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    Dread Nation
    Dread Nation
    Dread Nation
    Audiobook11 hours

    Dread Nation

    Written by Justina Ireland

    Narrated by Bahni Turpin

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestseller * Six starred reviews

    At once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive, Dread Nation is Justina Ireland's stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiar—a country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet.

    Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.

    In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.

    But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

    But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.

    But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. 

    And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

    ""Abundant action, thoughtful worldbuilding, and a brave, smart, and skillfully drawn cast entertain as Ireland illustrates the ignorance and immorality of racial discrimination and examines the relationship between equality and freedom."" (Publishers Weekly, ""An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List"")

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 3, 2018
    ISBN9780062822956
    Author

    Justina Ireland

    Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation and its sequel, Deathless Divide, as well as Vengeance Bound and Promise of Shadows. She is also one of the creators of the Star Wars High Republic series and is the author of the Star Wars adventures A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster. She lives with her family in Maryland, where she enjoys dark chocolate and dark humor and is not too proud to admit that she’s still afraid of the dark. You can visit her online at justinaireland.com.

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    Reviews for Dread Nation

    4.5/5

    833 ratings64 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I love Zombie books! This book has a new twist. Very creative writer and wonderful narrator. Entertaining from beginning to end.
    • 5/5
      This is a very character-driven zombie novel. Fantastic novel, interesting zombie lore, and a plot that could easily have been plucked from history books. I could not put it down!
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much so, that after I finished the sequel, I started this book again. I really like Jane McKeene and how she views her world. I also enjoyed seeing her relationship develop with Katherine Deveraux.
    • 3/5
      I would give this one a 3.5. Great plot, characters and such but a bit slow moving.
    • 3/5
      I loved the humor throughout this book! I was kept giggling on account of Jane’s narration. I adore her
    • 5/5
      Great story. Lots of suspense, but not too much gore. I like how the main character doesn't let her romantic intrest take advantage of her.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved not only this book but Bahni Turpin is such an astounding narrator. I was sucked in from the beginning to the end!
    • 5/5
      Since its been 2 years since I read the first book, wanted to refresh my memory before I dive into the sequel. And I enjoyed just as much as I did the second time around. Seriously, this book is so underrated. It's like Buffy meets the Walking Dead with a badass black main character
    • 4/5
      Reading stories that are filled with oppression, especially of the racial variety, is always very tough for me. I usually end up getting so very angry at the oppressors that I just can’t finish the book. I knew that going in, Dread Nation was going to be one of those stories that could be hit or miss for me. Turns out it was an absolute hit, but it was in no way an easy read. There is plenty of action, an element of mystery, and humor but what there was an apparent absence of is fairness. Nothing is fair in this story. Do not expect for there to be any sunshine and rainbows or HEA’s. This story is about survival and survival is not always pretty.Jane McKeene, a Negro, was born shortly before the dead rose up to walk the world. She has known nothing beyond what the world became after the zombies destroyed everything. Slavery had been abolished but shortly after Congress had funded the Negro and Native Reeducation Act to have schools started like Miss Preston’s School of Combat for Negro Girls. It was determined that Negros and Native Americans were “resistant” to the bite of shamblers (zombies) and therefore should be taught how to become attendants to protect the white people from falling prey.Jane and her classmates at Miss Preston’s School of Combat for Negro Girls were taught how to kill shamblers in the most efficient manner possible. Jane may have been the top of her class in many ways but she definitely did not fit the mold that the instructors were trying to force her in. She was extremely intelligent and was very aware of societies perceptions of her abilities. Everything changed for Jane when someone she was close to asked for her help in finding a sibling. While trying to discover what may have happened to the missing family Jane stumbled upon a conspiracy that had dire consequences.Jane is truly a unique character in that she is aware of the unfairness equated to her and those of Negro and Native American race but her knowledge does not stop her from rising above it and doing what is right. Not to say that Jane is “good” per se because she was no stranger to letting others take the fall for her actions or bending the rules and laws when it suited her but she does whatever she can to protect those around her whether they deserve it or not. I loved this about her character! She was sweet, saucy, and fierce!The writing was thought provoking, painted a clear picture of the events between characters, and was paced very well. What I wanted more of was world development. I have an understanding of history and can imagine what the country would have looked like but with the story being told from Jane’s perspective it was based upon only what she saw or interacted with. So, in my mind’s eye if I was to imagine what was beyond a wall I was left to my own imagination. That might not matter to some but it matters to me in story that is set in an alternate world. Overall though, Dread Nation is an amazing read, and even better, is part of a series! I am eagerly awaiting the sequel and am dying to see where the story goes!This review is based on a complimentary book I received from Edelweiss+. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.
    • 5/5
