During a class hiking trip, Ian, Kendra, and PJ get lost in the mountains and discover that they are being stalked by a pack of ravenous zombies. With the help of a witch doctor and some unusual folk magic, will they be able to defeat these monsters and escape the mountain with their lives?

Author Christopher Krovatin perfectly blends humor and horror together in this first installment in a funny, frightening series that will get every kid reading. ( )

Gravediggers tells the story of three 11 year olds, Ian, Kendra and PJ and their Homeroom Earth field trip to the Montana wilderness. Kendra and Ian are sworn enemies because of a previous incident involving Kendra smacking Ian with a text book. PJ is Ian's oldest friend but he's not one of the "cool kids" so Ian is hoping to avoid him on this trip and hang with his jock friends instead. Kendra is intelligent but socially awkward and only has cyber friends that she has met online. Her parents are hoping she will make a new friend but Kendra is more concerned with amping up her vocabulary and collecting nature specimens. After Ian is put into a group with the very people he was avoiding the action begins. Ian spots a large buck and takes off into the woods after it to get a picture. Not wanting him to get lost the others follow him into the forest and end up getting lost. The book tells the story of their struggle to find their way back and to avoid being eaten by zombies. I thought the book had an interesting start but the middle was slow and the ending was anticlimactic. The fact that it was humorous helped bump up its rating from 2 stars to three. I think fans of the zombie genre and reluctant readers will enjoy this book. ( )