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David, Karen and I are starting the 4th and final book of the Benny Imara series on Monday, September 2nd.

This buddy read is open to everyone who would like to join us!! There are no set chapters per day, we just read at our own paces and start each post with how far along you are, i.e., Chapter #, %, using spoilers where needed. Have fun!

Long day but will read a few pages before I snooze! I'm afraid I won't be able to stop.

I'm in! Just bought it, will start as soon as I finish Game :)

17% in! (view spoiler)[ Wow! So many POVs so far! It's so refreshing for me to read this series since it doesn't have all the YA clichés that I can't seem to get away from! Loving it!

OK, the thing with Chong is CRAZY! The two page perspective of his gave me chills..."Hungryyyy!" I really hope they save him!

Poor Morgie! He seems like he's one tough SOB now though, he's going to need to be to help save the town. They are in for a BIG surprise.

Mutations: Ewww the hole black blood with little white worms is Gross with a capital G, sounds like something Michael Grant would do. But at least it's making the zombies weaker, I think. (hide spoiler)]

I'm 23% in at the moment, but I'm sure I'll read more later. (view spoiler)[ Totally agree, David, this series is just awesome and very addicting! I feel so bad for Lilah at this point...actually I feel bad for all of them, nothing is going right! I was surprised we got to see Morgie, and how much he's changed! And CHONG...just heartbreaking. He so doesn't deserve this! (hide spoiler)]

Ugh, I can't read your spoiler for 6%!!! Darnnnn!

You can read it, I didn't go into any specifics past what you read :)

Yay!! Hehe thanks ;) I read it! Totally agree about Lilah! Oh and what about (view spoiler)[ Eve's little thing with the "red necklace"? That was a bit weird, I think she's going crazy on us. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ I forgot about that, yes that was strange--I don't think she's the only one going crazy! I think Benny's barely hanging on by a thread as well! (hide spoiler)]

Awww man... I'm only on Chapter 5. Can't wait to dig in tonight!! I need to read your spoilers! :-P

17%... I can read your spoilers now, WOOT WOOT!

(view spoiler)[Jenny, you didn't go all crazy with the bugs in the blood! I'm shocked. David did! :-)

When the zoms grabbed Nix and Lilah, I was so startled, my body jumped as if the zoms had grabbed me. That was wild to have that reaction.

I really like Ledger! Crushing on him, actually. He may be my new book boyfriend. :-P

I agree with all your other comments about Benny, Chong *sob*, Eve, and glad to have Morgie back. He'll be awesome when the reapers invade Mountainside.

Great start so far! (hide spoiler)]

Yay! Glad you're enjoying it too! SO MUCH going on :) Ha about Ledger! He's awesome!! I loved when he told Benny about his history and experience, he's hardcore!

36% now. What the heck is going on with (view spoiler)[ the balloons? I have a bad feeling they're about to be used to turn the rest of the world into zoms!!!! (hide spoiler)]

I was in the middle of that (view spoiler)[ scene where the Nix and Lilah are fighting the zombies when Darryl walked by me and grabbed my leg. You should have seen my reaction! Freaked him all out, he was like, "What???" I'm like, "I'm reading a zombie book!!!" LOL

And I did freak about the bugs when I was reading, I just decided not to comment because I figured it was a given! (hide spoiler)]

Hahahaha!!! Now that is too funny!

Ohmygosh, Jenny! I jumped at that scene w/o anyone grabbing me. I can't imagine. I'm waiting to watch your booktube review to see if you rant again on bugs. Hahahahaa!

I'm finally at 37%.

Okay, first I'll comment on David's comment (view spoiler)[ I was thinking the exact same thing...that would be an excellent way to spread a chemical through the air... (hide spoiler)]

Okay, I'm at 60% (view spoiler)[ I definitely think that's how the mutating is happening, with the red powder in balloons. Okay, what is with Benny and the grandiose speeches??? They are great speeches, but it just seems kind of weird, with huge breaks in the action. But I am cheering right along with him, and can't believe he got so wise all of the sudden. Turning into Tom before our eyes!
Eve...that was really creepy with the dolls, I hope they don't have to lock her up or anything! *shivers (hide spoiler)]

48% in.

Wanna have nightmares with me? I just found a scorpion on top of my covers On. My. Chest!! Eeeeeekkkkk.....!!! Scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I flipped the covers away from me, jumped out of bed, ripped off my pj's, flailed through my hair (just in case because I have no idea where that sucker landed). And after searching for an hour, my bed is all stripped, I'm now on the couch for the night. All while reading about freaking zombies. Heart be still!! My mom is stopping by in the morning. I'm going to make her help me hunt down that stupid scorpion.

Bwahahahahaaa... I almost wish I had a video of that!

And that, my friends, is MY rant about bugs!

And in other news... Love this book! Since I probably won't sleep tonight, I should get through some more tonight. ;-)

Oh my freaking gosh Karen!!!! Adele and I just read your post together and we're in shock, that WOULD be the scariest thing EVER! So glad it didn't get you!!! What would happen? How fast does the venom get into your system? eeeeeeek, giving myself the heeby jeebies now....

Jenny wrote: "Okay, first I'll comment on David's comment [spoilers removed]

Okay, I'm at 60% I definitely think that's how the mutating is happening, with the red powder in balloons. Okay, what is with Benn..."

Ha about Benny's rants! And he's not quite as controlled as Tom, but definitely a lot more like him then the last book. Wait until you get to the part with the flying quad *hint hint* That's the old Benny lol! I'm at 72% now (view spoiler)[ enjoyed the backstory about how everything got to where it is, although I did get a little bored as it dragged on a bit. And the genocide of the monks and nuns, ugh. I know how hard it is to write something like that, Maberry did a really good job with it, although it was necessary and hard to read.

Oh and did anyone catch the thing about Saint John and his past? Sounds like he was a serial killer before this all happened!!!! (hide spoiler)]

Apparently it's extremely painful and your entire arm, face, chest, etc. (whatever gets stung) goes numb w/pain(?) for a day or so. Venom hits immediately! Most people I know go to the hospital to get checked out. I have the bug guy here every month and he was just here 2 days ago, and I made him spray extra this time around. They take a couple days to die because their skin is like armor. Ugh, ugh, ugh... I have major heeby jeebies right now. This is the 3rd one in 3 weeks. I haven't had one in my house for about a year before that. Kari, my assistant, found one on her desk hiding in her message pad 3 weeks ago. That was a bad one. But I think mine was worse!

I think I'd seriously rather face a zombie (the slow kind) then a scorpion. ;-P

Don't ever tell Michael Grant about scorpions. They're MY equivalent of Jenny's bugs. He'd come up with the freakiest version ever!

David wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Okay, first I'll comment on David's comment [spoilers removed]

Okay, I'm at 60% I definitely think that's how the mutating is happening, with the red powder in balloons. Okay, wha..."

I just finished reading the flying quad part. That was amazing. Still in love with Joe Ledger! Benny is such a smart ass which is awesome! I hope Nix and him are good now.

Karen wrote: "Apparently it's extremely painful and your entire arm, face, chest, etc. (whatever gets stung) goes numb w/pain(?) for a day or so. Venom hits immediately! Most people I know go to the hospital to ..."

Ha! Karen vs. a zombie! You'd win for sure, my friend :)

Karen wrote: "David wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Okay, first I'll comment on David's comment [spoilers removed]

Okay, I'm at 60% I definitely think that's how the mutating is happening, with the red powder in balloo..."

LOL you'll love Ledger even more after the next few bits :)

OH.MY.GOD. Karen!!! I would never be able to sleep in my bed again!!! That is so scary, I'm so glad you're okay!

I loved the flying quad part, that was so awesome! Yes, Ledger is awesome Karen, he would do it for me too! lol

I'm at 56%. And loving Joe more and more!!

Ahhh Joe, such a good, likeable character :) I'm at 88%, might finish before bed tonight if I can keep my eyes open :) (view spoiler)[ I'm writing this just before the big fight on the bleach-soaked field. I have NO clue what Benny is planning but I'm hoping it involves setting all the reapers on fire :)

Oh and awesome to see Morgie, Chong, and Benny back together!

But what the heck was that whole "I'm not in love with you" thing from Nix? What? What? What? (hide spoiler)]

WOW! I'm at 78% (view spoiler)[ Just finished the part where Benny killed Brother Peter! YES!! Hopefully now they can finally help Chong! The back story was very interesting, and now lots of things make sense. I had a feeling something had happened at Sanctuary! (hide spoiler)]

I will probably finish this book later, but its now time to head to work!

Cool! Yeah, that was awesome :) Oh and I totally forgot to ask, do you guys watch The Walking Dead? If so, did you notice the sneaky reference? When Benny was thinking about all the different zombie hunters and he mentioned Quick-Draw Carl, son of Sheriff Rick. I loved that!!

Oh, good catch! I LOVE The Walking Dead!!

Finished!!! I'll wait for you guys to catch up (says the turtle) lol

Just got to the page of Quick-Draw Carl! Too cool!

67% (view spoiler)[Hope for Chong?! Yes! (hide spoiler)]

I should finish tonight.

David wrote: "Finished!!! I'll wait for you guys to catch up (says the turtle) lol"

HAHAHAHA!!!

I don't watch the Walking Dead, although I want to. Isn't it on Netflix? My boys love it! I don't watch much TV, but I will watch things on Netflix sometimes. I love watching TV series because there are no commercials and you can watch it all at once!

I watched the entire first season on Netflix in a weekend. The next weekend, TV had a marathon of the 2nd season, so I watched the entire season. Hahahah.. Then right after I read Rot & Ruin. My very first zombie book! :)

Jenny wrote: "WOW! I'm at 78% [spoilers removed]

I will probably finish this book later, but its now time to head to work!"

78%... Wow! Really want to finish this tonight! But so tired.

I just finished it and I loved it! (view spoiler)[ Although I do think things wrapped up almost too neatly, it just didn't seem plausible at the end that Benny is sitting on his porch drinking lemonade (or iced tea? can't remember that detail) and then Nix comes strolling up in a dress carrying a basket of muffins....
But ignoring all that, I loved the ending. I was sure Joe was dead, so that was awesome that he made it! The reunion with Morgie was really awesome, too, I loved that part!
I was majorly confused with the whole Nix "I'm not in love with you" thing. None of that made sense to me, but I will just go with it since they seemed to end up okay. And Chong and Lilah too.
Poor Eve...that was so sad. And poor Riot.
Benny was so kick ass, I loved it! WOOT, Benny! (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, I'm with you Jenny, I rated it 5 stars, but more in honor of the series as a whole, it was really more of a 4 star read for me because of (view spoiler)[ the long, unrealistic speeches by Benny on the battlefield, how seemingly easy it was to win against 120k enemies (although the plan was pretty awesome), and a few other minor annoyances I had. (hide spoiler)] But still an awesome read!

Totally agree, David! (view spoiler)[ There were lots of little things that just kept taking me out of the story. The speeches were really good, but the timing was strange. Saint John and Brother Peter were insane, there was no way they were going to "see the light!" But I did love how Benny sacrificed himself to kill Peter, and his plan was really cool! (hide spoiler)] Yes, I'm going to rate it 5 stars as well, for the same reasons.

I really enjoyed the read, though. The book read really fast and I was hooked!

Eep! Now I'm ready for the Light buddy read! I'll set up a thread ;)

Just finished! I had a few "goosebump" moments! (view spoiler)[I guess I like endings that are wrapped up nice and neat! ;-P

I was really confused about the Nix speech too. But I did like the picnic table scene with all the characters at the end. It gave me a sense of what was to come and that everyone would be ok! I love those endings. And I even enjoyed Benny's speeches. It felt like he became as close to Tom-like as he could get and still be Benny. And what can I say about my book boyfriend, Joe! I knew he had to survive! Maberry is still writing books about him I think. Hahahaha...!

I kept waiting for Quick-Draw Carl to show up. Also, wish we could see the Zombie hunter cards for Benny, Nix, Chong, Morgie, and whoever else didn't have one yet.

And I like that Riot and Morgie look like they'll connect!

I'm very satisfied with the ending and the world that is left behind! (hide spoiler)]

I'm also rating it a 5!

David wrote: "Eep! Now I'm ready for the Light buddy read! I'll set up a thread ;)"

Me too!!!

Karen wrote: "Just finished! I had a few "goosebump" moments! I guess I like endings that are wrapped up nice and neat! ;-P

I was really confused about the Nix speech too. But I did like the picnic table scen..."

Yayyy!! Was so happy about Joe too! I was worried there for a minute :)

Karen wrote: "Just finished! I had a few "goosebump" moments! I guess I like endings that are wrapped up nice and neat! ;-P

I was really confused about the Nix speech too. But I did like the picnic table scen..."

The cards were in the book, on the inside covers, but I could only see 3 of them, the way the library wrapped the book and covered things up with library tags....GRRR

I liked the picnic scene,too, Karen, some of it just felt too "Little House on the Prairie" for me!

I'm going to finish Ice Country first, I'm almost done, and then I will start Light!

Jenny wrote: "Karen wrote: "Just finished! I had a few "goosebump" moments! I guess I like endings that are wrapped up nice and neat! ;-P

I was really confused about the Nix speech too. But I did like the pic..."

I'll have to check at B&N to see the cards. Little House on the Prairie... Heheheh...

Not that I hate Little House on the Prairie, mind you, its one of my favorite book series! It just doesn't fit in a zombie book well!

Yea, zombies overrunning Little House on the Prairie... Just can't see it. That was my favorite favorite series as a little girl. I must have read them over and over and over a dozen times... I was an air force brat and moved constantly so my books were my only friends. Laura Ingalls Wilder was my best friend back then!! :)

The Little House books is what started me reading. I was a horrible reader in second grade, I was at the bottom of the class and I hated it. So my mom (who loves to read) went out and bought me the whole set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books and made me read an hour a day. I remember throwing a big fit about it, but she made me! After about 3 days, I was hooked on the books, and she didn't have to make me anymore. After that, I was at the top of my class and she couldn't buy books fast enough for me, lol!

Anyways, random story, but I have very fond memories of those books, too!

Thanks, guys for reading this with me! I love buddy reads with you two!