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Rot & Ruin

by Jonathan Maberry

Maberry, J. (2010). Rot & Ruin (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN-13: 978-1442402324; hardcover; $12.83

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“There are moments that define a person's whole life. Moments in which everything they are and everything they may possibly become balance on a single decision.” (Maberry, 2010, p. 233)

Fifteen-year-old Benny Imura lives in Mountainside, a rundown settlement in the mountains. Outside of the settlement fence stretches dangerous zombie-infested land known as the Rot & Ruin. At his age, Benny must contribute to society by finding himself a job, otherwise his rations will be cut in half. After much resistance, he finds that his only option is to apprentice with his older brother Tom as a zombie hunter (or “closure specialist,” as he calls it). Benny has resented his older brother ever since First Night, when Tom ran away with Benny and left their parents to die. For example, check out Benny’s thoughts on the matter: “He hated Tom for running away. He hated that Tom hadn’t stayed and helped Mom. He hated what their dad had become on that First Night all those years ago. Just as he hated what Dad had turned Mom into” (Maberry, 2011, p. 7). Still, Tom is the most experienced and respected zombie hunter in the settlement, so Benny reluctantly begins his training on how to fight and survive in the rot and ruin. During his first time in zombie-land, Benny realizes that zombies may be bad, but they were also once people, and he starts to view his brother a different light (I will not give away Tom’s approach to dealing with the zombies, I’ll let you figure that out on your own). Benny is also introduced to other prestigious zombie killers as well as a strange legend of the Lost Girl who has survived the rot and ruin for years on her own. The more Benny is exposed to this dangerous world, the more he realizes that zombies are not the only monsters, and to survive, you may find yourself not only fighting against the dead, but also the living.

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry takes places fifteen years after a zombie apocalypse, offering a unique and clever take on books about zombies (which has become a highly saturated subgenre). It has everything, some horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, as well as a great deal of suspense, and of course, humor (always necessary when dealing with flesh-eating monsters), plus, Maberry’s enticing and descriptive style makes it hard to put the book down. Rot & Ruin is ultimately a story about friendship and family, it is a coming-of-age post-apocalyptic tale of characters struggling to survive in a zombie-infested, legend-filled, rotten and ruined world. Equally awesome, this is book one in a four-part series. I give this compelling novel of the living dead (and deadly living, mwahaha) a LIT-rating of five out five and recommend it for ages 12+. (464 pages)

Awards and accolades: ALA Best Books for Young Adults; ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (Top Ten); ALA Quick Picks nominee; Abraham Lincoln Book Award Master (IL); Arkansas Teen Book Award Master list; Bram Stoker Award Finalist; Garden State Teen Book Award nominee (NJ); Gateway Readers Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians); Keystone to Reading Book Award (PA); Nutmeg Children’s Book Award (CT); Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award nominee; South Dakota Young Adult Reading Program; Texas Lone Star Reading List; 2011 Eva Perry Mock Printz medal; 2010 Cybil Award Finalist; 2011 Cybil Award Winner; Won four out of eleven nominations for Melinda Awards (Best Plot, Best Character Development for Benny, Best First Kiss for Benny and Nix, and Best Literary Boyfriend for Tom)

Book Cover Image: Linn, L., & iStockphoto.com/Lucian (2010). Rot & Ruin [Book Cover Image]. Retrieved from https://amzn.to/2SeMY12

The zombie world’s gone to ROT & RUIN...

Simon & Schuster Books (Producer). (2010, October 13). The zombie world’s gone to ROT & Ruin [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Wpm0VGczQCE