Dread Nation Book Review

What is it about?

Jane McKeene and many other black and Native American children were sent to boarding schools Like Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore to train to fight the undead and protect the White Americans. In her final year, she and Kathrine – resident know it all of Miss Preston’s – notices very strange things happening, and it seems like the people in power are involved. Maybe Baltimore is not as safe as the mayor says it is.

My Thoughts

• In the author’s note, Justina Ireland tells us that she was inspired by historical events, such as the removal of Native American children by the American government. They were sent to boarding or industrial schools to be “civilized”. She also gives us a list of books so that we can look into the subject ourselves. I for one, will buy some – if not all- of those books.
• The book is very action pact. The book is four hundred and fifty-one pages, but the story moves at such a fast pace that it feels more like a two hundred and odd page book. There may have been some slower parts, but even those kept my interest.
• This book is very addicting. Do NOT read at night if you want to wake up at a decent hour. I could not put it down. I ended up finishing it within two days and luckily had no dreams about shamblers (the book’s term for zombies).
• I liked the budding friendship between Jane and Kathrine. Even though they did not always get along, they do work well together. Their personalities bounce off each other well, and they both have skills that they’ve learned to count on throughout the book.
• The ideas that white people had about black people (in the book) were constant with the ideas that they had about them in that time period.

All in all, I loved and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I’ll have the review for the second book up sometime this week. So, what are you waiting for? Get your hands on this masterpiece and read it!