Book Review: Goop Soup

Goop Soup by David Lubar

"A book worth reading only in childhood is not worth reading even then." C. S. Lewis, Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories p. 38--this quote was at the beginning of this book!

ZPAA rating

8 year olds and up.

Gore level

2 out of 10--The goop in the title shows up pretty early as green slime in the water pipes. Green slime shows up in a bunch of other places, including the climatic action. Nathan removes a limb to help at one point. Less gross than the last one, which was less gross than the first book.

Other offensive content

Lying, speeding, roughing up of a character, using potent body odors for plot devices and other minor misdemeanors.

How much zombie mythology/content

Our hero is still the same old zombie, though the scientists at BUM are acknowledging that there's more to what he is than science can explain.

How much fun

While not as enjoyable as the first two books, this is still a fun, quick read that makes you smile and keeps you interested. The plot takes a little while to get going and the ending is a little too over the top even for the suspension of disbelief you give an accidental zombie.

Synopsis & Review

SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE SECOND BOOK: Nathan has begun working with the Bureau of Useful Misadventures (BUM) to fulfill his dream of being a hero (isn't that what we all dream of?).

Nathan starts training for his first full mission with BUM. His contact, Peter Murphy, attempts to teach him important skills like following without being noticed, picking locks, and playing dead. You would think the last would be natural for Nathan, given his zombified state, but isn't as easy as it seems. Like all heroes in training, he fails early on in the basic tasks.

A much more difficult task he faces is a doctor's appointment where he has to convince the doctor that he's alive. Both the people at BUM and his school friends (Abigail and Mookie) want to help him but with very different approaches.

Meanwhile, the green slime/goop of the title starts showing up in all the faucets and water-based products (the school cafeteria serves the title's Goop Soup). The distressing phenomena eventually tie into Nathan's BUM mission.

As I mentioned above, the book is an enjoyable read. Like the last volume, the story is a little slow at the beginning but starts coming together nicely. The reader doesn't recognize immediately how things will tie together. A lot of the interest is centered around Nathan's relationships to his parents, his contacts at BUM and his school friends. His parents love him but without knowing his condition, they cause problems. After he injures his foot, his mom insists on taking him to the doctor. The people at BUM want to use him as a spy and push hard to get him to do what they want. His school friends want to help him get through on his own terms but don't know best how to do that. A nice relationship develops between a BUM doctor and Abigail, Nathan's nerdy scientist school friend, so the characters aren't as cut and dried (read, "one dimensional") as they are in other popular fiction.

The book includes a chapter from the next book and a reader's guide with study questions and activities.

Sample Text

On the enemy of BUM, starting with their acronym and working it out from there (p. 30):

[Mr. Murphy:]"RABID. Raise Anarchy by Inciting Disorder. They're dedicated to destroying freedom and democracy."
[Nathan]"Why?"
"That's a long, boring, and complicated story, Nathan. To tell the truth, politics often doesn't make much sense. And even when it makes sense, it can be quite depressing. I'll give you the short version. They want absolute power and total control. That can't happen as long as people are free."
I thought about that for a moment. Even though Mr. Murphy felt it was too complicated for me, it sounded sort of familiar. Power and control. Any fifth-grader knew all about that. "So, really, what they are is bullies," I said. Or gym teachers.

Zombie Review: Dead Guy Spy

Dead Guy Spy by David Lubar

See the review of My Rotten Life, the first book in this series, here.

ZPAA rating

8 years old and up

Gore level

2 out of 10--There's hardly any gore in this one: one exploding animal (organic); many exploding animals (mechanical); one massive puking/gas scene that sends characters screaming and/or passing out.

Other offensive content

Bad attitudes among the school children; climbing an electrified fence (which isn't fatal if you're already dead, though it is kinda unpleasant).

How much zombie mythology/content

After his bath in Hurt-Be-Gone formula that renders him insensitive to pain, stress, or any other feelings, Nathan seems to have achieved an equilibrium in his zombie state, though his bones are becoming more brittle. No mindless shambling horror here.

How much fun

This series of junior fiction books is shaping up to be quite the fun read. The story is entertaining. The characters are likable. The situations are interesting and well thought out.

Synopsis & Review

SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK: Our hero Nathan Abercrombie is now set in his path of zombiehood. The hoped for cure had to be given up to save his friend Abigail.

Nathan's come to embrace being a zombie and even begins to plan what he will do with his new found power. Like the child Cole in The Sixth Sense, he plans to use his special powers to help others. At first, Nathan plans to be a superhero but doesn't know how to pull it off. Then he notices that he is being followed by some suspicious looking bushes with human feet. Mechanical animals are also keeping an eye on him. Someone is stalking him in the on-line game he's been playing in his sleepless wee hours of the night.

