Unfed (25 page)
Authors: Kirsty McKay
First and foremost, to my readers. You bloggers, you tweeps, you fb-ers, you snail-mailers, you fans. I appreciate every like, shout-out, and thumbs-up, and I’m so glad to be able to give you a second installment.
I would still be writing this book if it wasn’t for the help, cheerleading, and sheer bloody awesomeness of little monster-wranglers John Mawer, Socorro Garcia Hernandez, Sarah “Dah” Fattal, Pat Mawer, and Didi McKay. I thank you with all my heart.
To Wonder Agents Veronique Baxter and Laura West, a huge thanks for going one step beyond on a regular basis.
The Scholastic US crew, Chicken House UK, and the irrepressible Barry Cunningham, I love ya. Thanks for your hard work at keeping me on the straight and narrow.
A big cheers to Charlie Higson for saying some really lovely things in print and in person.
The Gripers, once more. Your talent and support make me feel like one lucky bunny. Sonia Miller, Bill Flynn, and Jess Thrasher, you are eleventh-hour wonders, and you can have breakfast now.
Thanks to those who keep me sane from near and far: Emma and Jen again, Johanna McCreadie, Penelope Woodman, Charlotte Howard, Dori Parmelee, Hannah Kaye Willmott, all my peeps old and new, and especially to Cath Smith for lending me Smitty.
Finally, to Victoria Banner. I’d love to think a little of your spirit is in this book; you were the bravest mutha I’ve ever known, and faced with you the zombies would have skedaddled in the other direction.
KIRSTY MCKAY, born in the UK, now lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and two young children.
Unfed
is her second novel, following her acclaimed debut,
Undead
. Visit her website at
www.kirstymckay.com
and follow her on Twitter @kirkybean.
Text copyright © 2013 by Kirsty McKay
All rights reserved. Published by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920
.
CHICKEN HOUSE
,
SCHOLASTIC
, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2012 by Chicken House, 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1DS.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKay, Kirsty.
Unfed / Kirsty McKay. — 1st American ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Roberta wakes up in a hospital after the incident which turned many of her classmates into zombies, only to be told that her mother is dead and all of Scotland has been quarantined — but something suspicious is going on and it is up to Bobby to figure out what it is.
ISBN 978-0-545-53672-1 (alk. paper) 1. Zombies — Juvenile fiction. 2. Conspiracies — Juvenile fiction. 3. Scotland — Juvenile fiction. 4. Horror tales. [1. Zombies — Fiction. 2. Conspiracies — Fiction. 3. Scotland — Fiction. 4. Horror stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.M47865748Uo 2013
[Fic] — dc23
2012040707
First American edition, September 2013
Jacket art © 2013 by Ken Choi
Jacket design by Phil Falco
e-ISBN 978-0-545-53675-2
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.