Name: Dead City
ISBN: 9781442441286

James Ponti

A tween takes on undead New Yorkers in this paranormal action-adventure that “breathes new life into the zombie genre” (Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games). Most kids have enough to deal with between school, homework, extracurricular activities, and friends, but Molly Bigelow isn’t your typical tween. By day, Molly attends MIST—the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology—but it’s what she’s learning outside of school that sets her apart from her classmates. Molly is a zombie hunter, just like her mother. This, however, is news to Molly. Now she must come to terms with not only the idea that zombies exist, but also that they’re everywhere, and it’s her job to help police them and keep the peace. Sure, she’d like to be a regular kid, but “regular” just isn’t possible when it turns out the most revered (or feared, depending on your perspective) zombie hunter in the history of New York City is your mother. It seems Molly’s got some legendary footsteps to follow…

Dead City

Seventh-grader Molly has always been an outsider, even at New York City's elite Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology, but that changes when she is recruited to join the Omegas, a secret group that polices and protects zombies.

Sarah Sammis

Lauren Love

I had the great honor of reading this book a couple months before it got released and I fell in LOVE with it. James is an amazing writer and I've been following his work since Shelby Woo. 



Dead City takes place in NYC and follows a young girl named Molly. She quickly discovers, upon being stalked, what is really going on below the city streets. With help from some interesting friends Molly really comes into her own and learns a lot, not just about the zo-I mean undead, but about her secret family past! 

I won't say much more in fear of spoiling it! But I must say, as an avid book this is on my top 10 books (and I'm not being bias!) 


But here's a funny little story to go along with my reading experience of this book: 
I read the whole book in one sitting, at midnight, curled up on my sofa. I live in the center of a city which has...well a ridiculous maze like sewer system below it and I live on the third story. Needless to say, there were moments were I really felt like Molly and I kept peeking out my window wondering if some undead were going to pop up, or go down, the sewer system. Of course right as I finish the book, well okay maybe the last two pages, I hear some groaning coming from outside my apartment and then the door swings open. It was only my boyfriend, groaning about how tired he was from work, but for a split second all I could think of was "CRAP, the Zombies have found me!"

Lynn Braden

Molly Bigelow has joined a group called the Omegas whose job it is to protect and police the zombie population that only exists in Manhattan due to the concentration there of schist that gives them their strength. Molly discovers that not only was her mother an Omega, but the girl that she works with at the morgue is one as well. Molly is a natural and finishes her training quickly, but in doing so, she also does not gain the knowledge she needs to become more careful and immediately breaks some of the groups' most sacred rules, but Molly is determined to find out why she and her mother were targeted.

Dead City is a faced paced, action packed story that doesn't let up until the big twist at the very end of the book. There is some character development, however there could have been more, but that is the only complaint I have about this book. It was filled with fun and adventure enough to encourage even the most reluctant middle grade readers. Overall, Dead City is an enjoyable beginning to this unique trilogy.