Wither

We had a great time talking about the odd but wonderful story of Wither. Three brides were randomly drawn from a hat. The party included a bride war with teams competing with their bride to win the title of FIRST WIFE. We tested teams knowlege of wedding etiquette, baby development knowledge and Wither knowledge. All this before teams were to create bride costumes out of white duct tape, a small piece of tulle, two white trash bags and a couple pieces of white paper! The results were amazing! In the end Regan won the title of First Wive and married (right here in our den) a reluctant Andrew Corey! It was awesome!!!

Extreme MUDO book club party & the author I dislike!!!

So, THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES book club party yesterday was a total blast. A horde of zombies came out to party along with a few soulers and their MUDO pet. We also had a few brave uninfected souls come out, but they weren't uninfected for long!!!

We played ZOMBIE JEOPARDY learning that zombies originate from Haiti and that DEADicated zombies swim in the Dead Sea! TEAM "Rotting Death" won with 4,400 points and were awarded with ZOMBIE KNOW-IT-ALL certificates while TEAM "Bob Zombie" lost with a -400 points and were given nothing! We then teamed up to rid the forest of fifty-plus MUDO while receiving points for the "type" of mudo caught and correct answers to questions linked to each mudo. TEAM Carol Anne / Josh and TEAM Regan / Kaylie were awarded ZOMBIE HUNTER certificates for their excellent skills in this game. All the zombies in attendance also had a great meal that included stuffed intestines, scabs, brain, people mush, cherry - pudding - and gummy eyeballs, weinie-bugs, soul-a-bration cake, zombie punch & more that I can't seem to remember right now!

Other prizes awarded include:
BEST ZOMBIE costume... Kaylie
Runner up... Nicholas
BEST ZOMBIE food... Ani
BEST ZOMBIE art... Katharine

Lastly, we read the AWESOME (if I do say so myself) letter that went out two months ago to the author of The Dead-Tossed Waves. I invited her to our little gathering promising to celebrate her and ooohh and aahhh over her books. She lives in Charlotte with her husband, and I thought just maybe she would come. SHE DIDN'T. I did expect a reply to my letter, since her website promises this. I even sent her a self-addressed stamped envelope for promised zombie stuff WHICH I NEVER GOT!!! OH WELL... I guess we don't have to like the author to like the book! I say...

MUDO POOP ON YOU, Carrie Ryan! You missed a great party!

Same Kind of Different As Me

This true story by co-protaganists Ron Hall and Denver Moore is a story of friendship. The unlikely pair, a modern-day slave and an international art deal find a bond that neither would have ever expected. You'll find as I did that "everybody's different--- the same kind of different as me. we're all just regular folks walkin' down the road God done set in front of us." It doesn't matter if we are rich or poor or maybe something in between. This world is not our final resting place. In a way, we are all homeless--- just workin our way toward home. What a wonderful way of looking at life! A GREAT TRUE STORY!

The Dark and Hollow Places

Annah followed her friend Elias as she left her five year old twin sister behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth twelve years ago. Elias left three years ago to fight against the "mudo". Now a Horde of zombies has swarmed the Dark City where she lives, and she finds herself on the run. She's literally and figuratively lost until she meets Catcher. Of course, Catcher has his own secrets. Dark truths that link him to a past Annah would rather forget, and to a future too deadly to consider.

I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK. I like the zombies... a.k.a the unconsecrated, the mudo, the plague rats. They are gruesome and scarry, but at the same time I find myself feeling sorry for them and and people they used to be. I like that although this is a zombie story, and the world is in an awful mess that at the core of it all, people and relationships are what drives the story. AWESOME 3rd book. I thought this was a trilogy, but I think the author could easily write another story.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

This 2nd in the trilogy was EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST!!! I would really call this book a companion book instead of a sequel, because it could be read without reading the first. Anyway, I really LOVED this book.
The main character is Gabry. She is the daughter of the now grown-up Mary, who was the main character in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Gabry thinks she is the opposite of her mother who is strong and brave, but she finds herself braving the Forest of Hands and Teeth none-the-less. She is accompanied by Cassia (her best-friend), Catcher (her best-friend's brother) and a "souler" (a member of a mysterious cult who worship the "mudo" ---a.k.a. zombies) named Elias.
This book is about zombies, yes, but it's about relationships, growing up and acceptance of things out of ones control. I give it 5 BIG stars!!!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Why do zombies appeal to us... to me? Maybe it's the fact that zombies were once people just like you and me. They are monsters, yes, but it's not their fault. They are just unlucky souls who were infected by a terrible disease. Of course, this terrible disease turns them into the flesh-eating undead... the unconsecrated in Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. The zombies in this book are simple creatures who want nothing but to hunt, kill and eat humans. The story follows a young girl named Mary who wants more than to be confined in the village where she was born; the same village that is surrounded by tall fences holding the unconsecrated at bay. She finds herself forever wondering if there is something beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

This story was good because it was more than just a zombie story. It's a story about growing up, decision-making, love and coping. I liked the idea of it. I like the main character. In fact, I'm already into book #2, THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES and loving the turns it takes! Best of all, the author of these wonderful junior books lives right around the corner in Charlotte, North Carolina!!! I wonder if she's ready for a zombie apocalypse? Hmmm...

Beautiful Creatures

Although the idea of this book was original, it was entirely too long and drawn out. I found myself wanting it to be over with, and that's never good! The story is about a strange yet beautiful girl who moves into a haunted house with her reclusive uncle. A popular boy in the very small town of Gatlin is drawn to her and gives up pretty much all his friends (but one) to befriend her. Come to find out, she is the girl of his dreams... literally. They share disturbing dreams and have for years. The can also communicate just by thinking thoughts to each other... hmmm. Anyway, the book spent over 500 pages preparing you for the night the powerful (who knew?) girl would turn 16 and be claimed for either light or dark. SPOILER ALERT... I will save u the trouble by telling you she somehow (who really knows) gets out of the claiming... the bad guys disappear (again, who knows why) and the book ends SPOILER ALERT... with a stupid poem about the girls 17th birthday. So, after reading the whole book that kept going back to a poem about her 16th birthday, I'm guessing the two female authors of this book have set us up for another 500+ pages of "OH NO, I'M GONNA TURN 17 AND BE CLAIMED FOR EVIL... WOE IS ME!"

PS The name of the 2nd is out and called Beautiful Darkness. The series is planned for 5 books total, and there is talk of a movie! Lastly, this book has been compared to TWILIGHT. Maybe I'm just missing something in my reading of it. I might (when I have nothing better to read) pick up book 2 from the library. We'll see.