Rot & Ruin

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.

"The delineation between man and monster, survivor and victim is fiercely debated in Maberry's (Patient Zero) thoughtful, postapocalyptic coming-of-age tale. In Mountainside, an oasis of civilization in a world ravaged by zombies, residents must find work at age 15 or have their rations halved. With every other option exhausted, Benny Imura reluctantly apprentices with his older brother, Tom, as a zombie killer, despite blaming Tom for their parents' deaths. As Benny accompanies Tom into the hostile wilderness, he learns how wrong he was about many things, from the supposed 'coolness' of larger-than-life bounty hunter Charlie Matthias to the inhuman nature of 'zoms' and the true purpose of Tom's work. The eye-opening experiences continue when Charlie kidnaps Benny's potential girlfriend, Nix, as part of his efforts to track down the fabled Lost Girl, who holds the key to a deadly secret. 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. Ages 12 — up. (Oct.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Acclaimed horror author Maberry ("Patient Zero") makes his young adult debut with this detail-rich depiction of a post-apocalypic world where humanity has fallen, the dead have risen, and danger is always imminent.

A teenager grows up in a post-apocalypic, zombie-infested America in Jonathan Maberry's Rot & Ruin.

Jonathan Maberry is a multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer.  His novels includes Ghost Road Blues (winner of the Stoker Award for Best First Novel in 2006), Dead Man's Song, Bad Moon Rising, and Patient Zero.  Rot & Ruin is his first book for young readers.  His nonfiction works include Vampire Universe, The Cryptopedia (winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction in 2007); and Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (winner of the Heinzman and Black Quill Awards and nominated for a Stoker Award in 2008). His writes The Black Panther comic for Marvel, as well as a variety of projects involving Wolverine, Spider-Man, the Punisher and other heroes, and writes installments for the Marvel Zombies Return limited series along with David Wellington and Seth Grahame-Smith.  He is a member of SFWA, MWA, SCBWI, SFWA and HWA. Jonathan lives in Warrington, PA.  Visit him at jonathanmaberry.com.