Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don't exactly make the best siblings. Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother's death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers' spatulas. What Wil doesn't tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he's surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant. In her first novel for younger readers, Moskowitz offers a funny and heartfelt look at how one boy deals with change, loss, and the complicated relationship between brothers. Six months ago, 12-year-old Wil lost his older brother, Graham, to a severe respiratory attack. While at his friend Anthony’s house playing “zombie tag”—a pretty cool game Wil and Graham made up that simulates a zombie invasion—Wil discovers a secret artifact hidden by Anthony’s father: a bell that supposedly raised a group of the dead 30 years ago. Wil steals it and gives it a go, and presto: 70 local dead people rise from their graves. Graham is among them, and his family is thrilled to see him. But he’s different now, so emotionless and cold that Wil begins to wonder if he’s made a horrible mistake. Moskowitz’s latest is nearly unclassifiable by genre and that’s much of the charm. Is this contemporary fiction? Fantasy? Horror? What’s more, Moskowitz deftly swerves between comedy, pathos, and even terror, and makes it look so effortless readers won’t think twice about the strangeness of the mix. There are a few plot bumps near the end, but the surprising amount of heart and wistfulness behind this will carry readers through. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus “Funny and thoughtful, this will appeal to fans of Matthew Cody's Powerless.” ― BCCB “…this unique twist on zombie stories will engage readers who are looking for contemporary fiction sprinkled with a dash of the morbid.” ― School Library Journal “Moskowitz deftly swerves between comedy, pathos, and even terror, and makes it look so effortless readers won't think twice about the strangeness of the mix.” ― Booklist Hannah Moskowitz is the author of Invincible and Break , an ALA popular paperback for Young Adults. Of her first middle grade novel, Zombie Tag ,  Booklist has said, "Moskowitz deftly swerves between comedy, pathos, and even terror, and makes it look so effortless readers won't think twice about the strangeness of the mix." Zombie Tag By Hannah Moskowitz Roaring Brook Press Copyright © 2011 Hannah Moskowitz All right reserved. ISBN: 9781596437203 1   I ONLY INVENTED ZOMBIE TAG three weeks ago, and we’ve already lost seven spatulas. For a while, I stole my mom’s, but now she’s completely out so I have to make my friends bring their own. Once our mothers find out where all their spatulas are going, they’re going to be so mad. They’re going to team up and form some kind of army against us, I swear. But we’d be totally prepared. A mom army is nothing when you’re trained to fight zombies. Today is Anthony’s birthday, so we should be sleeping over at his house. But Anthony has an awful house for Zombie Tag. His place is like a museum. There’s all this great stuff, but you can’t touch any of it. And there’s nowhere to sit. My house still feels new and unfriendly, but, tonight, that’s a bonus. It’s fresh territory to explore. But because it’s his birthday, we let Anthony be Zombie God. That means he’s the one who writes the words on the Post-it Notes—BARRICADE, BARRICADE, BARRICADE, BARRICADE, ZOMBIE. It’s pitch-black down here, so he’s using his phone for light. David’s using his to look up zombie fighting strategies, which is so dumb. I’ve read everything there is to read about zombies, and let me tell you, there are no little tricks for how to survive. It takes pure brute force. And courage. And a really good spatula doesn’t hurt. The air-conditioning is on too high because my dad is always hot, and here in the basement it feels like the tundra. We’re all jumping up and down and shivering while Anthony folds and shuffles the Post-it Notes. Eben comes thumping down the stairs. “Dude, shut up,” I say. “My parents are sleeping.” “All the lights are off,” he says. He’s panting from running through the entire house. He volunteered to do this, so he should man up and stop acting like he just ran a marathon or something. Anthony clears his throat dramatically. “Okay,” he says, holding the Post-it Notes above his head. “We will begin. No trading, no showing, no sharing.” He passes them out. We peek at them and stuff the evidence into our pockets. I can’t believe it. I’m Zombie. In our millions of games of Zombie Tag, this is my first time being the Zombie. It’s like it’s my birthday. But no one would know from my face. I am the worl