My Life as a White Trash Zombie, by Diana Rowland

My Life as a White Trash Zombie, by Diana Rowland, narrated by Allison McLemore

This book was a huge surprise to me. I was told it was fantastic - funny, fun, good plot - but I didn't really believe. I mean, there are so many zombie books out there, right? But it really was hilarious and fun. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Angel Crawford is a down-on-her-luck, pill-popping, high school drop-out who can't hold down a job and is being dragged down by her alcoholic father and deadbeat boyfriend. One day, she wakes up in a hospital - told that she overdosed and was found naked on the side of the road. Humiliated, she is about to return home when she gets a mysterious note telling her to drink a mysterious power-shake each day, and that she now has a job picking up and helping autopsy dead bodies. She's told she must keep this job for at least a month, or she's going to prison for parole violation. Angel is terrified of prison, so she begrudgingly starts her new job. 

Strangely, she realizes that she desperately wants to eat the brains of the bodies she's been autopsying - and she thinks it must be some weird side-effect of the OD...maybe she's just going crazy. But then hints begin to turn up that she's been zombified. Proving to be more intelligent than she thought, Angel begins to investigate who zombified her, sent her the mysterious notes, and who, in God's sake, is the serial murderer who's beheading all his victims?

Like I said, it was really funny. I loved Angel's character, and the mystery kept me listening even when I should have been doing other things. Angel really developed during this book - changing from an self-hating loser to an almost self-confident, poised, intelligent woman. (There's still some room left for "refinement" in the next books, of course.) Much to my surprise and gratification, this was a very character-driven book. I will definitely pick up more from this series. 

This book gets 4.5 stars for humor, characterization, and mystery.