This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by The Children's Book Review. I received a copy of the book to facilitate my review and/or a promotional giveaway item. All opinions expressed are my own.
Zombie Zoo: Adventures in Tub (Felix & Ninja, Book 1)
Written by Melanie Abed | Illustrated by Hisham Abed
Ages: 9–13 | 244 Pages | Publisher: Oculus Print (2026) | ISBN: 979-8-9952813-0-6
Thirteen-year-old Felix Fizzystyxx is an aspiring naturalist who observes the world from his hidden tree fort at Wayward Amok Orphanage. When he witnesses glowing green goo and strange behavior in the orphanage, his life as a quiet observer ends. He partners with Ninja, an intense, shadow-dwelling orphan who trusts her instincts and operates alone, to investigate. Together they discover that the orphans — and soon the entire town of Spinachi on the island of Tub — are turning into wood-eating zombies controlled by a hive mind.
With the help of their eccentric mentor Doc Brunne, Felix and Ninja trace the cause to Noctiluna, rare bioluminescent organisms deliberately introduced into the town's water supply, and race to find a cure before the whole town — including Doc himself — is lost to the transformation. Zombie Zoo kicks off the Adventures in Tub series with a debut story guaranteed to keep readers turning the pages.
Available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melanie Abed is a behavioral expert turned story weaver. She believes dragons are real but hiding, and finds thunderstorms equally delightful and terrifying. A tea-loving bookworm, she champions young minds and writes to help kids discover their superpowers are real.
Website: www.melanieabed.com | Instagram: @bymelanieabed
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Emmy-winning director Hisham Abed has established himself as a visionary creative force in television, directing commercially successful shows including Netflix's Queer Eye and Disney's High School Musical, and shaping the visual aesthetic of MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills. Beyond his directorial achievements, Hisham Abed is an accomplished illustrator whose detailed artwork brings imagination and style to every project he touches.
Website: www.hishamabed.com
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Life Is What It's Called - What inspired you to write this story?
Melanie Abed - A Confession Before We Begin - I'm going to tell you something most readers won't figure out for a while. ZOMBIE ZOO isn't just a book. It isn't just the first in a five-book series either. It's the origin story of an entirely different series I've been building for years. Think of those Russian nesting dolls — the ones that stack inside each other, each one hiding a smaller one within. That's what I'm quietly doing here.
And the honest answer to "where did this all start?" A writing exercise. Tub — the island where all of this takes place — is a character to me. An important one. So I started telling myself a fable about it. And then, halfway through, a fable within that fable. That's how ZOMBIE ZOO began. No outline. No plan. Just discovery writing, which is exactly what it sounds like — you learn what the story is by writing it, one surprise at a time.
But underneath the discovery, there was already a backbone. Tub isn't just the setting for this book. It's part of the bigger series I've been building for years — the one hiding inside the nesting doll.
So while readers meet Felix Fizzystyxx crouched in a pantry cataloging a puddle of glowing green goo, they're actually stepping into the very first layer of something much, much bigger. Felix and Ninja didn't just stumble onto an island. They stumbled onto the story I've been waiting to tell.
Shh. Don't tell anyone — it's more fun if they find out. But you have my permission to wink and nod. You're in on it too.
Life Is What It's Called - If you had to describe this story in 30 seconds in an elevator pitch, what would you say?
Melanie Abed -The Elevator Pitch (For When Someone Asks) - If I've got 30 seconds in an elevator, here's what I'd say: ZOMBIE ZOO is Amari and the Night Brothers meets The Last Kids on Earth—with a dash of Dread Wood. Two lonely orphans battle wood-devouring zombies and green goo in a fast-paced island mystery. It's for kids who love unlikely friendships, brave sleuths, and stories where a field guide becomes the sharpest weapon on the run. Then I'd probably lean in and add: Oh, and it's Book 1 of 5. And there's a bigger secret and adventure hiding underneath it all.
Elevator door opens. I disappear.
Life Is What It's Called - What will readers like most about this story?
Melanie Abed - What Readers Will Love Most (My Best Guess) - Honestly? I think it'll be the mystery. Kids who love figuring things out alongside the characters are going to have a field day with Felix and Ninja's two very different investigative styles.
But if you ask me what my favorite part is? It's the maps, the field guide, and the sleuthing!
Felix is an aspiring naturalist. He notes everything. He sketches everything. He maps everything. His obsession with cartography is one of the quiet threads that stitches the whole series together—and it's one of the parts I've had the most fun designing. Maps are storytelling, too. They just tell it sideways.
Life Is What It's Called -What line in this story is your favorite and why?
Melanie Abed - My Favorite Lines to Write - Nearly all of Ninja's lines make me laugh out loud. Her humor is exactly how my brain works—dry, clipped, no wasted words. When she looks Felix dead in the eye and delivers a one-liner, I'm not really writing her. I'm transcribing her. She just shows up and says the thing, and I try to keep up. Felix can be pretty funny too. He makes me laugh in a different way—his precise, over- analytical inner monologue is its own kind of comedy. But Ninja? Ninja is the character I never knew I needed to write.
Life Is What It's Called -What do you want readers to know about you?
Melanie Abed - What to Know About Me… - I'm a huge Star Wars nerd. I was collecting mint-condition toys back in college, when nobody else was doing that — by the time I stopped, I needed an entire extra closet just to store them. I can beat pretty much anyone at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. Try me. I was a daydreamer as a kid. Constantly making up stories in my head, none of which I ever shared. But I journaled a lot, and years later I read those old journals and laughed out loud at what a younger me had noticed. Weird small things. Sharp observations. It was a good reminder never to underestimate kids.
I have a memory like an elephant. I love etymology and can lose entire afternoons chasing a word to its roots, which is why wordplay sneaks into everything I write. I garden. I raise butterflies in my backyard, and every year I'm astonished all over again by chrysalises hiding in places I didn't put them.
You would never want to watch a murder mystery with me. I usually call it in the first five minutes —96% success rate.
GIVEAWAY
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