      This book is just stunning. I tore through it in half a day, the way a shambler might tear through a living man's throat. Jane is just a stunning protagonist, so smart and competent and with her secrets we visit and revisit over the course of the book. She's amazing. She made some rash decisions, but I never felt like the author had shoved the idiot ball in her hands. Jane is everything I love in a character.Kate is the opposite of that, but it's a testament to the author that I grew to like Kate at the same time Jane did. Red Jack, Jane's friend and ex, tends to go off half-cocked. Kate can be a bit too cautious. Jane is the balance that makes it work, because she's pragmatic and brilliant.I'm looking forward to a sequel because I want to see more of not just the characters but the world. There's a hint of magic, a lot of worldbuilding underneath the prairie, and I want to see what else is going on here.
    • 5/5
      Great read!! I definitely recommend this book to read for something new.
    • 5/5
      It's been such a long time since I've truly enjoyed a book. Yeah I've had some good 5 star reads but it's been forever since I've been so enamored with a story and its characters. Can't wait for book 2 to drop!
    • 5/5
      I highly recommend listening over reading this story. The narrator did a beautiful job. Loved this audiobook.
    • 5/5
      A different kind of read for a zombie book. Enjoyed very much the southern n see
    • 5/5
      A witty, brave heroine in the midst of a war with the undead ... couldn't wait to see her get into more trouble and maneuver her way out of it!
    • 4/5
      This was a thrilling ride! I can tell the author put her heart into this tale and I appreciate that. The narrators complex portrayal of each character was highly entertaining and noteworthy. My only gripe was that every person that was considered by the main heroine attractive was fair skinned and light-eyed. Also all the lighter skin characters were given more depth of character while the darker ones were merely phantoms put in place to move to push and pull the main lead. Other than that I enjoyed it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this book. Loved it.
    • 2/5
      When I read that this was going to be a historical YA-novel with zombies I was all for it. I don't read much of this genre but this was very appealing. But boy was I disappointed.
      First of all, where are the zombies? I mean, they are there but strangely they aren't the focus of the book.
      And I'd like to explain something about the plot, but I can't. I don't know what the plot is. That's how I felt during the whole experience. Like I was adrift, not knowing where things were headed. I don't think Jane knew either.
      And when you feel like there's no plot you turn to the characters. But they were very lacking. They really fell flat for me and felt like there wasn't any real relationship between them.
      So with all that I was very uninterested, bored and lost. Won't be reading the next books. Might read reviews with spoilers if I'm curious enough.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is alternate post Civil War history with the United States full of zombies!Main characters Jane and Kate, two students at Miss Preston's School of Combat, are full of surprises and are just too cool!I listened to the audiobook narrated by the always fabulous Bahni Turpin.The writing is very vivid: I could picture this as a movie.I can't wait to read its sequel, Deathless Divide.
    • 4/5
      This has been on my TBR for a long time and I was finally able to borrow it from the public library. I didn't love it but it was readable enough for me to read the follow up novel eventually.
    • 4/5
      I wanted to love this book. I think if I'd read it at the peak of teen zombie apocalypse books, I would have loved this book. Certainly, I admire and enjoy spitfire Jane and her uncompromising courage. I also think that while the book moves along quickly, is packed with adventure and not a little commentary on race relations, I also found the absolute bleakness of the white supremacy too much, and a lot of the plot lines that stem from that bleak place were harder for me to swallow. I recognize that is a statement of privilege, so take it with a grain of salt. I also think that part of my dismay is that the evil overlords are stupid -- their plans don't really make all that much sense, or have a sustainable conclusion, and that makes me think that it's a very simplistic portrayal of the nature of evil and oppression. Sadly, I think things are much more complex and more insidious than this book really addresses, and that's a weakness in the overall believability.
    • 4/5
      A relatively fun quick read. Who doesn't like the idea of zombies in the Reconstruction era? Except there is no reconstruction to be had in this story, since the zombies rose after Gettysburg and the hostilities ceased to deal with that threat. Decades later, it's still not over but now the US is divided between Egalitarians and Survivalists. The main protagonists are two black girls sent to combat schools since the role of blacks is to now protect whites from the zombies.
      As I said, a fun read but man, I wished more contemporary expressions had been fixed at editing. It's a pet peeve of mine. If you're going to write about a given historical period, clean up the language.
    • 5/5
      I love historical fiction, adventure sagas and zombie stories so Dread Nation by Justina Ireland was a good fit for me. Jane McKeene, born just a few days after the dead first got up and walked during the Battle of Gettysburg, is of mixed racial heritage but like all Negros, she is required by law to attend a combat school in Baltimore and learn how to put down the dead. Unfortunately that is the role of blacks in America, they are required to guard the whites against the walking dead, called shamblers.Jane is nearing the end of her training and her thoughts are on returning to her home in Kentucky, but when people in the Baltimore area start to go missing, Jane and a fellow student, Katherine, get caught up in the middle of a conspiracy and they are shipped to Kansas and find themselves in a terrifying position. Not ones to give in easily, Jane and Katherine plot to find themselves a way out of this death-trap where shamblers are not the only danger that they face.Dread Nation is a fun blend of period drama, alternative history, and zombie fantasy. It also takes a hard look at the socio-cultural elements that required having such a tight control over the black population. It is hard not to question the ‘freedom” that was granted to the black people at the conclusion of the Civil War. If people are not seen as fully equal with other humans, and don’t have the same rights as others – are they truly free? Even more importantly, does this idea not carry beyond this book to today’s society. This is definitely a YA series that I will be continuing on with.
    • 5/5
      teen fiction (alternate history-post civil war with zombies; action/adventure with race issues and potential romance)