He's finally approached by an agent of BUM (the Bureau of Useful Misadventures, whose acronym is certainly the butt of many jokes) with a deal: they will help him stay in one piece if he'll help them with some spy work. Being a spy is almost like being a superhero, isn't it? It turns out to be a lot more ambiguous. Is BUM working for or against the government? Are they really helping people or hurting them? Can his friends Abigail and Mookie help him figure out what to do?

This book is an enjoyable read. The school scenes are funny and Nathan's home life is developed more. It's nice to see a dad who isn't an idiot or comic relief, but really concerned about and involved in his son's life, even if he doesn't know about his son's special abilities. The only detractor is that the story takes a while to get to the BUM recruitment. I particularly enjoyed the debate over whether it's okay to be a spy and is this organization really one of the "good guys"?

The book includes a chapter from the next book and a reader's guide with study questions and activities.

Sample Text

We were less than half a block away when the thing inside the car exploded, blowing the doors off the car. A moment later, the car exploded, too. But I'd saved us. I couldn't help imagining the applause of a crowd of spectators. I could almost hear their conversations.
    Who is that amazing zombie hero?
    So dead, and yet so brave.
    I want to be like him when I die.
    "What next?" Mookie asked as we jogged away. "Helicopters? Flying saucers? Guys with jet packs?"
    "I wish I knew."
    Mookie looked back over his shoulder. "I never thought hanging out with a dead guy could get you killed."  (pages 39-40)

Review of My Rotten Life

My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) by David Lubar

"My best friend and I used to have contests where we'd try to gross each other out. We don't bother with that anymore. I can win every time, even when I'm not trying." Nathan Abercrombie, back cover.

ZPAA rating

8 years old and up.

Gore level

2 out of 10--The boy loses a finger but finds it again, reattaches it, and is able to move it when detached; one big barfing scene; passing gas more than once.

Other offensive content

Bullying; belittling; tricks for not eating food; lies between friends.

How much zombie mythology/content

Nathan is a chemically-induced zombie who slowly turns while still alive and he's conscious of the transformation. He quickly discovers that he doesn't need to eat food and that he can lose body parts without even noticing. He can't experience pain but is fully in control of his body, even when a part isn't attached to him.

How much fun

The book is an enjoyable read. Nathan has a comic relief sidekick who has a lot of fifth-grade one liners that may make you smile or may make you groan. I did a bit of both. Also, there are a bunch of in-jokes for horror/suspense fans.

Synopsis & Review

Nathan Abercrombie is a fifth grader who belongs to a special clique: the second besters. See, it's cool to be a jock or a brain at school (at the top of the social pyramid) or the fattest, skinniest, oddest (at the bottom of the social pyramid). What if you don't excel in desirable or undesirable qualities? Then nobody knows who you are.

Which doesn't mean you still can't be crushed by the cruelty of fifth grade life. Nathan has what he thinks is his worst day ever when Shawna, the girl he's had a crush on since third grade, rubs his nose in the fact that he isn't invited to her Halloween party. If that wasn't enough, he then gets picked last at gym class. To heap on the humiliation, he then plays someone else's portable game, Zombie Invasion, and loses immediately resulting in howling laughter from his classmate. After this triple crown of thorns, could things possibly get worse?

Cue the quiet yet nerdy classmate Abigail who might have a solution for his problem. She and her uncle have been working on a secret formula called Hurt-Be-Gone that will (as you might imagine) take the pain away. The problem is, in true horror fashion, he gets a massive overdose that starts slowly turning him into a zombie. Will being a zombie hurt or help Nathan's social standing in school? Will they be able to get the ingredients for a cure before he becomes a complete zombie?

The story plays out in interesting and creative ways. Plot twists are sometimes unsurprising but other times are unexpected. Plenty of in-jokes are found in the book, e.g. the local community college is called Romero Community College, after George A. Romero, director of the classic Night of the Living Dead and many other zombie movies. The book is an enjoyable, quick read with sympathetic and imperfect characters that make the reader want to come back for more. To that end, the first chapter of the second book is included. I just got the second book from the library and can't wait to start.

Also a study guide is included at the end for further thought and discussion about the book.

Sample Text

Narrator Nathan and his pal Mookie escape an aquarium and discuss the future (page 90):

"Thanks," I said when he joined us. "You really saved me. I owe you one."
"Just keep that in mind when you become mindless and get an urge to eat brains."
"I'm not going to eat brains!" I shouted.
"I've got two kidneys," Mookie said. "I guess you could have one of those. But not my liver. I'm pretty sure I only have one. You probably wouldn't want it, anyhow. I'll bet even zombies don't eat liver."