A Good Night for Shooting Zombies

Overview: This was a sweet and moving middle grade novel. My only complaint is that it was a little short to fully elaborate on all of its themes. 

Martin's father died in a car crash two years, four months, and six days ago from the start of our story (if my often faulty calculations are correct). Since the accident, Martin's mother has developed severe agoraphobia and relinquished most parental duties involving leaving the house to Martin's uncle Hendrik. This rarely mentioned incident has also devastated relationships within Martin's family. Our thirteen year old protagonist occupies all his time with maths, which both him and his father shared a love of, until Vusi moves in next door. Vusi is determined to film a zombie movie and with Martin's help sets out to realise his dream. 

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies was a cute book that's sure to be a favourite if you appreciate children's literature that focuses on tough topics. I felt like it handled death in a way that is understandable for young readers but still shows the realities of grief (it should be noted that my experiences with death have been limited). In addition to death, the book also discusses how socioeconomic biases filter into the educational system. I thought the plot was decent and the characters were endearing. 

I only wish the book was longer so we could get a more in depth exploration of these topics and themes. However, I understand this may be slightly unrealistic in a middle grade novel, since a larger book can be intimidating for a younger audience.

I was drawn to the cover firstly and then the plot, the plot was very sweet which made this book a very enjoyable read.

"She said that her husband died ten years ago. That amounts to 3,652 days, if you add two days for leap years. And that amounts to 87,648 hours. How do you survive that many hours when you're as lonely as she is?"



Martin lost his dad when he was eleven years, seven months and six days old. After that, his sister became distant, his mother became an extremely agoraphobic, and all Martin - also known as Clucky - has for company and solidarity is his chickens. That is, until he punches his neighbour in the face who, incidentally, is also dying of cancer. An unlikely friendship forms and Vusi, Clucky's neighbour, ropes Clucky and his friend, Chris, into shooting a zombie film. 

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies has been translated from Afrikaans - and also has a movie adaptation (which I need to see)! - and will be published in English on October 11th 2018.

This book is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - meets the PG rated version of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The narrative is logical, simple, yet sweet. Yet with lots of hard-hitting, relevant topics that plague society today; cancer, losing a parent, different ways of grieving, bullies, et al. My one gripe is that the book is not long enough to properly explore each of these themes, I finished it in around 2/3 hours and it only seems to briefly touch upon all the sadness that expires surrounding these subjects. 

Regardless, I really did enjoy this novella. In such a short space of time (and words) it made me laugh, and cry. And whilst I wished the story was longer, I'm not entirely sure my emotional palette could take much more, never mind a child, so it is probably for the best that it is the length it is. 

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

Kids will love A Good Night for Shooting Zombies. It has a lot to like: zombies (the imaginary kind), friends, a budding romance, humor and genuine emotion. Clucky, a math whiz, is still mourning his father, and raising a flock of chickens and selling their eggs. He meets his new neighbor, Vusi, when Vusi’s dog kills a chicken. After a rocky start, they start making a zombie movie together with help from Chris, a very tough girl. Burglars and cancer provide the darkness but friendship provides the light.

Short story that reminded me of Freak the Mighty. With zombies.

Well, pretend zombies. Clucky (Martin's nickname) sees the world as numbers, and looks after his chickens, selling their eggs, when a neighbour's dog kills one of his birds. With his mum reclusive since the accidental death of his father, he goes round and confronts Vusi, punching him on the nose.

Later making friends, the pair end up making a zombie movie together, and form a close bond.

This is a very short story, but it takes the turns a much longer book might take more time over, but manages to cover the same kind of ground. I enjoyed Clucky, I have a liking for savant-type characters, and unfortunately, he was the best-characterised of the protagonists. 

I did think everything seemed a little brief - the friendship and movie-making, a love-interest, Clucky's mum recluse story and that of his father, the plot involving some nefarious local scoundrels. Nothing was really given much depth, all glossed over.

There are moments of emotion, and a good amount of humour from Clucky's narration. I do wish it had been more fleshed-out though.

The readership, because the story is quite short and slight is a little younger than the subject might otherwise warrant, around ages 10-13.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

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.

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.

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

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.