Rot & Ruin: 01

"This is a romping, stomping adventure. And while most zombie novels are all about the brains, this one has a heart as well. With the dead prowling all around, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura learns the bittersweet lessons of life, love, and family in the great Rot & Ruin. Anyone with a pulse will enjoy this novel, and anyone with a brain will find plenty of food for thought inside."--Michael Northrop, author of "Gentlemen"

"Thrilling, enticing, and surprisingly touching, "Rot & Ruin" will grip readers from beginning to end, and make them question who the real monsters are. It had me hooked from page one."--Heather Brewer, author of "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" series

"George Romero meets "The Catcher in the Rye" in this poignant and moving coming of age novel set during zombie times. I welled up at the end, then smiled through my tears when I realized there was going to be a sequel. Bravo, Jonathan Maberry. Can't wait to read more." --Nancy Holder, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Wicked" and "Possessions"

* "The delineation between man and monster, survivor and victim is fiercely debated in Maberry's thoughtful, postapocalyptic coming-of-age tale...In turns mythic and down-to-earth, this intense novel combines adventure and philosophy to tell a truly memorable zombie story, one that forces readers to consider them not just as flesh-eating monsters or things to be splattered, but as people."--"Publishers Weekly, "starred review

"This is no ordinary zombie novel. Maberry has given it a soul in the form of two brothers who captured my heart from the first page and refused to let go."--Maria V. Snyder, "New York Times "bestselling author of "Poison Study"

"An impressive mix of meaning and mayhem."--"Booklist"

"Horror fans will appreciate the gorge-raising descriptions of the shambling zombies...while zombie-apocalypse aficionados will cotton to the solid world-building and refreshingly old-school undead. --"Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"

"An action-packed, thought-provoking look at life--and death--as readers determine the true enemy."--"Kirkus Reviews"

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.