This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

When I first heard that Courtney Summers, an author known for her contemporary novels exploring tough issues, was writing a zombie apocalypse book I sorta scratched my head and had to reread the synopsis of This is Not a Test again. Sure enough zombie apocalypse. Really? At first I assumed it was another YA author jumping on the bandwagon, but really, it's Courtney Summers we're talking about here. The woman is an absolute genius with a pen and never does anything halfway so I figured I better give her latest a shot. 

One moment Sloane is worried about being punished for being late to breakfast (her dad is not a nice man at all) when pandemonium breaks out and the world ends. No joke. As she is swept up in a group of six kids who have barricaded themselves into Cortege High School against their friends and family turned zombies, Sloane doesn't know how long she can pretend. Because the morning the world ended for everybody else, Sloane had tried to end her own life. And just how does she expect herself to keep going when all she wants to do is give up?

This is Not a Test is NOT AT ALL what I've come to expect in your typical zombie book. That said, it is (for the most part) what I've come to expect from a Courtney Summers novel. First of all, this story is really a contemporary novel exploring the issues of life and death and family drama with a side of zombies thrown in to keep things interesting. If by interesting you mean bloody and run for your life. Which I do.

Courtney Summers is fantastic at exploring family drama without making you feel like you're watching a soap opera. While exploration of Sloane's terrible relationship with her abusive father and the abandonment of her sister are at the forefront, we also get a glimpse at the tight bond between Trace and Grace, twins who Sloane used to hang out with. I'm not sure why, but their relationship killed me folks. Watching them deal with loss and anger and forgiveness was a sight. But really, every single character and every single relationship was complicated and raw but still detailed with such haunting clarity.

I think the one point that This is Not a Test utterly blows away every other young adult zombie apocalypse/end-of-the-world book is that this book doesn't just focus on the here and now; the physical and emotional turbulence of surviving such destruction. Sure, such problems are explored -- how to get food and water, finding shelter, whom to trust -- but This is Not a Test goes one step further (maybe I should say back?) by focusing on the past. In Sloane's case, her internal turmoil stems from something that happened a few months prior, when things were supposedly normal. Not because life as everyone knew it ended. For her, the world didn't end when zombies attacked that morning, it had already ended months ago. She had been ready to give up for weeks and now the prospect of trying to survive seemed pointless. Really, this isn't a novel concept when you look at Ms. Summers' previous books, but for this genre, it's nothing short of groundbreaking. Well played indeed.


Still not sure? Read this first chapter here.

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Smugglers review
Bunbury in the Stacks review
Chick Loves Lit review
Good Books & Good Wine review
Presenting Lenore review

book source: review copy from the publisher

Because I am lacking in self-control

I was recently given a Amazon gift card and now it's burning a proverbial hole in my pocket. As I was searching for books I'd like to try, a couple of deliciously beautiful covers caught my eye in particular. But which to choose?

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace's pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dark secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.  -via Goodreads

That electric red hair and intense stare intrigued me from the start, but now I'm loving the blurb too. Coming January 2011.

****

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. He seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on… but some questions should be left unanswered.  -via Goodreads

I read my first Courtney Summers novel, Some Girls Are, earlier this year and while I'm not a huge fan of most contemporary YA books I am very, very interested to see what else this impressive author has to offer up. Although I do like the YA Highway version too. Coming December 2010.

****

Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.  -via Goodreads

I think I've mentioned this before, but I have a very strong, very unexplainable fascination with all things Russian. The last few days, I've seen some intriguing reviews pop up about Plain Kate and now I want this pretty one more than ever.

Have you spotted any other new ones I should put on my wishlist?

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Most of Regina Afton's high school existence has revolved around the Fearsome Fivesome, or at least catering to the capricious wishes of her so-called best friend and the groups' self-appointed leader Anna. At Anna's side and part of the It crowd, Regina is looked up to, adored, and universally feared. Which is why Regina is in serious shock and confusion mode when she walks into school on Monday to find that she has been 'frozen out' by Anna and her cronies. What begins with simple isolation extends to malicious pranks and vindictive rumors all carefully designed to turn Regina's existence into a veritable, walking nightmare. And it works. Really, really well actually. Unwilling to simply ride out the humiliation all alone, Regina finds herself turning to some of her previous victims, finding unexpected sources of comfort in those she had worked so hard to destroy herself. And as the pranks and even physical violence escalate, Regina discovers she's ready to fight back. Because she knows these girls and their torturous ways - after all, she's been doing the same things to other innocent, unwitting victims for years now.

Despite having come across countless favorable reviews of Courtney Summers' Some Girls Are in the past several months, I purposefully stayed away. Why? Well, I knew her honest and brutal narrative about the lengths girls go to make each others lives a living nightmare in high school would be just that: honest and brutal. But then Angie told me I had to read it and one incredibly tense afternoon later, here we are. And like Angie said it's an important read and one I'm glad I took a chance on. Though I don't know what aspect appalled me more: the fact that these girls could be so coolly diabolical in their revenge or the complete and utter obliviousness of every single parent, teacher or adult in the novel! I swear, every other chapter I about gave myself a heart-attack with each new humiliation or heartache Regina suffered thinking "okay, this is going to be the time SOMEONE steps in and gets this horrific situation under control." But no, each new 'prank' would inevitably come without rescue, described in Regina's unflinchingly honest voice without any softening of the blow.

Courntey Summers also must be acknowledged for her supreme crafting of Regina's unique teenage voice in particular. Boiled down, Regina has been a bully, although a popular and well-dressed one, and yet I found myself caring - deeply - about her. And that's not because she shied away from her misdeeds past and current. Oh no, it's all out there, plain as day for your viewing pleasure. Mostly I found myself drawn to Some Girls Are because of the slow unraveling and gradual exposure of Regina's fears and insecurities, revealing at heart a pretty messed-up ball of teenage insecurities that was far from stereotypical and deeply layered. And infinitely readable.

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
Presenting Lenore review
Steph Su Reads review
The Story Siren review
The YA YA YAs review

book source: my local library