I Was a Gay Teenage Zombie, by Alison Cybe

Review by Reyfar

Sold here - https://www.amazon.com/I-Was-Gay-Teenage-Zombie-ebook/dp/B07T97YMQW

Front Tagline: Talk about a hickey.

Back Tagline: Boooyyyssss

[Editor's note: Since this is not one of our usual Furry Book Reviewers, we left this unedited. We still wanted to showcase this review (by a furry) of a book (by a furry author) all the same.]

This review is a take on the talented and humorous work of http://www.bloggerbeware.com

Brief Synopsis:

Jay, a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in a town a drive away from Victoria station. Which from what I can gather looking at a map I can only determine is East of London and is probably as specific as saying West of Sydney which could be something like Lidcombe or Richmond. Anyway, Jay has a bad case of Corey Harts only known song I wear my Sunglasses at Night and Daryl Hall & Oates, Maneater. He’s the Z-word, a zombie.

He got bit down under the pier in Florida getting mad pash-rash from this hottie that sounded like he could have appeared in Gone Home, except well Dragonforce hadn’t formed until 1999, so maybe not. Unless he was a time travelling gay zombie, but I don’t think he is.

It’s been a few months since the ‘incident’ and Jay’s finding some normalcy in his new body and routing. Lots of makeup to bring the life back to his pale dead skin and stashes and stashes of meat to quench his HUNGER FOR FLESH! *electric guitar strings* Which is played petty cute and fun. Though in a neat foreshadowing event he eats a live rat which is in comparison, harrowing.

The story is told through his writings in his diary that recently received from his Dad over Christmas as an outlet for his unmentionable secrets, both the gay and the z-word. This is kind of cool as it plays into his family’s financial situation.

I won’t spoil the rest, but we go through the school year. Jay gets a boyfriend, the quiet, sexy hottie who wears a leather jacket, plays basketball in skins and who only recently came to school and now has the lead role at the upcoming school play. Sadly, he doesn’t turn out to be a werewolf, sorry. He might still smell like one if that’s any condolence.

We also have some cool and deep perspective on the relationships of those around Jay, his parents and their struggles in a low, single income with the Father out of a job. His friend CC, their philosophy teachers infidelity divorce and depression, and Mr. and Mrs. Price, theirs was a quiet shock and extremely well done.

But the Twist is:

Wales. We go there, and it has one of those beaches you stand on stare out to sea lamenting your dead husband, except its Jay half dead-undead wondering how he got to Wales.

Apparently, it is proper English humour to speak disparagingly or contempt of it. Also, can I point out the NHS hospital staff not catching on to Jay being dead, or undead. He has no heartbeat, let alone his eyes and skin. How deep does this go?

The Platonic Boy-Girl Relationship:

Jay and CC. In a really good way, like they’ll still be friends even after Uni and when Archer breaks it off because a detachable penis is not his idea of an open relationship, or it could be weed. Like a certain black fox and otter gay furry power couple that are certainly NOT TOGETHER, YOU CAN’T STOP ME I WON’T GO QUIETLY. FIGHT ME YOU FIENDS!

Questionable Parenting:

Jay’s Mom, for not bringing up the conversation, again of the cooler full of raw meat she had found under her son’s bed. Like I understand an even tenser conversation interrupted it but come on. Meat is expensive, my mum would at the very least think it’s been nicked!

Questionable Teaching:

The coach for not noticing Jay snapped off an arm or let alone was cradling it. Yeah shower that dislocated elbow away!

Mid 10’s cultural references:

Jay plays an exciting round of Call-of-Duty. Ghosts came out in 2013, so presumptuously, Jay must have been playing last years COD, Black Ops 2.

Alison Cybe shows they are down with the kids:

Jay knows all about the Alt-Right manipulative Facebook campaigns and rightly calls out his mothers sharing of Britain’s First propaganda.

Memorable Cliff-hanger Chapter Ending:

Chapter April/May. “I’m going to ask Archer if I can bite them him.”

Opens with Jay watching Archer play basketball and decides against it and that it would ruin his basketball career.

Great Prose Alert:

“It turns out that what I thought were plates and dishes hitting against the wall during their arguments weren’t plates or dishes at all! It was her.”

Conclusion:

I read I was a Gay Teen Teenage Zombie in a single sitting (aside from stopping to go to work) which in my opinion is the best praise you can say about a book. It’s great, there’s a lot of things to love and the uniqueness in it’s exposing of uncomfortable topics, like domestic abuse, bad parenting, relationships and straight up racism in a way that doesn’t spotlight or focus sharply, but says ‘hey this is a part of growing up these days and shapes us and we need to acknowledge it and stand up to it too.’

Go buy I was a Gay Teenage Zombie - https://www.amazon.com/I-Was-Gay-Teenage-Zombie-ebook/dp/B07T97YMQW