"Warm Bodies"

If you have seen the movie "Warm Bodies", then you don't really need to read the book. I was surprised by how close the two are. "Warm Bodies", by Isaac Marion, is a most unusual love story. Zombies are usually the monsters in books, not the leading male role. However, Marion takes a normally gross and terrifying character and personalizes him. Now all of a sudden the reader is relating to this zombie and wondering what it would really be like to be in his shoes.

'R' is all that the (the zombie) can remember of his name, so that's what he goes by. He is living in an abandoned airport with a bunch of other zombies, but R is different from the rest because he is not content with being a zombie. On a run into the city to get some food, R sees Julie and he has the sudden urge to protect her instead of eat her. He sneaks her back to his home and tries to keep her like a pet. Being around a human starts to bring out some human qualities in himself that have been suppressed for a long time. Julie is slowly making him human again. The rest of the zombies can see the change and it sparks something in them too. Julie and R break the bounds set by society (what's left of it anyways) and start an uprising while almost getting themselves killed in the process.

Like I said, this book is almost exactly like the movie. The two biggest differences are that the book definitely gives the reader a closer look at R and what is really going through his head, and the book has way more swear words than the movie. If I had to choose, this is one of the rare instances where I would pick the movie over the book. I didn't feel like the language really added anything to the story, so the movie gives you everything that you really need. I LOVE this story though because it is one of the most unusual love stories that I have come across. I love unlikely love stories. If you want to read this love story though, I would suggest renting the movie. :)