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“One morning 12-year-old Will realizes that his next-door neighbor is a zombie. At school it only gets worse—the assistant principal and his math teacher are zombies, too. When they realize he can see them, he is rescued by classmate Helene, and taken to Haven, where he learns that he isn’t the only one who can “See the Corpses,” mysterious beings who inhabit cadavers. Over a hundred Undertakers, all kids, are looking for a way to defeat the Deaders. Will learns that his father was the only adult who could see past the corpses’ masks, and had been the leader of Haven until he was killed. Now Will must join forces with the Undertakers to prevent the corpses’ leader from becoming Mayor. Plenty of action, gruesome descriptions, and hand-to-hand combat will draw mostly middle-grade boys, but there are lots of strong girl characters as well. A satisfying ending hints at a sequel. Recommended.” - Library Media Connection







After getting over the shock of observing his walking rotting neighbor Ernie "Dead Man" Pratt and John Towers Middle School Assistant Principal Titlebaum and some teachers turn into zombies, twelve years old Will Ritter struggles with controlling his instinct for flight and fright instead of fight. Kids like him recruit Will as a member of The Undertakers, a dedicated unit of non-adults whose mission is to fight zombies.

Joining the youth squad means your previous way of life no longer exists as adults do not have the ability to see zombies. The teen and preadolescent Undertakers like Will vow to clean the world of the Zombie manifestation starting with their home town.

This is an engaging fast-paced tale from the moment the talking smelly Pratt puts his hand on Will and never slows down as the young warriors learn the key questions in life is not can I have Pop Tarts for breakfast or how to comb one’s hair, but can you see the living dead and how do you kill a dead person? With nods to Wild in the Streets (zombie style) and Zombieland, middle school students will enjoy Will and the Undertakers mission to save the world as readers will agree with the book’s quoting an anonymous person that "Children make the best heroes."



“Whatever you do, do not call them zombies! These are Corpses, “reanimated bodies that have been possessed,” and they are everywhere, although they are only visible to a select few, including 12-year-old Will Ritter. After realizing that he is able to See, Will is taken in by the Undertakers, a rogue group that rescues other, similarly targeted teens and fights to defeat the Corpses’ evil plans to conquer Philadelphia and, ultimately, the world. With elements reminiscent of works by Rowling, Riordan, and Stine, Drago unveils the plot through many short chapters, calling into action a cast of distinctive characters with authentic voices and behaviors. (Well, corpse-fighting behaviors, anyway.) Will’s breathless adventures as he faces his destiny of becoming an Undertaker are thoughtful and exciting, and the descriptions of decaying flesh will likely both disgust and delight readers. As the climaxing battle wraps up, there is yet another surprise: a satisfyingly complete ending. The suggestion of sequels, though, will pacify new fans, who will be clamoring for the continuation of the story.” - Booklist

“I’ve read an underground bunker full of zombie books in my day: some of them good – many of them dreadful. Many of them have blindly followed the path set down by George Romero in “Night of the Living Dead” – slow shambling zombies intent on eating brains – without even attempting to advance the genre. Many of them have been nothing more than poorly written scenes of blood and gore strung together by tenuous plotlines and cardboard thin characters. Nary a one of them has been for young adult readers. I’m happy to say, “The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses” is none of those things.

I challenge you to walk the aisles of your favorite bookstore today without tripping over the mountains of young adult Vampire books that have flooded the market. Good vampires, bad vampires, teenaged vampires, tragically misunderstood vampires – it’s all a bit much. What has been missing is a serious (and seriously good) young adult zombie novel to even the odds a bit. Ty Drago has delivered just that with “The Undertakers”.

Drago takes a dash of “They Live”, stirs in a handful of zombie mythology from Brian Keene’s “The Rising”, and finishes it off with the young adult appeal of “Percy Jackson”. The end result is a zombie story for the whole family. (Well, most of the family – I don’t think my 10 year-old son will be reading it this year. These are zombies after all – decaying flesh tends to fall off of them at inopportune moments.) It is a story and cast of characters that is both familiar and, at the same time, utterly original.

Will Ritter is a normal 12 year-old living just outside of Philadelphia. At least he thinks he’s normal. All that changes one day when he realizes some of the people around him are not what they appear to be. Where everyone else sees the assistant principal or the science teacher, Will sees the walking corpse of a zombie. (Well, not zombies exactly. As one character reminds Will later – “Don’t call ‘em zombies. Zombies are slow and stupid. These things aren’t. You want to remember that.”)

