Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Author Biography:
Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1442402334
Genre: Horror
Reading Level: Grades 7-9
Reader’s Annotation:
Benny Imura lives in the post-zombie apocalypse where nearly the whole of humanity has been wiped out. Now 15, Benny must work to support the town he lives in or have his rations cut. He eventually settles on becoming a zombie hunter with his brother Tom – a modern day samurai – who prefers to be called a “closure specialist.” Benny soon learns that hunting zombies isn’t as simple as it seems, and that many of the heroes of the great Rot and Ruin may be the exact opposite of what they seem.
Plot Summary:
With the fall of humanity at the hands and teeth of the zombies roaming the United States, very few people are still among the living. Those that are live in highly fortified towns and eke out a living as best they can – often relying on obtuse methods of survival such as making “carpet coats” to protect against zombie bites or harvesting fluid from corpses to make the user smell like the dead and therefore less likely to be attacked by the monsters. Benny Imura, whose parents were killed during the apocalypse, is now 15 and must obtain a job according to town rules or have his food supplies cut. He tries a variety of positions, but the work is incredibly exhausting or disgusting. He settles on working with his brother Tom, who travels into the Rot and Ruin outside of town to hunt zombies for clients. Tom refuses to be called a hunter, and instead insists he is a “closure specialist,” an individual who hunts for the client’s zombified family, friends, or loved ones and put a true end to them.
Benny hates his brother Tom, not only because he doesn’t just slaughter every zombie he sees but also because he didn’t save their parents during the fall. He would rather his brother is as strong as many of the local zombie hunting heroes such as Charlie Pink-Eye and The Motor City Hammer – and tells his brother as much. Yet Tom often balks at this statement, warning Benny they may not be the people he thinks they are.
Before long, Benny and Tom travel to the Rot and Ruin where they begin training and running a few odd jobs. Yet it is at this time one of Benny’s friends is kidnapped and taken to Gameland, an arena where the living are forced to battle an ever-growing mob of ravenous zombies, and Benny’s heroes are to blame.
Critical Evaluation:
Maberry’s work is notable for taking the whole zombie apocalypse idea and turning it on its head. Rather than detailing the actual fall of humanity and the heroes and villains that arise from it, Rot and Ruin instead talks about the people who have survived and how they suffer as a result. It also delves into ethical quandaries of destroying every zombie in sight. After all, zombies used to be people too and many of the survivors’ family and friends could be roaming the Rot and Ruin as well. Finally, Maberry considers how humanity could potentially turn the living dead into weapons, or create one of most brutal and inhumane forms of entertainment conceived using them. Rot and Ruin is not simply a hack n’ slash zombie novel – though there is plenty of that – it is also about ethics, friendship, family, and the desire and effort for change in the face of insurmountable odds.
Curriculum Ties:
Challenge Issues:
Defensive Maneuvers:
Book Talk Ideas:
Your mother and father have been devoured by zombies, and you were saved by your brother who couldn't seem to be bothered to save them. Now, you need to work with him to provide for the town as zombie killers. Your brother swears they should be killed humanely because they used to be human once. What do you think? What would you do?
Why This Book?
Paranormal-type books have been popular over the last couple of years, ranging from vampires and werewolves to humans with otherworldly powers and zombies. Rot and Ruin is a fantastic entry to any teen collection as it will not only sate a teen’s hunger for that kind of subject, but also present them with highly fleshed out characters and a deeper discussion on what humanity would face following the zombie apocalypse.
Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1442402334
Genre: Horror
Reading Level: Grades 7-9
Reader’s Annotation:
Benny Imura lives in the post-zombie apocalypse where nearly the whole of humanity has been wiped out. Now 15, Benny must work to support the town he lives in or have his rations cut. He eventually settles on becoming a zombie hunter with his brother Tom – a modern day samurai – who prefers to be called a “closure specialist.” Benny soon learns that hunting zombies isn’t as simple as it seems, and that many of the heroes of the great Rot and Ruin may be the exact opposite of what they seem.
Plot Summary:
With the fall of humanity at the hands and teeth of the zombies roaming the United States, very few people are still among the living. Those that are live in highly fortified towns and eke out a living as best they can – often relying on obtuse methods of survival such as making “carpet coats” to protect against zombie bites or harvesting fluid from corpses to make the user smell like the dead and therefore less likely to be attacked by the monsters. Benny Imura, whose parents were killed during the apocalypse, is now 15 and must obtain a job according to town rules or have his food supplies cut. He tries a variety of positions, but the work is incredibly exhausting or disgusting. He settles on working with his brother Tom, who travels into the Rot and Ruin outside of town to hunt zombies for clients. Tom refuses to be called a hunter, and instead insists he is a “closure specialist,” an individual who hunts for the client’s zombified family, friends, or loved ones and put a true end to them.
Benny hates his brother Tom, not only because he doesn’t just slaughter every zombie he sees but also because he didn’t save their parents during the fall. He would rather his brother is as strong as many of the local zombie hunting heroes such as Charlie Pink-Eye and The Motor City Hammer – and tells his brother as much. Yet Tom often balks at this statement, warning Benny they may not be the people he thinks they are.
Before long, Benny and Tom travel to the Rot and Ruin where they begin training and running a few odd jobs. Yet it is at this time one of Benny’s friends is kidnapped and taken to Gameland, an arena where the living are forced to battle an ever-growing mob of ravenous zombies, and Benny’s heroes are to blame.
Critical Evaluation:
Maberry’s work is notable for taking the whole zombie apocalypse idea and turning it on its head. Rather than detailing the actual fall of humanity and the heroes and villains that arise from it, Rot and Ruin instead talks about the people who have survived and how they suffer as a result. It also delves into ethical quandaries of destroying every zombie in sight. After all, zombies used to be people too and many of the survivors’ family and friends could be roaming the Rot and Ruin as well. Finally, Maberry considers how humanity could potentially turn the living dead into weapons, or create one of most brutal and inhumane forms of entertainment conceived using them. Rot and Ruin is not simply a hack n’ slash zombie novel – though there is plenty of that – it is also about ethics, friendship, family, and the desire and effort for change in the face of insurmountable odds.
Curriculum Ties:
- Ethics
- Disaster preparation
Challenge Issues:
- Violence, torture
Defensive Maneuvers:
- Have the library's collection policy on hand and memorized. Even though you may have it committed to memory, being able to show specific provisions as proof with strengthen your position.
- Be familiar with the book. Having great knowledge of it will prove you understand the content and the way the challenged matters interact with each other. The violence and torture isn't glorified. Instead, its used as a device to show how humanity has devolved further than the zombies.
- Cite any awards the book may have. Though the patron may disagree with the book, showing that it is well known and seen as having great literary merit will strengthen your defense.
- Have a few reviews ready from respected sources such as Amazon or VOYA. At the very least, you can prove you understand the material and reviews will corroborate that.
- Have a strong idea WHY that item is in the library. Explain its merits, who the intended audience is, and so on.
- State your library's commitment to providing intellectual freedom as written in the Library Bill of Rights.
- Stay calm. Getting defensive or hot under the collar will only weaken your position.
- And finally, be open to discussion and LISTEN. Even if you do not agree with the patron, their concerns are still legitimate and you should show that you are engaged with them. Listening to their concerns may be enough to take the edge off.
Book Talk Ideas:
Your mother and father have been devoured by zombies, and you were saved by your brother who couldn't seem to be bothered to save them. Now, you need to work with him to provide for the town as zombie killers. Your brother swears they should be killed humanely because they used to be human once. What do you think? What would you do?
Why This Book?
Paranormal-type books have been popular over the last couple of years, ranging from vampires and werewolves to humans with otherworldly powers and zombies. Rot and Ruin is a fantastic entry to any teen collection as it will not only sate a teen’s hunger for that kind of subject, but also present them with highly fleshed out characters and a deeper discussion on what humanity would face following the zombie apocalypse.