A Dream Within A Dream: Dead Jed Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/tour-schedule-dead-jed-by-scott-craven-presented-by-month9books/

Welcome to my stop on the Dead Jed blog tour! Today I have my review of the book to share and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post! To follow along with the rest of the tour, click on the banner above!

Dead Jed: Adventures of a Middle School Zombie

Author: Scott Craven

Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal/Fantasy

Release Date: December 1, 2013

Publisher: Month9Books

Description:

Dead Jed is Shaun of the Dead meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jed's not your typical junior high geek. He is, to use the politically-correct term, cardiovascularly-challenged. And while his parents have attempted to shield him from the implications of being 'different' for as long as they could (Jed was 8 and at a friend's sister's birthday party when he blew his lips off onto the cake in front of everyone, finally prompting the “Big Talk” from his parents and an emergency SuperGlue repair by his dad), 7th grade at Pine Hollow Middle School as a target of Robbie the supreme school bully and his pack of moronic toadies is rapidly becoming unbearable.

From being stuffed in a filled trash can as “dead meat” and into a trophy case as the bully's “prize,” to literally having his hand pulled off in the boys' room (Jed's always losing body parts. Luckily, a good stapler and some duct tape and he's back in the action) and a cigarette put in it and try to frame him for the recent reports of smoking in the school, Jed's had enough and is ready to plan his revenge. Besides, it's awesome what you can do when you're already dead!

Dead Jed is a funny and smart middle grade novel that follows the mishaps and adventures of Jed, who just happens to be a zombie. Like most middle school kids, Jed has to worry about homework, bullies, and parents - but with the added problem of losing limbs on a regular basis. Jed is having a particularly hard time with a bully named Robbie whose favorite pastime is to torment Jed and stuff him into various garbage cans. Jed and his best friend Luke decide it's time that they get their revenge.

This was a fun and fast-paced paranormal novel that was an easy read. The writing was very conversational and flowed naturally, so it engages the reader right from the start. Jed is a great main character for the story. Most readers don't have a zombie as a main character in a book, let alone a protagonist, but Jed's condition is only part of who he is, and the reader learns to appreciate other aspects of his personality other than the fact that he's a zombie. Jed faces lots of normal problems that kids deal with daily, so he's easy to identify with for the reader. The story was light-hearted with lots of witty remarks and fun situations that will have younger readers highly entertained. Jed's story may be one of a normal guy getting through life as a seventh grader, but it's made all the more interesting because he's a zombie. Putting that twist on the plot really makes this book original and fans of middle grade paranormal fiction will love it!