Review: This is Not a Test

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers 
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Release Date: June 19th, 2012
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★★

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.

To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.

But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

I approached This is Not a Test as I would any other zombie novel: expecting only blood, guts, and horror. I was gravely mistaken... While This is Not a Test does contain the elements mentioned above, there is significantly more to this story. It is emotional, humbling, thought provoking, and original. In truth, it is not the plot that makes this book shine, it's the characters, namely Sloane.

Sloane didn't want to live. She was tired, damaged, and looking for a way out. She was weak and not particularly likeable. Still, I didn't want to see her die. As my dislike for her character grew, I also found that in the process I started rooting for her. I just wanted her to find some peace. Happiness maybe? Thankfully Rhys was there to give her a glimpse of what could be. Rhys' character really impressed me. He maintained a level-head throughout all the madness. Trace on the other hand clashed with Rhys on everything and fed off of the mayhem. I don't think Trace was a bad person, just very hurt. In a way each of the characters in this story was damaged.

As far as setting goes, it didn't really change all that much through the story. Very little of this book occurs outside the school walls. Boring? Not one bit. The tension between the characters alone would have been enough to keep me engaged and reading.

While This is Not a Test makes for a perfect, open-ended standalone novel, I would absolutely love to see a sequel. Ok, scratch that.... I'm DYING for a sequel! If you don't mind a little less gore and a little more emotion in your zombie books, this is definitely for you.

Review: Rot & Ruin

Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura, #1) by Jonathan Maberry
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Format: Hardcover 
Pages: 458
Source: Purchased 
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
★★★★★

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

After reading Maberry’s Patient Zero earlier this year, I knew I would love Rot & Ruin. Once again, he did not disappoint. He has such a great writing style and true talent for keeping readers’ eyes on the page. It was incredibly hard not to finish this in one sitting..

At the start, I found the main character, Benny, to be naïve, ignorant, and a bit obnoxious. He frustrated me so much initially… But I later found that the beauty of this book was seeing Benny grow from that ignorant child into someone to be respected and proud of. I really enjoyed watching the change in the relationship between Benny and his brother Tom as well. Benny had originally thought Tom was a coward, but slowly learned that he was actually quite the opposite! Tom was easily my favorite character in Rot & Ruin. His wisdom and compassion were awe-inspiring. I personally think that the character and relationship development in this book is what truly makes it shine. There is so much emotional substance to this story.

Rot & Ruin is not your everyday zombie book! It is an action packed read that will make you reflect on what it is to be human. I cannot wait to get started on Dust & Decay to see where this adventure leads next!

Review: Patient Zero

Patient Zero (Joe Ledger, #1) by Jonathan Maberry
Format: Audiobook read by Ray Porter
Source: Library
Buy It: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
★★★★☆

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills.  And that's both a good, and a bad thing.  It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance...

For those who haven’t read a book from this series, know that you are in for an action-packed, fast paced, thrill of a ride. This was my first experience with Jonathan Maberry’s writing and I have to admit… it’s pretty amazing. He writes action scenes so vividly that it was as if I was watching it happen right in front of me. Those scenes are what stood out the most to me. Maberry’s writing combined with Ray Porter’s narration took this story to an entirely new level. I’m so happy I opted for the audiobook version of this!!

It is very clear that Maberry did plenty of research on weapons, diseases, pathogens, and more to add to the consistency and authenticity of this book. It seemed so freakin’ real!  Joe Ledger’s character was so badass, sarcastic and funny. I couldn’t get enough of the guy! His personality was the perfect balance of rough and real.

This wasn’t one of those mindless “let’s kill zombies” adventures. The story was realistic and well thought out. It kept me one my toes the whole time! Oh and did I mention it has AMAZING fight scenes? Check this out if you are a fan of zombies, military, or action genre books. You most certainly will not be disappointed! If given the opportunity, I highly recommend trying this as an audiobook. Ray Porter is an excellent narrator!