"I am Dead, but it's not so bad. I've learned to live with it. I'm sorry I can't properly introduce myself, but I don't have a name anymore. Hardly any of us do. We lose them like car keys, forget them like anniversaries. Mine might have started with an "R," but it's all I have now. It's funny because back when I was alive, I was always forgetting other people's names."

Warm Bodies is a book about zombies, just not the most conventional zombie book since seriously, the most common description of a zombie is a shuffling, groaning corpse possibly with its insides halfway out and in constant search of brains. Well, on second thought, the zombies in this book might not differ that much from that description, at first.

This is a story about a zombie yearning for change; trying to live, to question and to love. Fighting against the thick layers of dust among his braincells. It's a zombie story from a zombie's perspective, which is highly unusual, if not one of its kind. Isaac Marion gives us an inside look into the brain of a zombie, without any brain eating involved. Well, of course it does occur, since what's a zombie without brain eating, just not from the reader's perspective. He gives the readers a whole new opinion of zombies, hinting that they may be something more than walking corpses hunting their next meal. With the author's beautifully written language and descriptions it's like a dream to read, even though it's about a nightmare. The post-apocalyptic plot is bubbling throughout the struggles of R's attempts of becoming more alive or at least less Dead and they both touch upon the same questions of what it means to be alive.

There are many layers to this story, which simply adds to the attractiveness of the book without making it confusing, since everything easily flows into each other, weaved together skillfully by the author. Under the zombie element it's really just a love story between a girl and a boy with their own pasts and scars, fighting in their own way to survive in a world that's abandoned them and at the same time struggling to prove their love to the world. The reference to Romeo and Juliet is apparent, though not overwhelming, and it's a new twist of the classic tale. I mean, come on, who wouldn't like a zombie Romeo and Juliet? It's also about human nature, the ugly side of it, and how you cope in a world that's falling apart. 

I gotta say I just love R! You just have to after reading about him. His thoughts about life makes you question your own existence and the difference between his speech and inner monologue is just hilarious, as well as his interactions with other characters such as his BFF M, Perry and his beloved Julie. Since it's from R's perspective, the reader gets to know him best, but I think Julie compliments him nicely. I think it's good that she's no damsel in distress, she's a fighter and can take care of herself, but at the same time she's just a normal girl who longs to have a normal life and she has her weak moments. There are also some weird parts, like the voices of R's victims that speaks of the collapse of the world. But it gives more depth to the story, making it even more fascinating and heart wrenching. 

All in all, it's the perfect recipe for the perfect book:

- Suspense: "Our pursuers’ tyres screech and we hear a rev of engines."

- Humor: "Is that your wife?" Julie asks again, more forcefully. I nod. "Who's that . . . guy she's with?" I shrug. "Is she cheating on you or something?" I shrug. "This doesn't bother you?" I shrug. "Stop shrugging, you asshole! I know you can talk; say something.""

- Horror: "As always I go straight for the good part, the part that makes my head light up like a picture tube. I eat the brain and, for about thirty seconds, I have memories."

- Love: "I pull her to me. I wrap my arms around her and hold tight enough to fuse our genes. We are face to face and I almost kiss her, but instead I take two steps backwards, and we fall through the doorway."

- Action: "I leap out of the shadows and pounce on him, knocking his gun aside and biting down on his throat. His life force rushes into my starved body and brain, soothing the agony of my hideous cravings. I start to tear into him, chewing deltoids and tender abdominals while the blood still pulses through them -but then I stop."

- Tragedy: "With its fingers still embedded oin Grigio's shoulders, it reels backwards and tips off the edge of the roof. Grigio goes with it."

- Supernatural: "We kiss with our eyes open, staring into each other's pupils and the depths inside them. (...) I feel the death in me stirring, the anti-life surging towards her glowing cells to darken them. But as it reaches the threshold, I halt it. I hold it back and hammer it down, and I feel Julie doing the same."

- Drama: "Everything dies eventually. We all know that. People, cities, whole civilizations. Nothing lasts. So if existence was just binary, dead or alive, here or not here, what would be the fucking point in anything?"

And it's a shock to find it in a zombie book. But that makes it all the more interesting. It's an excellent read and I highly recommend it to anyone. I'm positive there will be something somewhere in the book that will appeal to every reader. It's no sugary cute story, but hey, it's a zombie story what did you expect? But it has just the right amount of darkness balanced out by lighter elements. It's a beautiful story. But how can a book about zombies be beautiful, that is the question. Find out by reading it!