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A review by bookdragon217
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
"I feel like I've been betraying them every time I'm not miserable. And I know that's not how grief works. One second of being happy doesn't erase all the other moments of mourning. I know that I can't stay sad all day, every day. But I can't help but feel like people are looking at me judging me for not being sad enough. Or for being too sad. I can't figure out what the normal amount is.
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson was a lighthearted read that touched on themes of found family, grief, fatphobia, microagressions, racism and religious discrimination. Mila Flores is a fat, body positive Mexican teenager who loves Doc Martens and practicing wicca with her best friend Riley. When her best friend and the two resident mean girls are found dead under suspicious circumstances, Mila struggles with her grief and won't accept that they committed suicide. Mila casts a spell to bring Riley back to life so she could find out the truth but instead all three girls are resurrected as zombies.
This was a quick, easy read that didn't delve too heavily into harder topics. Mila did experience fatphobia but I like that author made her a very layered character beyond her fatness. Mila didn't shy away from speaking her mind and calling out racism and fatphobia. She didn't shy away from having tough conversations with the mean girls and school counselor. Grief was a main theme in the novel and I think it was explored the best because Mila was constantly contemplating her process and seeing how others were dealing with their grief in different ways. The tone of the writing was optimistic and it never felt didactic. Because there were so many side characters with back stories, I think the story remained focused on the relationship between characters, rather than the overarching big themes. Overall this was a cute and fun read with witchy, girl power vibes.
I read this one for The Diverse Baseline Challenge February Prompt: BIPOC author w/ Fat Main Character. Read this one if you like:
✨️ Girl Power Narratives
✨️ Found Family
✨️ Grief Process
✨️ Zombie Stories
✨️ Witchy vibes & plant magic
#UndeadGirlGang #LilyAnderson #thediversebaseline #tbr #bookstagram #ReadPuertoRican
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson was a lighthearted read that touched on themes of found family, grief, fatphobia, microagressions, racism and religious discrimination. Mila Flores is a fat, body positive Mexican teenager who loves Doc Martens and practicing wicca with her best friend Riley. When her best friend and the two resident mean girls are found dead under suspicious circumstances, Mila struggles with her grief and won't accept that they committed suicide. Mila casts a spell to bring Riley back to life so she could find out the truth but instead all three girls are resurrected as zombies.
This was a quick, easy read that didn't delve too heavily into harder topics. Mila did experience fatphobia but I like that author made her a very layered character beyond her fatness. Mila didn't shy away from speaking her mind and calling out racism and fatphobia. She didn't shy away from having tough conversations with the mean girls and school counselor. Grief was a main theme in the novel and I think it was explored the best because Mila was constantly contemplating her process and seeing how others were dealing with their grief in different ways. The tone of the writing was optimistic and it never felt didactic. Because there were so many side characters with back stories, I think the story remained focused on the relationship between characters, rather than the overarching big themes. Overall this was a cute and fun read with witchy, girl power vibes.
I read this one for The Diverse Baseline Challenge February Prompt: BIPOC author w/ Fat Main Character. Read this one if you like:
✨️ Girl Power Narratives
✨️ Found Family
✨️ Grief Process
✨️ Zombie Stories
✨️ Witchy vibes & plant magic
#UndeadGirlGang #LilyAnderson #thediversebaseline #tbr #bookstagram #ReadPuertoRican