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

Beyond Exile by J.L. Bourne

The first book of Day by Day Armageddon took us deep into the mind of a military officer and survivor as he made a New Year's resolution to start keeping a journal. The man kept his resolution and brought to us the fall of humanity, day by day. We see the man transition from the life that you and I live to the prospect of fighting for his very survival against the overwhelming hordes of the dead. We see him bleed, we see him make mistakes, we witness him evolve. The highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling underground cult classic, Day by Day Armageddon begins where the first novel left off.

 START INTERCEPT
Armies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe; there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering to feed off human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.
INTERCEPT COMPLETE

Survivor,
Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capture the desperation—and the will to survive—as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battle soulless enemies both human and inhuman from inside the abandoned Hotel 23.

But in the world of the undead, is mere survival enough?

In an effort to maintain a shred of humanity, our anonymous narrator has made a resolution to daily pick up his pen and record his experiences facing a world decimated by hoards of undead zombies. With his military background, he's an ideal leader to watch over the various survivors he's rescued from a gruesome fate, now concealed in a bunker-type facility called Hotel 23.

To be honest, I was hoping this narrative would be reminiscent of the thrilling first-hand account based novel World War Z by Max Brooks - which I eagerly devoured. J. L. Bourne's narrative unfortunately can only be described as periodically gruesome and oftentimes dry at best. Yes, in the face of certain death on multiple occasions, our narrator is always resourceful and cunning yet I found his account lacking in any emotion that I could connect with as a reader. Perhaps that was due to the format - diary entries - which did not allow for much interaction with other characters; which could provide a more complete picture of his character. Additionally the large of amount of technical/military and weaponry jargon was confusing and distracting more often than not since I am not what you would call 'gun savvy.'

Sad to say, the blah cover is nothing to write home about either. But it does stay true to the overall feel of the novel: there is nothing fluffy or endearing about Beyond Exile. It's dark and horrific and full of the dark moments. For true zombie fiction fanatics, I'm sure this one will be instantly gobbled up; but since I like my books with a little more heart and character interaction, it just wasn't my cuppa.

series reading order:
~ Day by Day Armageddon
~ Beyond Exile

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Books and Things review 
Gnostalgia review
Lorrie Jeanne review
Must Read Faster review
Wayfaring Writer review

book source: provided by the publisher

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Mary's life has always been simple: protect your family, follow the Sisterhood, and stay away from the Unconsecrated in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. This is the only life she's ever known: a village surrounded by fences with the large Cathedral dominating every day life. But Mary's mother always told her stories of the ocean and Mary is sure there must be something outside of their tiny village. After the fence is unexpectedly breached and the town is overrun with Unconsecrated, Mary flees with her brother and his wife and her childhood friends Cass, Harry and Travis through a series of gates without any clue as to where they will lead.

Let me start by saying how much I enjoyed Carrie Ryan's writing style: it is filled with beautiful descriptions (including a lovely title) and has a wonderful ebb and flow of action. I also thought her world building was pretty solid and full of interesting ideas - the whole idea of how the village establishes its own customs and religious ideals intrigues me. That said, I could not stand the character of Mary - or really any of the others for that matter. She seemed selfish, immature and seemingly incapable of the love the author keeps telling you she possesses. None of the characters were developed adequately for my tastes and consequently I never understood why she loved Travis so much or why others were drawn to her. Over and over again everyone asks Mary what will make her happy - I got so sick of that question by the end. Mostly because Mary proved time and again that whatever she felt like would make her happy would occur no matter the cost to anyone else. Yuck.