The Infects by Sean Beaudoin

Nick is going nowhere fast. He works at the Rebozzo chicken plant, the same place that fired his dad years ago (who never managed to find another job). He keeps food on the table for his sister, and somehow manages not to flunk out of high school. He pines for the beautiful Petal, but never quite manages to get up the courage to really talk to her. He seems to get a break when they promote him, but it almost feels like a punishment at times. One day, the stress and exhaustion just get to him, and all hell breaks loose. He cuts himself, chickens are going everywhere...next thing he knows, he's on a bus to some juvvy camp for mini-convicts. No more Nick, now he's Nero.

All the boys on his bus have some handle to go by. He just wants to keep his head down and get through this. It isn't until he sees the girls' bus (with Petal on it) that he starts to hope. Split up again, they counselors pile on one more indignity: they withhold the chicken they promised on the way up. Not all the campers are as compliant as they should be, and the next morning, several are no longer eating chicken. They're eating each other. Both counselors, and anyone who ate the chicken seemingly, have gone totally zombie apocalypse.

The boys decide they need to warn the girls, and make their way to the other camp, suffering casualties along the way. The weirdest part for Nero? No, not the zombies...it's probably the voice that sounds like Dwane "The Rock" Johnson giving him advice (or at least doing a running commentary in his head). He knows he has to get to Petal, and back to his family. Eventually the remaining boys end up in some kind of ski lodge where the remaining girls have already set up fort. Good news: the girls let them in; bad news: Petal's been bitten. She hasn't turned, but they have her tied up in the basement.

Nero isn't sure where to go from here. He's seen enough zombie movies to know that the contaminated chicken must have infected half the town (if not more) by now, and that doesn't bode well for their chances of survival. "The Rock" keeps giving him snarky advice, some of which is annoyingly helpful. Can he somehow get Petal and the rest of the juvenile delinquents to safety? Does that even exist anymore?

I love books that transcend their genre, and have something bigger to say. This is so smart and funny, with actual social commentary on our obsession with fast food, and maybe even our reliance on mass produced goods, but in a way that doesn't sound preachy or condescending. It's thought provoking, action-packed, awkward in the right places, and relatable (if a zombie apocalypse based on infected chicken can be). If this doesn't convince you, at the end of the book, Beaudoin has a zombie nickname list including: "Braindrain," "Them Thangs," "Baked Ziti and Flesh Sauce"...you get the idea. Hilarious.

"ZOMBRULE #2: After a fight, avoid turning away from a fallen zombie to hug your girlfriend with relief. Under no circumstances fail to tag that zombie again, or while you have your PTSD face buried in her shampoo-smelling hair, said zombie will stand up offscreen, give the audience time to scream, and then take a big ol' hunk of rob eye out of your back," (Beaudoin pg. 124, 2012).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Undead by Kristy McKay

Beaudoin, Sean. (2012). The Infects. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press