Revenge of ZomBert (The ZomBert Chronicles #3) by Kara LaReau, Ryan Andrews
Published by Candlewick Press on July 1, 2022
ISBN: 1536201081
Pages: 144
Genres: Animals, Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

This is the third installment of the Zombert trilogy but it also might be an updated retelling of Larry Cohen’s 1985 horror classic The Stuff. Revenge of Zombert starts in the midst of a zombified community; a result of eating a mind-possessing ingredient called Yummconium created by evil food empire Yummco. Zombert, or just Bert, is a cat who has escaped from the Yummco lab and has befriended the book’s protagonist, Mellie. The tests run on Bert allow him to telepathically communicate with Mellie and they work together to save their town.

The book is not a smooth read. The point of view changes occasionally in a clunky way. Bert has his own internal battle happening with his brother, who is named Brother, which feels separate from the rest of the story and takes up a lot of space in such a short book. It’s illustrated, which will appeal to younger readers.

If you have the other two books in the series you might add this for closure. I’m not sure who I would recommend this to, other than people who have read the other two, or fans of The Stuff who wish the movie had a  tormented cat protagonist.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath