Rot & Ruin

For Ages: 12 and up

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In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

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Book details:

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
464 pages |
ISBN 9781442402324 |
September 2010 |
Grades 7 and up

$17.99 List Price

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Praise

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“Thrilling, enticing, and surprisingly touching, Rot & Ruin will grip readers from beginning to end, and make them question who the real monsters are. It had me hooked from page one.”

– Heather Brewer, author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series

“This is a romping, stomping adventure. And while most zombie novels are all about the brains, this one has a heart as well. With the dead prowling all around, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura learns the bittersweet lessons of life,... ”

– Michael Northrop, author of Gentlemen

“George Romero meets The Catcher in the Rye in this poignant and moving coming of age novel set during zombie times. I welled up at the end, then smiled through my tears when I realized there was going to be a sequel. Bravo,... ”

– Nancy Holder, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked and Possessions

“This is no ordinary zombie novel. Maberry has given it a soul in the form of two brothers who captured my heart from the first page and refused to let go.”

– Maria V. Snyder, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Study

“* The delineation between man and monster, survivor and victim is fiercely debated in Maberry’s thoughtful, postapocalyptic coming-of-age tale...In turns mythic and down-to-earth, this intense novel combines adventure and... ”

– Publishers Weekly, starred review

“An impressive mix of meaning and mayhem.”

– Booklist

“Horror fans will appreciate the gorge-raising descriptions of the shambling zombies...while zombie-apocalypse aficionados will cotton to the solid world-building and refreshingly old-school undead.”

– Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“An action-packed, thought-provoking look at life--and death--as readers determine the true enemy.”

– Kirkus Reviews

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Read an Excerpt

BENNY IMURA COULDN’T HOLD A JOB, SO HE TOOK TO KILLING.

It was the family business. He barely liked his family—and by family he meant his older brother, Tom—and he definitely didn’t like the idea of “business.” Or work. The only part of the deal that sounded like it might be fun was the actual killing.

He’d never done it before. Sure, he’d gone through a hundred simulations in gym class and in the Scouts, but they never let kids do any real killing. Not before they hit fifteen.

“Why not?” he asked his Scoutmaster, a fat guy named Feeney...