“Zombie Girls” is a well-written novel about two girls alone in a world taken over by zombies.  Delilah and Cassie both had somebody to look after them but now they’re both alone.  They team up to survive, watch each other backs, and find some place safe.

The story is told in first person, present tense, by Delilah.  She never says how old she is, but she remembers shopping with her Mom and has only used the “F” word once before so she’s probably in her early teens at the most.  When the story begins she’s terrified and starving.  Celie, the person taking care of her, left to get food days ago but never came back.  Hunger is warring with fear as Delilah tries to decide between starvation and the risk of being eaten while getting food and water at the convenience store down the street. 

She meets Cassie, a younger girl, while trying to get to the store.  They decide to stay together and go to the mall for supplies.  Cassie seems more resilient than Delilah and a bit more cunning.  She seeks out Delilah—blowing Delilah’s cover in the process—and decides they are going to stick together, even if Delilah doesn’t really want to.  She’s got lots of ideas, like how to trick the zombies so they don’t follow her.  She’s still able to run and shout, while Delilah has already learned to move slowly and quietly to avoid attention.

The characters feel like real teens or tweens.  When they hit the convenience store they head straight for the chocolate bars and pop.  Delilah does think to grab a lighter, but not candles, flashlights, bags of food or clean clothes.  The next place they think to go is the mall.  By the time they get to the mall they’re starting to think long-term and become more practical about getting supplies.  They become more creative about how to use the things around them, how to survive the zombies, and even how to fight back.  They’re growing up and taking care of each other.

The writing in the beginning is a bit rough, with a lot of short sentences that start in “I”, but this actually works fairly well to convey Delilah’s fear and confusion.  As the story progresses and the girls start planning and moving, the writing gets smoother and more complex.  The pace is good, with a nice mix of action and dialog.  So far the strong language is minimal and the violence is limited to short scenes.  The encounters with the zombies are a bit tense but are mostly gross.  There’s a lot of body parts and body fluids flying around.

At 8 chapters, “Zombie Girls” is the beginning of an increasingly well-written coming of age novel with zombies.  The two young heroines are developing into solid, interesting characters with hopes for surviving.  If you like teen horror or zombie stories you might want to check it out.

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