Series: Dread Nation #1
Source Received from the publisher
Published by HarperCollins on April 3, 2018
Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rating:
Cover image and synopsis from Goodreads:
New York Times bestseller * Six starred reviewsAt once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive, Dread Nation is Justina Ireland's stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiarβa country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet.Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvaniaβderailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, andΒ laws likeΒ the Native and Negro Education Act requireΒ certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.But there are also opportunitiesβand Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do.Β It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane.Β After all, not evenΒ being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern womanΒ could save her from societyβs expectations.But thatβs not a life Jane wants.Β Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesnβt pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies.Β And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
This was one of my most anticipated books of 2018!
Dread Nation was fantastic. As soon as I started reading, I knew I was going to love the book. There is so much to love: Jane and Katherine (their relationship is one of my favourite things about the book); the action scenes; the way the story kept me on my toes. And of course zombies! I love a good zombie story.
And while this book is super fun and entertaining and had me on the edge of my seat, and the characters encounter fictional creatures like zombies, they also encounter racism, white privilege, and misogyny – so while this book presents a world different from our own, it’s also not so different.
I highly recommend Dread Nation. It’s one of my favourite reads of 2018 so far and I am so excited for the sequel. I love Jane McKeene, I love the story, and the ending has me eagerly looking forward to book two!