Dead City
How did seventh-grader Molly Bigelow become a “superhero zombie terminator”? Blame her deceased mother, who was part of an underground force known as Omega and whose gifts have been passed on to Molly. The Omega mission: “to police and protect the undead.” Decades ago, a Manhattan subway drilling accident created the Unlucky 13s, the original zombies, and they have proliferated ever since, though most aren’t bad sorts—except for the bloodthirsty Level 3s. While senior Omega team members Natalie, Alex, and Grayson teach Molly the ins and outs of undead interaction, a mystery hatches: why is one of the Unlucky 13s after them, and why does he want Molly’s mother’s old copy of Little Women? This is no splatter fest; rather, the mostly bloodless fight scenes take a backseat to a good old-fashioned mystery with loads of clever puzzle breaking (Omegas send secret messages via the letters and numbers of the periodic table). Put this right alongside other wry early teen updates of classic monsters, such as Jason Henderson’s Alex Van Helsing series (vampires), Steve Feasey’s Wereling series (werewolves), and Maureen Johnson’s Shades of London series (ghosts). Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus