Whether you’re sticking with the survivors you still hold dear until the bitter end or you tapped out with the unceremonious departure of the one you held dearest (?Glenn?), we’ve got just the gritty tale of survival for you. Check out these five books that are sure to grip you by the zombie-loving heart:
5 Books to Read If You Love The Walking Dead
1. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Whacking walkers isn’t exactly a matter of survival for Benny Imura. Since his totally boring brother Tom is already in the business, it’s the easiest gig he can snag now that he’s fifteen and has to hustle for his food rations. But what begins as a yawn-worthy way to earn his keep obviously lands him smack dab in the middle of an apocalyptic nightmarescape that will force him to face an all-too-familiar truth: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are human.
2. Broken Lands by Jonathan Maberry
Are you still looking for something to fill the Carl-shaped hole in your heart? Are you a sucker for a good ‘mom rose from the dead and I had no choice but to put her back in the ground’ storyline? Meet Gabriela “Gutsy” Gomez. She really did try to fly under the radar after burying her mom (the first time), but zombie outbreaks always do come knocking in the end. Or, you know, banging down your door completely.
3. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
Not all zombies limp and look as though they’ve just crawled out of the ground. The most frightening ones are the ones who don’t have a scratch on them… days after you watch them die. And zombies aren’t the only strange things that come from the woods in Emily Carroll’s bite-sized and hauntingly beautiful graphic stories. If your love for chill-inducing horrors stretches beyond the flesh-eating variety, Through the Woods is a must. The twisty, lovely spooks will give you goosebumps and the art is – excuse the pun – to die for.
4.The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson
Sometimes there isn’t a whole entire apocalypse when someone comes back from the dead. Sometimes your ex-best friend bites it, suddenly, and then comes back to life… sort of. Dino isn’t totally sure if July is alive, but she definitely isn’t dead anymore. Nothing like a second chance to figure out why your friendship fell apart, right? What could possibly go wrong?
5.Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
If you, like me, discovered while watching TWD that it isn’t the zombies that make you tune in every week but the way people are tested and reshaped when they find themselves in dire straits, boy, do I have a dystopia for you! It doesn’t always take a monster to bring civilized society to its knees. When a drought takes a turn for the absolute worst, leaving California without a drop of water, Alyssa learns just how quickly, suburban street can turn into a warzone. And, when her parents never return from their hunt to find water, just how far she’s willing to go to protect the family she has left.