Warm Bodies: 2013 Book #5

2 out of 5 stars

Perhaps I shouldn’t have seen the movie before reading the book, but then again, I probably wouldn’t have picked up the book without seeing the movie first. I very, very rarely like film adaptations more than their literary counterparts, but this was one of those cases.

Some notable choices the author made that I thought felt off when contrasted with the movie: Not allowing Julie’s father a chance at redemption, not letting the corpses have a chance at redemption, attempting to make the Boneys more than just husks of zombies who’d given up, all of the scenes with R and Julie in the Stadium.

Where the movie had heart, a bit of fun and plenty of poignant moments, the book felt like quite a few half formed thoughts strung together into a loose narrative. I did like the stronger connection to Perry, and how R seemed to find himself again through the experiences of another. It’s something that was lacking in the movie and felt like a half-formed thought in that adaptation. The characters were likable enough, the plot compelling enough, and the concept interesting enough to keep me entertained for what was ultimately a pretty quick read.