Backlist Burndown Review – My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

Teenage delinquent Angel Crawford lives with her redneck father in the swamps of southern Louisiana. She's a high school dropout, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has a police record a mile long. But when she's made into a zombie after a car crash, her addictions disappear, except for her all-consuming need to stay "alive"...

I’m so used to thinking “zombies” equates to placing a book in the horror genre. But honestly, I think I am going to file this one under Urban Fantasy, because while yes, there are zombies and a serial killer, both things that could very easily, and maybe even typically, go the way of horror, the tone of this remains light hearted thanks to the wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor of the protagonist. This is not a scary or even a creepy book. Other than the technacalitities of Yes, there are zombies, and Yes, there is a serial killer, this book in no way reads like horror.

Angel Crawford is not exactly a shining star in life. She dropped out of high school, can’t hold a job, she drinks too much, pops pills, she lives with her alcoholic, abusive father. Really, she just can’t seem to get her act together.

And then she wakes up in the hospital. She’s been told she overdosed, but she remembers being in horrific car accident. Only, she can’t find any traces of the injuries she incurred. When she is ready to be discharged, she gets a note saying a job is waiting for her at a local morgue. Umm…. OK. Well, as I said, she has problems keeping a job, so hey! Perfect opportunity 🙂

It’s no secret to the reader what has happened to her, if you’re not sure, why don’t you read the title of the book again and hazard a guess. Some mysterious person is looking out for her, know what she is even though Angel herself has no idea. She is even supplied with special shakes to drink to help her feel better. (Does this say something about the state of Angel’s life, that she just willingly chugs down some mysterious concoction left by an anonymous stranger??  OK, she may have had some reservations at first, but still. )

One of the things I loved about this book is seeing Angel, who post her “normal life” really starts to live and get her life in order. Becoming a zombie and now truly reliant on a substance (brains) to sustain herself, she is able to conquer her old vices. She is finally able to overcome her addictions. And her job? Since the job in the morgue is quite uniquely fitted to her current state, it becomes a bit more important. And honestly, she just starts to take a real interest in things.

On her pickups, she becomes aware there is an apparent serial killer on the loose, leaving a string of bodies without the precious brains she is craving. Angel keeps this book full of decapitated victims and brain cravings fun and light because of her wonderful and humorous perspective.

The narration of this was really good. Accents are something that can be overdone, but McLemore did a wonderful job making Angel (with her southern accent) come alive, giving the words Rowland wrote a life, without being over the top. The accent did work for me, especially the more I listened, but if souther accents annoy you, you might want to listen to the sample first. Angel makes this book so much fun, so having the narrator nail the performance, really just makes that much better

This audiobook was just an incredibly fun listen, I actually couldn’t stop listening to it, finishing it in just one day. I definitely plan to continue with the series.

I have challenged and committed myself to reading at least one book from my backlist every month and posting the review on the last Friday of the month. I invite anyone interested to join me and link up their own Backlist Burndown reviews. I will offer the link at the bottom of my monthly Backlist Burndown reviews, and also will keep a running record of the reviews on my Dracarys! Backlist Burndown page available from my top menu.