I'm not sure what first drew me to this book, but I'm glad it caught my eye.

Martin lost his dad years ago. Since then, he has spent much of his time looking after the chickens while his mum hides away with her grief, and his sister spends all her time with her boyfriend. When his neighbour's dog kills one of the chickens, it marks the beginning of an unlikely friendship.
Vusi has cancer, and a dream to make a zombie movie, for which he enlists Martin's help.
This was a quirky and light hearted read for the most part, with a remarkably moving conclusion.

I'd love to read more by this author, here's hoping more will be translated into English from the Afrikaans.

Fast-paced and exciting, A Good Night for Shooting Zombies was a delightful read that didn't shy away from hard-hitting themes but dealt with them in a sweet way.

Full disclosure, I like Zombies, I enjoy reading stories about them and when I saw the title of this book I just grabbed it. The only problem... its not really about zombies, and the shooting is done with a camera.
The book is an excellent tale of the impact of death, friendship and loss, loneliness and grief. All told with a light, quick touch, in a story that doesn't dwell but just moves along, showing just how we need to confront these issues with young people.
If aimed at an older audience it would require more depth, character development, exploration of the psychological experience and process, however, it is aimed at children from 9 to 13, it doesn't need those things, they would just lose the audience.
My students are, unfortunately, too old, for a younger audience though this is an excellent book.

This one reminded me a lot of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime": the protagonist has the same love of maths, is struggling to deal with the absence of a parent and ultimately ends up solving a mystery. I love the plot, the right mix of everyday life and the various shenanigans of the children trying to shoot their zombie movie. A quirky and engaging cast of characters just round the whole thing off nicely and it's the perfect quick read if you want a bittersweet heartwarming story.

This lovely middle-grade adventure novel was translated from Afrikaans to English and is shortlisted for the Found in Translation award. Since publication, it has also been made into a popular film in Afrikaans.

Martin and his mom live alone after the death of his father. They own a small plot of land, tend to their chickens and sell the eggs locally for income. Martin had to do some growing up in the last two years since his mom is not leaving the house and is still devastated over their loss. She keeps her bedroom and all his father's things locked up, watches movies late into the night and sleeps on the couch. She used to go to work, but not anymore.

Martin is a liked boy in the community. His egg delivery runs are welcome by so many and he saves every bit of coin he receives. In school, he is an average student but excels in math. It was his father that had a brain for numbers, and Martin is following step. Everything in Martin's life is analyzed mathematically. He loves to calculate with exponents and determines different number-combinations to be a certain way.

One afternoon, one of his beloved chickens, Kathleen, is attacked by a neighbor’s dog. Martin goes to investigate and meets the family that owns the dog. This is where he meets Vusi, a homeschooled boy with cancer. The two of them hit it off immediately. Vusi is a strong & bright kid with a love for movies. His doctors have given him a survival rate of 40/60 %. His current treatments are going well and Martin and Vusi decide to make a movie with zombies. Soon, Vusi’s bedroom becomes too small for their action and they begin sneaking out the window many afternoons to shoot their movie at a barn. What they don’t know is, that this barn is simultaneously used as a storehouse by a local criminal group storing their spoils. And, as fate has it, they get tangled up in a much larger and more dangerous plot then they had anticipated!

***

Firstly, I loved the flair of this translated book. It reminds me of my own childhood when kids still played outside and used any and all resources to feed the imagination and play. Secondly, Martin’s and Vusi’s friendship is true and without spoil. I loved this camaraderie and the authenticity of their burdens and their amazing spirits. Therefore, I found this book very lovely and pulling on my heartstrings. Not everything in this book commences to a happy ending, but the message is one of selflessness. Without it being too heavy or dramatic, the author did an amazing job to balance out the heavy subject content with the joy of life and friendship.

I would love for kids here to read this middle-grade book. My only fear is, that many are already too desensitized to the material. Nevertheless, if you are in search of a book with great morals, this would be one to try.

