ZOMBIE TOWN is a fun story that typical of RL Stine's books. There's some excitement and then near the end there's a twist, followed by yet another twist. Not excellent by Adult standards but great kid fair.

I looked for any sort of reading information and didn't find any Lexile or Accelerated numbers. But the book is 74 pages long and if I were to chance a guess I'd say it was at the 4th grade reading level.

The story is about two friends who go to the movies. Although he isn't all that enthusiastic, Karen talks Mike into seeing a Zombie horror flick. They only get to watch a bit before the film breaks, and then things take a real bad turn. Because you see, 'real life' begins to look way too much like the movie and the kids find they are locked in the theater with drooling, stinking zombies.

How will they escape? Will they escape?

Stine's talent is that he writes very well for this audience. He knows exactly how far to go to give his books some excitement without going over the top. In this book Zombies stink and their eyes and hair fall out, but there isn't any violence --if you know what I mean.

I think the age range for this book is very wide. Some 3rd Graders are going to eat this up. Some Tweens and even a few 13 and 14 year olds are going to like it as well. But it's all going to depend on their sophistication and imaginations. My boy (a newly minted 11) thought it was creepy. I don't think he would have read it even a year go. But that's just him. I think most Tweens wouldn't have a problem with it.

Good scary stuff. If you have a child that likes horror stories (or who you think might like them) this is a great series to introduce them to. Stine has lots of books to keep them turning pages.

Pam T~ ( )