Called “Corpses”, they appear normal to almost everyone, but are in fact entities wearing the bodies of the dead like a suit of clothing. They hold down regular jobs and live regular lives right here among us. They are also slowly infiltrating our society and looking to destroy the human race.

Will soon discovers there are others like him, others who see the Corpses for what they really are. All of them are under 17 years old and have come together to form The Undertakers – a group dedicated to finding others like them, and stopping the advance of the Corpses. As Will learns more about the group it becomes clear they are the only thing standing between the unsuspecting public and the destruction of our way of life.

It’s clear this story is aimed squarely at young adult readers. That’s perfectly fine with me. As I said earlier, why should tweens miss out on the fun that is zombie fiction? What makes the book special is that I, who haven’t been in my tweens since last century, also found great enjoyment in reading the story. (I devoured the book in just less than 3 days.) Drago writes with an age appropriate tone, but one that is not condescending to older readers – the story is still, after all, a robust exploration of the genesis of a zombie invasion of our world. The drama is real, the action is real, and the plot holds up whether you are 15 or 45 or 105.

For those wishing to dive one layer below the zombie invasion, there is a subtle yet effective examination of young adulthood. It can be a scary and tumultuous time. The transition between childhood and adulthood is fraught with the unknown – and to the person experiencing it, it often feels like they are the only person in the world who has ever had to deal with those issues.

“The Undertakers” provides a great parallel for that journey. The Undertakers have assumed the responsibility of the first (and only) line of defense against the Corpses. No one knows what they are doing; no one even understands the threats they are facing. They are truly alone in their quest – no guidebooks, no do-overs, no rules. It’s a powerful metaphor for what tweens and teens face every day.

The job of facing the great unknown that is adulthood is often overwhelming, frightening, and lonely. Getting zits may not be as life threatening as being chased by zombies – but to a 13 year-old navigating his or her way through the turbulent social waters of middle school, it can be just as daunting. Younger readers will find a kindred soul in Will as he learns that the world doesn’t work exactly the way he always thought it did. I know I can remember some of those same feelings from my adolescence.

Whether you look for commentary on growing up, or just a good zombie adventure, “The Undertakers” is an incredibly fun story to read. Drago has done a superb job of creating a comfortably livable world for his zombie tale, and left the door wide open for the inevitable sequel (or two, or three, or seven.) He has a polished style and comfortable prose that made reading the book a pleasure. It is a welcome addition to zombie literature and it is a great foundation on which to build. There is a lot of room to roam in the world of “The Undertakers”. I can only hope that Drago takes full advantage of it and shares with us stories from every nook and cranny.

According to his website, Drago still holds down a day job and pursues writing as passion. Based on this novel, I would say it’s more of a calling. I can only hope “The Undertakers” gets the attention it deserves. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. You won’t be disappointed – and you’ll be doing your part to help Ty Drago quit his day job one day. (Not to mention saving someone, like yourself, the pain of having to read another vampire novel…)” - The Word Zombie

“The Undertakers is one of the best books I have ever read. Will wants to go home after he gains his Sight. It enables him to See the Corpses as they really are, dead. They are not zombies, though, these things are smarter than a zombie. The Corpses try to take him again and again because of who his father really was and what he did. Will didn’t know what really happened to his father two years ago, and he has no choice but to fight the Corpses after he learns what they want of him.” - Review by Ashley- 6th grade reader/reviewer, approved and given highest marks by teacher6th


“When you first get a glimpse of this book, you can tell by the cover that it is geared for the younger male teens. When you read the summary, you still think it is for the younger male teens. Even with that in my head, I still decided to read this book and give it a fair shot at review. I may not be a young teen, or from the male genre, but there is something about zombie books that draw me into the plot.

Will joins a special team of people called The Undertakers after seeing his neighbor, principle and some of his teachers turned into zombies. Not everyone can see the zombies, but Will happens to be one of the special ones that can. The Undertakers are kids, yet they must leave everything behind to fight the zombies.

I found this book to be adventurous and fun to read. As an adult, there were some things that didn’t jive for me in it. If you have a younger male teen who has been reluctant to read, I think this would be a great book to start off with though. As an adult reader, I had to keep trying to remember that it is a book geared for younger teens and some adults might not like the writing because of that. While I was able to adjust to it and somewhat enjoy it, if you have a problem with reading books like that, then you might want to consider borrowing the book instead of purchasing it.

Again, I think the author did a wonderful job though in creating a world for younger boys to dive into. A fun read to spark the interest of reluctant readers and hopefully give them the push they need to start reading!” - My Overstuffed Bookshelf