Reading Corner | Young adults find new take on zombies in ‘Notes From the End of the World’

Zombies have become a part of pop culture, despite some people finding the idea distasteful, awful and downright scary. This type of apocalypse has also pervaded the fiction of young adults, with one of the more recent entries coming from a local author. In “Notes From the End of the World,” Donna Burgess brings another version of a zombie apocalypse.

The main narrator of the novel is Cindy, a sophomore in high school, who would probably say her greatest talent is running, either on the soccer field or on the track. Her endurance and strong legs contribute to her survival as the N-Virus spreads throughout the world. However, unlike many (if not most) zombie stories, in Cindy’s world, the virus spreads slowly. There is no sudden catalyst that eradicates a great percent of the world’s population in hours. The destruction of society happens over the course of a few months, with young Cindy there to witness it all.

Given a chapter every once in a while is Nick, who has always had a close relationship with Cindy’s family, since he dated Cindy’s older sister, Audrey. This duo plays a large part in Cindy’s story, the importance of the two gradually switching as major events in the book unfold.

The readers are allowed a peek into Audrey’s mind a few times as well, all through screenshots of her blog posts. The screenshots, newspaper clippings and notes all give the impression of this really being the notebook of a teenager. Unfortunately, in the print version of this novel, the pictures come out very blurred and are difficult to read. It’s very much a shame, since each bit has something to add to the story.

There are also grammar mistakes, generally few and far between, plus the odd missing or incorrect word. Though odd, the errors do not subtract too much from the story.

Because Burgess’ version of the zombie apocalypse is a slow burn, as it were, there is a lot of time spent observing the gradual transformations in Cindy’s small town. For a long time, she and everyone around her continue trying to keep life normal. But the changes come, slowly at first, then with exceeding alarm and eventual devastation.

Burgess has brought to life a world where a slow but deadly virus gives society a chance to respond instead of react, a world where it seems like most people try to adjust instead of fight back. This unique take on zombies really made the novel easy to read, because even if the end of the world happens over the course of months instead of minutes, Burgess still made it powerful and eerily realistic. The book could have been 200 extra pages, all within those same months Cindy covers, and it’s hard to imagine anyone would complain.

Emily Smith, For The Sun News

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Reading Corner | Young adults find new take on zombies in ‘Notes From the End of the World’."