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| Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter September 25. 2012 Harlequin Teen 404 pages Source: Personal Purchase |
Goodreads Summary:
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.
Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.
Her father was right. The monsters are real….
To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….
I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.
My Review:
I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, so this book completely appealed to me. But I was wise enough to not expect a simple replacement of, say, the card army to become zombies. That would have been way too boring. On the other hand, this book really had very little to do with AiW aside from the MC's name, Kat her quirky friend, and the white rabbit clouds. So if you're looking for a re-written version of AiW with zombies plugged in, this isn't the book for you.
But that's not what I was looking for, so I was quite pleased with this book. I appreciated how Ali (aka Alice) had to deal with so much heartache in the beginning (and throughout) the book. This isn't a HEA book, at least so far. I like that Ali doesn't let people push her around and gets excited about finding a purpose for her life. I worried at different points in the story that she would become like so many YA heroines and jump in bed with a guy she barely knew (seriously, why do they do that?). I liked her choices in this book and hope she can maintain her composure in the future.
Kat was a GREAT character and she definitely was the spark the book needed. Without her it would have definitely been taken down a notch. She has spunk, and quirk, and yet had a sad side to her that we get to know. I love her loyalty and her advice to Ali.
Cole is the tough guy whom the entire school fears, but who is also a softy when it comes to those he cares about. I like that at 16 he has a huge amount of responsibility and yet he never complains or shirks it. He knows his purpose and doesn't apologize for it. And his group of guys and gals are a unique family in themselves. Shows you can't judge a book by its cover. But I'm also glad that he loosened up enough for him and Ali to finally figure out how to communicate with each other (it's about time!).
I also liked Gena's take on zombies and their spirit forms. I admit I haven't read a lot of zombie books, so I don't know what other "takes" are out there, but I liked this one. I'm interested to see how much further she'll take it in the upcoming book(s). Because, yes, this was a great book. And, yes, I will definitely want to grab the next one when it comes out!
But that's not what I was looking for, so I was quite pleased with this book. I appreciated how Ali (aka Alice) had to deal with so much heartache in the beginning (and throughout) the book. This isn't a HEA book, at least so far. I like that Ali doesn't let people push her around and gets excited about finding a purpose for her life. I worried at different points in the story that she would become like so many YA heroines and jump in bed with a guy she barely knew (seriously, why do they do that?). I liked her choices in this book and hope she can maintain her composure in the future.
Kat was a GREAT character and she definitely was the spark the book needed. Without her it would have definitely been taken down a notch. She has spunk, and quirk, and yet had a sad side to her that we get to know. I love her loyalty and her advice to Ali.
Cole is the tough guy whom the entire school fears, but who is also a softy when it comes to those he cares about. I like that at 16 he has a huge amount of responsibility and yet he never complains or shirks it. He knows his purpose and doesn't apologize for it. And his group of guys and gals are a unique family in themselves. Shows you can't judge a book by its cover. But I'm also glad that he loosened up enough for him and Ali to finally figure out how to communicate with each other (it's about time!).
I also liked Gena's take on zombies and their spirit forms. I admit I haven't read a lot of zombie books, so I don't know what other "takes" are out there, but I liked this one. I'm interested to see how much further she'll take it in the upcoming book(s). Because, yes, this was a great book. And, yes, I will definitely want to grab the next one when it comes out!
5 STARS
I've had this book on my TBR since it came out and I'm gonna read it soon!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's really unrealistic when a girl just jumps in bed with a guy she barely knows, but I've heard so much of great stuff about Cole!
Also, this is a series, right? So I'm guessing you'll get to see an HEA after all. :)
Really great review!
Sarika @ The Readdicts
I hope you like it! And I really liked Cole. He's a great guy, so I can see why Ali likes him. Yes, this is a series. I don't know how many books there will be, but the 2nd one, "Through the Zombie Glass," comes out in 2013 (yay!). And I always want a HEA, lol.
DeleteThanks for stopping by :)