” See, the problem in this world ain’t sinners, or even the dead. It is men who will step on anyone who stands in the way of their pursuit of power. “

Title: Dread Nation

Series: Dread Nation

Author: Justina Ireland

Published: April 3, 2018

Medium: Audiobook

Narration: Bahni Turpin

Length: 11:00

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror (Zombies)

Rating:

Summary: At the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, the dead begin to walk the earth, bringing the American Civil War to a screeching halt. Slavery is outlawed, but replacing it is the Native and Negro Reeducation Act, which forces Native and African Americans to undergo training to fight the dead and protect white people. Jane McKeene is one of the African American woman being educated at a specialized school in Baltimore. She plans to finish her schooling and return to her mama, but she gets caught up in a sinister political plot and gets herself into a boatload of trouble. She must fight for her life, and not against the zombies.

Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Typically zombie books are predictable and dull, but this one was a new take on it! Placing the zombies in the past, rather than the future, was the first big difference from this story to any other zombie story I have seen, but the best difference was that the zombies weren’t even the main focus. This is a story of prejudice and racism. Many parts of this story are not for the faint of heart (I would like to include a trigger warning for a very graphic whipping scene) but it outlines perfectly how even “allies” can be racist and how fighting each other is only hurting ourselves. This was one of my favorite books that I have read in the past year and I would highly recommend it to anyone.