Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

Kate Grable is shocked to find a multitude of unmarked vials in the medicine cabinet in the football coach's office at her high school. As assistant trainer to the football team and an aspiring doctor, she's well aware of the danger of unknown substances, and she knows that something isn't quite right. But before she can report anything, team members are being injected, and the side effects are quite...zombie-like. Not only does this strange illness give everyone infected a taste for brains, but it's also extremely contagious, and as the first person to realize this, Kate takes it upon herself to find a cure—and quick—before it spreads to her friends, her brother, and her crush, quarterback Aaron.

Bad Taste in Boys is a hysterically funny novel with a savvy and kick-butt heroine. Kate Grable is smart, sarcastic, and driven, so she doesn't waste any time in trying to help the infected when the virus breaks loose among the members of the football team. Her eagerness to help out puts her quickly on the mystery of the drug's origin, which leads to some surprising revelations. She's helped out along the way by friends, her crush Aaron, who definitely seems interested in her, and her younger brother Jonah, whom Kate is very close to. Their relationship is funny, exasperating (as brothers are), and even a little sweet as they work together, fighting zombies and keeping the truth from their father. The zombies are depicted as slow (yet no less frightening) and a bit comical, with good amounts of blood, gore, and guts, all of which Kate combats with courage and no small amount of nerdiness. I'm not really sure what I want more...Kate Grable as my personal zombie protector, or my best friend—preferably both

Cover Comments: Though this cover doesn't scream, "Zombies! Gore! Missing appendages!" it really is cool. The sugar lips against the dark background are striking, and I like the pink tones! Very awesome!

Review copy provided by publisher.

And, one of my favorite pictures of Carrie Harris:

Signed and bitten by Carrie Harris.