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies drew me in straight away with the cover which is really cute and fun. The actual story wasn't quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy it overall. It is a cute contemporary novel, aimed at the 9-12yr old / middle grade bracket, and short enough that I finished it in two fairly short sessions. It's definitely one that I'll be offering up to my children to read as I think that they would enjoy it too.

The protagonist, 'Clucky', was a fun narrator and I enjoyed reading about how he saw life; his eventual friendships with Vusi and Chris, their movie making and what I saw as the actual end plot to the story which I didn't see coming.

Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.

This book went off on a tangent too much. I never knew whether i was coming or going. So disappointing. Unfortunately this was a big did not finish for me.

A perfectly quick MG read. It's plot is on point and I'd love to read more. This will be the perfect read for those who are new to reading or claim they 'don't like reading'. The themes and characters are engaging and emotion filled.

Thank you for the free ARC. It's quite an interesting story but at some point I got lost at what is going on .However, it's still an enjoyable read. Thanks again!

Great little children’s book. Deals with some big issues with a featherlight touch, sets a cracking pace and has endearing quirky characters. As a Maths teacher, I particularly enjoyed Clucky’s mild number obsession and this is a book that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to some of the children that I teach.

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies by Jaco Jacobs is marketed as a children's book aimed at those roughly around 9-12. I thought it was a really good book but it was not my fault.

This is a short novel aimed for children ages 9-12 that they will enjoy, especially if they like stories with zombies. (Though these zombies are not real.) This story was just recently translated into English from Afrikaans and there is also a movie I would like to see.

The story takes place in South Africa and features Martin (aka Clucky) who lost his dad a couple of years ago and since then, his mother has not left the house. Martin reminded me of Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: they both have a love for numbers. There is an incident in A Good Night that deals with a chicken and through this moment Clucky meets Vusi and they become friends. Vusi is determined to make a zombie movie which the boys work secretly at along with a girl, Chris. They have many adventures and make mistakes as they film their movie.

This is a story that deals with tough topics very well: death, grief, and cancer. These issues are handled well where children will not be overcome with emotion, but understand these realities in life. I enjoyed this short novel. I wanted the kids to succeed with their movie and became attached to all our main characters: Clucky, Vusi, and Chris. I liked how everything came together at the end of the novel.

This is a well done novel and I would recommend it. There are also illustrations throughout the novel that help enhance the story. I wish I could have seen the illustrations in color, but my kindle is a paperwhite.

Thank you to Oneworld Publications for granting me a copy via NetGalley.

Martin is frustrated. Now that his father died in a car accident, no one will talk about it. The remaining family acts as if it hasn’t happened. He oftens end up going to visit his chickens and talks to them. He sells the eggs which has Given him the nickname Clucky. One day he meets Vusi, his next door neighbor who dreams of making a movie. Martin finds out that he really wants to make a zombi movie. However Vusi is in bed most of the time or not allowed to go outdoors. Why? Martin and Vusi figure out a way to sneak out and start filming the movie. All goes well until Vusi’s camera is stolen. Will Vusi get to make his movie or not?

The writing is well done. The novel is a story that has unexpected twists and turns. It’s a story that kept me involved as I wonder why the movie was so important to Vusi. Martin being bullied was also part of this story. He amazed me with his response to his experience with the bullies. This is a novel that includes many themes. I won’t say what as I think it would tell you too much about this great read!

I was initially drawn in by this title, as I am assuming many were. Then second the title, and lastly, a very promising synopsis. This novel is a very sweet, coming of ageish read for middle grade readers, but I think contains some lessons that can be useful for adults to remember too. There are tough topics touched on in this book, but they are brought about in a very easy to understand way, not losing sight of who the target audience is. I wish the book was a little longer, but it is meant to be a middle school grade read. I could see a teacher really enjoying this and assigning it to their class. It is great for discussion and come on, who isn't interested in zombies nowadays? This book packs a hefty punch in a short amount of pages. I would recommend this to middle schoolers and teachers!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. A very sweet natured book aimed at teens and pre teens, it was a nice quick read. Set in South Africa, Clucky befriends his neighbour Vusi who is dying of Hodgkins disease. Vusi has a dream of making a zombie movie and Clucky helps him along the way. It is a book about friendship and doing the right thing. A book about teenage adventure, making memories and ignoring your parents wishes along the way!

