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Tom Leveen is the author of Party, Zero, and manicpixiedreamgirl. Zero was named to YALSA’s list of Best Fiction for Young Adults. This is his first foray into the horror genre. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sick
by Tom Leveen
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ISBN-13:
9781613125212
- Publisher: ABRAMS
- Publication date: 10/01/2013
- Sold by: Barnes & Noble
- Format: eBook
- Sales rank: 355,387
- File size: 5 MB
- Age Range: 14 Years
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Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They’re the misfits and the troublemakers—the ones who jump their high school’s fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they’re the only ones with a chance of surviving. The virus turns Brian’s classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers who don’t die easily. The whole school goes on lockdown, but Brian and his best friend, Chad, are safe (and stuck) in the theater department—far from Brian’s sister, Kenzie, and his ex-girlfriend with a panic attack problem, Laura. Brian and Chad, along with some of the theater kids Brian had never given the time of day before, decide to find the girls and bring them to the safety of the theater. But it won’t be easy, and it will test everything they thought they knew about themselves and their classmates.
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Publishers Weekly
09/16/2013In an exciting take on the zombie novel, Leveen (manicpixiedreamgirl) shifts to horror while maintaining his trademark complex relationships and character-driven storytelling. High school senior Brian is a smart kid, but generally a delinquent, mostly hanging around with his obnoxious punk buddy Chad and goofing around at school. While in their theater tech class, a mutated friend attacks and kills a number of students, and the survivors barricade themselves in the theater, where they witness former friends and others rampaging and attacking the rest of campus. The core of the story is a standard zombie survival tale with vicious attacks, internal conflicts, and escape attempts, all with the requisite attrition. But Leveen spends enough time developing his cast—including take-charge student Jaime; Brian’s cancer-survivor sister, Kenzie; and his anxiety-prone ex, Laura—and the mutation itself (a virulent form of arthritis) to keep things entertaining even when readers are anticipating certain plot points. There’s enough gore to bother more timid readers (bones are often torn in two), but nothing beyond what’s expected from the genre. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Oct.)
VOYA - Amber Brown
Sick is well written, with great detail, even if it is a little gory. For example, "We watch until we hear the first bone snap. Even from this distance, even over the shouts of the runners, even over the sounds of the cars rushing past . . . we hear it." The plot is easy to follow, and the characters are easy to relate to in their fight for their lives and those of the people around them. The only thing this reader would change is that some of the good people would not die. Reviewer: Amber Brown, Teen ReviewerVOYA - Marla Unruh
Seniors Brian and Chad are skipping class, but getting away from their high school is not easy. The parking lot fence is usually locked, but on this day the gate is open, and they zoom through in Chad's car. While they are at Chad's house, Hollis arrives, bent over in pain and obviously ill. Is it some kind of flu he got from a bite by his little brother? He goes back to school with the others anyway, where they see helicopters overhead. From their classrooms they hear sounds of a fight and frantic running. Soon they see terribly disfigured students chasing others and tearing out chunks of flesh with their teeth. Zombie stories hold little appeal for this writer; however, characterization saves this novel from banality. Chad and Brian are distinctly different and dynamic personalities. Chad is the tough guy with the blue Mohawk who can hardly wait to join the Marines. Brian is the thoughtful and observant narrator of the story with plans to go to college. As they face the very real possibility of their own deaths, Chad realizes he does not want to be a Marine and kill people, and Brian discovers he still loves his former girlfriend and will do what it takes to save her from disaster. The author really nails the "guy" dialogue as well—it is gross, colorful, and at times, downright funny. Older teens will enjoy the suspense and perhaps buy into the premise of the infected zombie. Reviewer: Marla UnruhChildren's Literature - Sandra Eichelberger
Brian and his buddies decide to ditch their high school classes for a while. Little do they know that when they return to class a number of students have turned into zombies, killing and eating anyone they can get their hands on. The boys find an area of the school that seems free of zombies but from their hiding spot they can hear the torturous screams of the victims and the grunts of the attackers. Leveen has created a book that’s high on adrenaline with readers waiting anxiously for the boys to avoid attack, even as the number of zombies increases and the entire city seems to be under siege. Brian is desperate to find his sister and his former girlfriend and keep them safe. Leveen likes to have his male characters take on the typical role of protectors, despite putting themselves at risk. The language is coarse and the action is unrelenting. For fans of zombie fare, this should appeal. Reviewer: Sandra Eichelberger; Ages 14 up.Kirkus Reviews
2013-09-15Zombie virus? Check! Locked high school? Check! Brian is a class-cutting, fence-hopping high school senior whose best friend, Chad, has a blue mohawk. They don't fit in with the drama kids in seventh-period stagecraft class, which they take for the easy A. By the end of the period, a horrible, cannibalism-inducing virus has spread through the student body. The class barely manages to barricade part of the theater building--a setting Leveen uses to good effect. They use Brian's smuggled cellphone to hear scant and ominous information from outside the school's locked gate. Although Brian's carved out temporary safety for their small group, Brian's younger sister and his ex-girlfriend (with whom he might be on the verge of reuniting) are somewhere in the school. The diverse cast negotiates group management, plans rescue missions, and struggles to decide between waiting for a rescue that might not come or braving the killing field to try to climb the fence. Leveen keeps his story straightforward and fast-paced, with no padding but plenty of gore and deadly peril. It's much faster than its zombie-peer novels but (aside from a slight spin on the virus' workings) solidly performs in the genre instead of innovating. Between the pacing and the heroes' salty, blue language (full of lovingly creative, genital-inspired insults), reluctant readers who love zombies will devour it, right up to the abrupt end. (Horror. 14-18)