      I love the diversity (POC on the cover!)--Jane's friend Katherine may be asexual (making her role as man-bait even more interesting and probably extra odious for her); several characters "pass" for white and frequently deal with complications thereof; a potential love interest/backstabber/friend character is of Native heritage (forced into an American re-education camp as a child which the author includes a brief note about at the end). The world-building (technology/lack of technology; factions of thought amongst the whites; strange evolution of zombie behavior, etc.) is also pretty top-notch.

      Can't wait for the next one.
    • 5/5
      Interesting mix of slavery and zombies, with a dash of the impact of the Indian residential school system that is a very contemporary topic. Somewhat YA, but very readable overall. Looking forward to the second book.
    • 4/5
      I usually have a hard time enjoying zombie apocalypse books because the scale of cultural, technological, scientific, and historical loss tends to really bother me above and beyond what the story addresses. That was not an issue in Dread Nation, because we are shown the true underbelly of American white supremacy and it's very obvious how little is actually worth saving. I loved that aspect of this book. It's subversive and implicit, but I was ready to burn it all down alongside Jane.
    • 4/5
      During the Civil War, the un-dead rise and the (white) people in power conscript Negroes and Native Americans to fight the zombie horde. We follow Jane McKeene, a young black girl in combat school. She is a smart, talented fighter but also a rule breaker (she can read!) with sass that frequently gets her into trouble. This was an exciting and engaging survival story with a surprising amount of nuance for a historical zombie apocalypse setting. The author touches on the horrors of slavery, "civilizing" boarding schools for Native Americans, the role of religion in the subjugation of black people, and the difficulties and dangers of "passing" as white. The ending was left open enough for a sequel and I'm looking forward to it.
    • 5/5
      To start, I have no idea what I was thinking when I decided I HAD to read this. I shall quantify this by saying, as someone who has lived her intire life dealing with the reality of slaver, racism, and mysoginy, I despise dealing with it in my fantasy world. I actively avoide books and movies that are racially charged or heavy with the sexism. Sometimes you can't avoid it, and sometime and book/movie is so effing fantastic that I can give it a pass. Dread Nation is going on the list. But make no mistake, the racism really grated on me. Also, it was in first person perspective, which I normally loathe; this was not bad.With that being said, this was an amazing story, and what drew it to me was zombies, combined with historical fiction, and black people in the forefront. The characters were fun and likeable, even when they were unliekable. The world building was amazing and the writing was incredible!We follow Jane McKeene a half black/white girl who is a student at Miss Preston's School for Negro Girls (I think that's what it was called.) Basically when the dead decided to get up and walk during the battle of Gettysburg The Civil War "ended" and the war vs the Dead began. The North still "won" and blacks were given freedom, but not really. They, along with indigenous tribes were swooped and placed in combat schools where they taught them how to be on the frontlines in the battle against the dead, as well as beat their culture and "savageness" out of them so that they can better serve their white betters. Sigh, I'm letting the bitterness bleed into the review.Anyway Jane gets thrust into crazy adventures and all around bad situations with her nemisise Kathrine Devaraux, who is also of mixed race, but a goody-goofy know-it-all, which irks Jane to no end. There are devious plots, secret "utopia" towns, crazy scientists with vaccines and terrible experiments. There is also the dead, which the characters refer to as shamblers. There's a lot of death, allies, betrayals and grudging friendships. I've heard the narrator before and they were amazing. They captured the voices and brought the world to life. Just read/listen to it; it was great!
    • 3/5
      This novel is set in an alternate universe where the dead rose from the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War ended because of the zombie apocalypse. Twenty years later, the surviving society has adapted by training Black and indigenous people to become "attendants" who protect the white elites from attacks by the "shamblers." Among these are this books narrator, Jane McKeene, a student at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore as the novel begins.Jane is a highly-skilled but outspoken student often ending up in trouble. A series of events lead her to being exiled to a new model town on the prairies of Kansas with her colleagues Catherine and Jackson. The town of Summerland has its deep secrets, though, and is under the rule of the virulently racist sheriff.  The book works as metaphor for the slavery and Jim Crow periods, and how the ruling caste seeks to perpetuate social divisions even under existential threats to humanity.  But the book also works as a straight up adventure and horror story, with no shortage of humor, especially in Jane's wry narration.
    • 4/5
      An interesting alternative history in a post-Reconstruction era in which the Civil War was disrupted by the rise of the undead. Jane is a compelling protagonist, and the world is well built. The story gets a little grim at times, but there is plenty of both zombie action and Black history.