Read 2: August 19th, 2020
I had a great time rereading Dread Nation. This may be because I was reading this book concurrently with a Sarah J. Maas book but Ireland’s writing is a much smoother read than Maas’. I fell in love with the story of Jane McKeen all over again and had a fun time hunting zombies across the midwest with her. I did notice I was much less invested in the various romances set up in Dead Nation this time around. I was craving a good YA romance last year in a way I’m not now but given how inconsequential romance is to the series it didn’t drastically affect my reading experience

I’d like to add since the first time I picked this book up last August I’ve become aware of the issues with this book regarding the representation of Native Americans. As someone who hasn’t always done their due diligence in seeking out a diverse range of reviewers, I would highly encourage anyone picking up Dread Nation based on my review to read this blog post done by Debbie Reese from the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog to get a fuller understanding of the problematic ways Ireland depicts American history and Indigenous communities. While I’ll always support Black authors writing good stories it’s important to be critical of representation and know that even authors of colour can screw up.

Read 1: July 28th, 2019
3.5 stars

Dead Nation is both an exciting zombie romp and an interesting delve into the race relations of the Postbellum South. If you're looking for a new YA fantasy to binge I'd start with this one.

In this novel we follow Jane, zombie killer extraordinaire as she attends Miss Preston’s School of Combat. The novel explores the racism of the South at the time as well as Jane's relationship to her past and her friends.

Jane was a fun character to be with for this novel. She had a dark past an a tough exterior but she was a fundamentally good person who would go out of her way to help others.

Jane's relationship with her rival, Katherine was especially interesting to see unfold. They go from initial dislike to close friends in a natural way throughout the novel. Seeing them watch out for each other and sacrifice things for each other was especially heartwarming.

I loved the setting of the Postbellum South. I've never really read fiction set during this time so I found all of the antiquity specific to this time especially charming. Seeing how the world coped with the zombie apocalypse and all the zombie-slaying Jane does was especially fun. I loved the action scenes in this book. They were heart pounding and Ireland kept the stakes high throughout the novel.

One of the most interesting aspects explored within this novel was the racism of the time. Ireland focused a lot on colorism and the passing privilege some black folks have and how that affects their relationships. I love books that manage to depict the multifaceted nature of racism in ways I haven't seen before.

Because I'm me, my favourite thing about this book was the hints of romance sprinkled throughout the story. This book is very light on the romance but Ireland presents several potential romantic leads throughout this novel and speculating who will end up with Jane, in the end, was a really fun time.

A had a blast reading Dread Nation. It was the perfect blend of action and characters to make a very satisfying story.