This Dark Earth

Gus Ingersol is 14 and heir apparent to Bridge City, a fortified town in the middle of a zombie epidemic. His mother, Lucy, is a doctor and ruthless visionary who used her valuable medical training as a rallying point to form an organized community of survivors. Unfortunately, while her goals are noble, democracy is not one of them, so Gus is expected to prove his fighting worth and join the ruling council sooner rather than later. Less nihilistic than most authors of zombie fare, Jacobs (Southern Gods) is surprisingly uncritical of putting an untried boy in charge of a dangerous mission—not to mention the ease with which nepotism becomes monarchy. The real enemies of Bridge City are not the zombies, but rather the opportunistic cruelty and selfishness that spring up in their wake. This smart addition to the zombie genre is heroic and strangely hopeful, championing the unyielding human drive for justice and civilization. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency. (July)