, as the main character goes thru the grief of losing her mother and processing her emotions.

I feel like the book tackles some really important themes and the author does a great job of weaving them into the story.

I also really enjoyed the authors take on the zombie trope offering a story centering around grief.

Where the book fell flat for me was with its pacing. I felt sometimes the pacing would be a tad inconsistent, and there would be moments where not much was going on and I wasn’t fully engaged with these slower parts.

A haunting portrayal of grief; an unexpected plot about anguish and pain manifesting as zombie appearances; the hope of a new friendship that acts as a healing balm. More lyrical with the emphasis on metaphors and symbolism; more cathartic than horror; and more characterisation than mystery. Once the story's purpose and process is understood, it's an emotional read.

Thrilling apocalyptic world with incredible main character. We don’t see this kind of diversity in the genre so it was great to see.

In terms of the zombie genre, The Undead Truth of Us gives more Warm Bodies vibes than The Walking Dead. I think that’s why I loved it so much! It has a heavy focus on death and grief (it is a zombie novel, after all) and explores it beautifully. Can’t wait to read more from Britney S. Lewis!

This book was a dazzling exploration of young grief. Britney’s debut novel paints (sometimes literally) the landscape of healing from loss as a surreal descent into madness with an unreliable narrator.

It was a beautiful book. Descriptive, lyrical and in certain ways ironically poetic even! I really enjoyed Z's character.
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I've never read a zombie apocalypse book before in my life. And this was as good as one to start with. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, the angst and pain of the teenage lead. But honestly, sorry to say, I didn't care for the romance.
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I really really liked the writing style and I would be very interested to check out a few other works from the author!
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Thank you NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book!

There's a lot of good writing and nice imagery in this book, but unfortunately I just wasn't that invested in the characters or the plot. Z's family and grief were the more interesting aspects of this book, but I really did not care for any of the focus on romance.

If you're a teen going through your angsty John Green phase this is definitely the book for you. I probably would've enjoyed this book a lot more like 5 years ago, I've just outgrown the genre.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.

3 LYRICAL STARS

The Undead Truth of Us is a poetic, lyrical, touching story. I cannot help but feel some of it was a little too poetic for me, and some of the novel definitely went over my head, but I still loved the uniquity of the metaphorical zombies, and the overarching messages on love and loss. Bo was such a precious character to me, and Zharie was incredibly powerful in her realism – I’m glad I read this.

“I was no longer part of the moment, part of the street. I was the moment. I was the long, stretched-out blackness between two stop walks, and I think, somewhere past the filters in the sky, Mama was here, too.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

Before reading this, you definitely have to be aware that this is not an apocalyptic, survival-against-all-odds zombie story. Zharie is not battling a zombie apocalypse – she is battling the potent grief emanating from the loss of her mother. I learnt this from reading reviews prior to opening the book, and while I felt a little disappointment at the time – I’m a bit of a sucker for zombies stories – I’m definitely glad I understood that going into this book. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some gruesome descriptions of the undead, because there definitely are! Lewis’ writing was vivid and descriptive, I adored the surrealist depictions of how Zharie saw the world, and also loved the captivating descriptions of Zharie’s relationship with each character.

“Bo was more alive today than he’d ever been before. It was a cosmic cataclysm, electric energy, a collision creating a while new realm. Maybe he wasn’t undead after all.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

Bo was so precious to me, it was insane. He was a little adorable biracial simp of a skater boy, and I loved every page he was on. Not a single character in this book was perfect, they were all wonderfully flawed and brilliantly human, and each and every one made mistakes, but they were all such powerful characters for their growth through this. And Bo was practically flawless in my eyes!

This is a very gorgeous book, and one that will stay in my mind for many years to come. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy provided in exchange for an honest review :).

The Undead Truth of Us is a slow burn, you never expect the ending to pan out the way it dead. Definitely looking forward to part two of this series!

I really loved the characters and wanted to love this book. For me I never could quite grasp the book and its message so it fell flat.

Incredible writing with haunting imagery and themes that were jarring at times, this is a story I'll be thinking about for a while. Zharie is such a fantastic, albeit, potentially unreliable narrator. I loved all the secondary characters and how Zharie interacts with them all as she navigates what she's seeing.

Highly recommend!

This book by Britney S. Lewis deals with how grief can affect us mentally and distort our reality. I liked the different take on it to really show that we aren't always okay even when we pretend we are. The imagery is also just beautiful in this book!

I saw this author promoting her book on Tiktok and was instantly intrigued! Euphoria vibes + zombies + an unreliable narrator? Sign me up! I loved this book so much and my only regret is that I didn't wait until October to read it because I feel like it would have fit the spooky vibe perfectly. Luckily, my library ordered it and I can do a reread when October comes around!

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #TheUndeadTruthOfUs

This is one of my favorite reads of the year hands down. The way that grief and other feelings are described in such a beautifully artistic and metaphoric way was just a pleasure to read. It had me so deep in my feelings that I cried basically the whole last 20% of the book. Everyone should read this.

Thank you Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.