I loved the ending when the whole community comes together and I loved the little illustrations as well. There are a lot of good elements in the book that could have been explored further. At only 160 pages, things move quickly and I would have liked more depth, especially the friendship between Clucky and Vusi.

Great little story! Depth and courage along with family and bonds! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Originally written in Afrikaans, Jaco Jacobs middle-grade novel has been translated into English for this new release from OneWorld.

The book follows Martin or Clucky as he prefers to be known who has recently lost his father; since then his mother has stopped leaving the house and he's been left in charge of his father's chickens. When a neighbour's dog kills chicken Kathleen he goes round to confront them about it. There he meets Vusi who spends most of his days at home being treated for cancer. They discover a shared love of zombie films and set.out to make their own much to the discomfort of Vusi's very concerned parents.

This is a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone after a book for any children in their lives, its full of imagination but at the same time it doesn't shy away from difficult topics such as death and disease. The cover is also really well done and the book has illustrations throughout.

3.5 stars

Honeslty, I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. This book warmed every part of my soul but it all broke my heart into a million pieces. What happened wasn't totally unexpected but hope is the biggest deceiver I guess.

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies is all about loss and how strong bonds of friendship can help your soul heal. Clucky and Vusi are the apple of my eye, and I'm so glad I had the chance to read about such soft and heartwarming characters. Their friendship truly left me crying.

One of the only cons is that the pacing felt kind of weird, maybe because of the short length of the book, and also you had to suspend disbelief sometimes but other than that this book is a perfect sweet and short read.

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies is a unique light-read, though it might not be quite what you were expecting from the title. It is actually contemporary fiction, focusing on two boys (one of whom is seriously ill) who bond over filming a zombie movie. However, the story did have a few problems.

My biggest issue with A Good Night for Shooting Zombies was its pacing. The novel is incredibly short, which makes it bite-sized for younger readers, but this really did impact its subject matter for me. The novel contains a lot of important themes, with the most major of these being coping with death, yet it did not have the time to develop them. While it reminded me in some ways of A Monster Calls, as a way of explaining the concept of terminal illness to a young audience, I did not feel as though there was enough focus on Vusi's illness. Other than occasionally looking pale, it does not seem to effect him that much.

The plot concerning the robbers also felt a bit tacked on. This doesn't really add much tension to the story as it's all over a bit too quickly. In fact, it just felt a little out of place. In a story that is otherwise just about friendship (and making a movie), it did not really gain anything from having a subplot about three youths foiling a gang of robbers.

Still, the novel was a least fun. Although brief, I did enjoy the scenes that focused on Martin and Vusi making the movie. It was clearly always a labour of love and carried the deeper metaphor of being Vusi's attempts to confront his fears about his illness and Martin about the loss of his father. However, I did feel that the ending was a bit too abrupt and neat. The epilogue reveals that one major event actually occurs off-page, which came as a bit of a shock. I will not spoil it here but I found it frustrating that this did not actually occur within the story itself.

In terms of character, the two protagonists were strong and did at least feel like thirteen year old boys. The novel did give a good feel of what life was like for them living in a poor area of South Africa, as well as some of the dangers of their area. While the novel was too brief for me to get fully attached to them, they were at least likeable. However, Martin's mode of speech and obsession with numbers did occasionally get a little irritating and did not add all that much to the story.

Anyhow, I think that about covers it. A Good Night for Shooting Zombies was fun for a light read but lacked any real depth. Perhaps if it had been a bit longer it could have carried these themes but it was ultimately a little forgettable.

A bittersweet middle-grade story with several important themes and a wealth of emotions.
Well written and interesting it makes a great read, the only complain is that it's too short.
More depth could have been added as my daughter (9yo) read this in less than an hour and she said she loved it but she wanted more. Something to consider perhaps?

Thank you, NetGalley for this copy.