Zombie Train

by David Macinnis Gill

Overview

The Zombie Chasers meets The Goonies in David Macinnis Gill’s middle grade debut about a group of tweens who ride out the zombie apocalypse on a cobbled-together train. Fans of Ty Drago’s The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses and Max Brallier’s The Last Kids on Earth will lose themselves in this page-turning, spine-chilling, and sometimes hilarious survival story.

Wyatt has been riding out the zombie apocalypse on his crew’s cobbled-together train for what feels like forever. It’s a hopeless journey, the train running a loop that covers thousands of miles across the western U.S. But when a mysterious girl arrives with stories of a so-called Nirvana and a potential cure for the zombie parasite, Wyatt must decide between searching for the cure and protecting those entrusted in his care.

David Macinnis Gill’s Zombie Train is a compelling survival story full of action, suspense, and plenty of zombies. Filled with both harrowing and humorous moments, Zombie Train follows an eccentric cast of characters as they contend with a changing world and shifting loyalties and friendships, and as they fight to remain in control—of their lives and of the future. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063116528
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

David Macinnis Gill is the award-winning author of Soul Enchilada, Black Hole Sun, Invisible Sun, Shadow on the Sun, Rising Sun, Uncanny, and Zombie Train. His books have been named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Kirkus Best Book, a Bank Street College Best Books of the Year, and an NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age as well as nominated for a variety of state and regional lists and awards. His short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee and was the president of ALAN (the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in writing for children and young adults program. David Macinnis Gill lives in North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

Appropriately disgusting descriptions and puns establish the dark humor that pervades the work, and natural-sounding tween dialogue and a fully developed dystopian world are strengths.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The tale has a surreal quality, but along with vividly drawn characters (some in advanced stages of decomposition) Gill offers zombie fans no few scary, macabre encounters. . . . A wild ride.” — Booklist

“Readers will be swept along at a rapid pace through terrifying close calls, gallows humor, and apocalypse-defying moments of true community. Zombie books for a younger crowd are scarce, particularly ones with stakes as high as these and with an overall serious tone, and this. . . is sure to attract attention.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

2024-02-17
Kids survive the zombie apocalypse on a train to nowhere.

Nearly a year ago, a parasite turned all the grown-ups into zombies. Twelve-year-old brakeman Wyatt is leading his riders on an endless loop “from Colorado to Wyoming to Utah and back,” hoping that they can find a cure. In the caboose, the nurse experiments on patients with a blood serum, but the passengers struggle with the knowledge of how they’ll inevitably end up: 14 is the age when people become susceptible to the parasite’s effects. Wyatt and the crew hope to find Nirvana, a military medical facility that may hold the cure. Along the way, Wyatt grows closer to Ryle, a girl who's survived the harsh conditions of the wasteland. Meanwhile, mutiny threatens the train as narcissistic crew member Diesel uses others to try to seize power after Wyatt is made conductor. Diesel isn’t the only threat, however, with feral children planning coordinated attacks on the train. The characters are diverse in physical appearance, background, personalities, and skills. Appropriately disgusting descriptions and puns establish the dark humor that pervades the work, and natural-sounding tween dialogue and a fully developed dystopian world are strengths. The novel feels overly long, however, and the action sequences become repetitive; the storyline surrounding the search for the cure moves very slowly. The abrupt ending may point to a sequel.

Jam-packed and unevenly paced. (Adventure. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews