Dearly, Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: 10-18-11
In the year 2195 the world has gone back to the the social norms of the Victorian era, and New Victorian teenager Nora Dearly is struggling to adjust to a new life. Her parents are both dead and her aunt is determined for her to marry well. When she is attacked by undead monsters, Nora is rescued by Bram, a kind a gentle soldier who also happens to be dead. Nora soon discovers shocking truths about her father, her mother’s death and what might happen to society if the Laz virus cannot be stopped.
I admit that I have never read a zombie book, and that is what Dearly, Departed is, essentially. Like any other genre, there are many ways to approach it and I thought that this book did a good job of humanizing the undead, for lack of a better term, and not only making them believable, but likable, as well. I also thought the idea that society settled on the Victorian Era after its total destruction gave the story a nice blend of gowns and parasols along with futuristic technology. Almost like future steam-punk.Nora and Bram’s romance is sweet and, obviously, fraught with some pretty big obstacles because of the whole zombie thing. Nora shows a lot of growth throughout the book, and eventually comes to defend the very people she thought were monsters. Bram’s story is a little heartbreaking. He might be dead, but he can still feel the rejection of his family and the loneliness that comes with his condition. The only thing that kept me from really getting into the book was the alternating viewpoints. I usually like this technique, but when more than two people are telling the story, it becomes a little fractured in my mind and I feel that it ruins the flow of the story. However, I enjoyed the action and the plot twists. I am interested to see where the second book takes the story.
I received this book as a galley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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