My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, 1)

by David Lubar

Book Overview

Ten-year-old Nathan Abercrombie is having a really bad day. First, Shawna Lanchester, the prettiest girl in his class, doesn't invite him to her party. Then he gets picked last in gym class. Things... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076531634X
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Starscape
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.4" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

FUNNY!

I seriously LOVE this book. Fast and funny, it's an awesome middle grade read. DEAD GUY SPY here I come!

love it

this is 1 of the best i read in my 12 years of life lol!

Reluctant Reader? Read My Rotten Life!

If you like books that make you laugh out loud AND feel empathy for what the main character is going through, then look no further than My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie. Kids will identify with Nathan's plight from the first page until the last, as they devour the book to see what happens next. Nathan is a fifth-grader who is having a bad day. Actually, it starts out as a bad day and only gets worse. First, the girl of his dreams--Shawna Lanchester--humiliates him in front of the entire cafeteria by publicly announcing that she's not inviting him to her annual Halloween party. Later on in gym class, he is the last person to be picked for a team. To add insult to injury, he comes in dead last in the mile run. Finally, he publicly humiliates himself at a video game so that all the kids start calling him a "vidiot." All of these things sound about as bad as it can get for a ten-year-old who is more than aware of where he falls in the social hierarchy of fifth grade. After school, a new girl in town-Abigail-tells him that her uncle (a mad scientist) is working on a cure to get rid of bad feelings. She thinks that after Nathan's rotten day he would be the perfect subject. So off they go to the lab, only to have the serum mistakenly spilled all over him. And wouldn't you know it, Nathan begins to turn into a zombie. The book continues with some amusing stories of what happens while one is slowly turning into a half-dead zombie. And quite honestly, life is somewhat better for Nathan. He can't feel pain, so he excels at sports because his asthma doesn't kick in. He doesn't need sleep, so he stays up all night secretly playing video games (and gets good at them). Nonetheless, he knows he doesn't want to live his life as a zombie, so he and his friends, Abigail and Mookie, go in search for a cure. Along the way, you are drawn into the life of fifth-graders, complete with the popular group, the skaters, the nerds and the jocks. Kids will identify (and laugh) as these hierarchies are exposed and poked fun of. The true meaning of friendship is also explored in a totally convincing, yet fun, fifth-grade way. Finally, Nathan's home life is portrayed realistically: Mom is loving, if not a little neurotic, and video games are not allowed: "Mom thought games were too violent. Dad thought they were a bad investment." My Rotten Life is written in a lively, very readable style. From the first sentence to the last, readers will be drawn in. Here's the first paragraph: "It's no fun having your heart ripped from your body, slammed to the floor, and stomped into a puddle of quivering red mush. It's even less fun when it happens three times in one afternoon." If you have a child for whom reading is not their first choice for an activity, try My Rotten Life. The slightly gross humor and easy-to-read text are sure to reel them in. On the other hand, if you have a child who loves to read, they'll probably read My Rotten Life in an afternoon (laugh

Nice Choice for Advancing Readers

After idolizing one of his classmates for years, Nathan Abercrombie experiences the pain of a love scorned after she treats him cruelly in front of many. Hoping to "stop feeling" he agrees to let a friend's uncle try a new potion on him. Things go horribly awry and Nathan starts turning into a zombie. On the one hand, Nathan certainly doesn't feel anything. However, he also can't eat, can't sleep and his body is falling apart. Is there a cure? MY ROTTEN LIFE is packed with humor and situations most children will understand. Bullying, the horrors of gym class and tedious school days all have their place in this book. I snickered some while reading the book in one sitting. Light and enjoyable, it's a great choice for the advancing reader.

Great Light Summer Read for Kids!

Some days just stink. Nathan Abercrombie is having the worst day of his life. To say that it was horrible would be an understatement. First off, he's diss'd by the prettiest girl in school-- the one he just happens to have a huge crush on. Then he's chosen last during gym. And then... and then, in a foolish effort to ease the heartache of being stuck forever at the losers' table, he gets talked into visiting a mad scientist, where he accidentally gets doused with an experimental fluid that leaves him dying, one inch at a time. I won't disclose the rest of the plot (nor the twist at the end), but suffice it to say that Nathan and Abigail (the mad scientist's neice) and Nathan's best friend Mookie, end up on a hunt for a cure for Nathan's zombie-like condition. A hunt that teaches them quite a few life lessons. Wrap-Up::: If you've got a kid who has a funny bone and who likes a little gross humor, point them at My Rotten Life. It's a light-hearted book that they should amuse most kids (and mom's like me!). David Lubar's jazzy writing keeps the story moving along. And I swear he had me chuckling outloud on just about every page. Funny and insightful, Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie ought make a good Read-aloud. Now that I've finished the book, I plan on sharing it with my 7- and 9- year-olds. No foul language. No unseemliness, unless you count a little rotting flesh. Pam mom and Reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews