Overview

Teens Joel and Royal find it hard to ignore that their unlikely friendship might be something more, especially when the forces of nature-and the undead-keep throwing them together, helping them to realize that love does not respect labels. Joel River, a gay junior with a fainting disorder, and Royal, a popular, apparently straight senior, meet at a creative arts high school in the bayou country of Louisiana. Things start awkwardly, with Joel fainting in front of Royal on the very first day they meet. Despite his best efforts, Joel falls for Royal. It's almost impossible not to. He's a textbook example of hot-tall, blue-eyed and on the swim team. Everyone says Royal only likes girls, so Joel thinks he doesn't stand a chance. And there's the fact that Royal seems to think Joel is an awkward and possibly unhinged oddball. So Joel makes up his mind to ignore Royal altogether. Joel's decision to avoid Royal at all costs lasts about a week before they find themselves thrown together at school and form a tentative friendship. Before long, they both find it hard to ignore that their unlikely friendship might be something more, especially when the forces of nature (storms, hurricanes and mad squirrels) keep throwing them together. But just as Joel is starting to understand his feelings for Royal, things at school take a turn for the bizarre, starting with a cheerleading squad that mysteriously disappeared in the 1950s returning ... different. Their eyes are hollow, their movements jerky, and their smiles too wide, too sharp. Soon, students are vanishing from the grounds, and the air smells faintly of death and pom-poms. As the zombie cheerleaders close in, Joel and Royal must stick together to survive - battling the undead, questioning their own identities, and maybe, just maybe, realizing that love is the most unpredictable force of all. Joel is gay and Royal is not, but does love respect labels? And more importantly-can Joel get his first kiss without being eaten alive? A YA paranormal romance, Joel River and the Zombie Cheerleaders is 60% romance and 40% paranormal. Sweet and with low-heat, this book is like Heartstopper, only set in New Orleans with zombies and vampires.