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freadomlibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 4.5 stars
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
This was much more of a psychological type of thriller than I thought it was going to be. It had some action but it was much more about the problems that this type of situation causes in your mentality. It was scary and intense and full of death, not just in physical but also in thought process. It was all very anxiety inducing without being a very fast read.
Writing Style – 4.5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoy Courtney’s writing style, one of the reasons I picked up this book in the first place. It’s poetic but in a very ‘in your face’ and honest sort of way. It’s very sharp and unapologetic and doesn’t beat around the bush with tough topics or things that may be taboo. It’s very detailed and incredibly gruesome which lent itself very well to this genre.
Characters – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is where it fell a little flat for me. I am huge on character driven stories and I just didn’t connect very much to the main character or to the others if I’m honest. Sloane is just plain weird. She’s depressive and has dealt with physical abuse for years and she has the kind of mentality of someone whose given up on life. She’s has this obsessive quirk to her personality and she’s suicidal which then makes her be kind of selfless in regards to the other people in the group of survivors she’s in. She’s a little bit off her rocker and while it turned me off a bit, it didn’t surprise me at all. Courtney Summers has the tendency to write really off putting characters to open your mind to their situations. The rest of the characters are all just a bit off, for their own specific reasons. The group dynamic was also really strange but there was a kind of camaraderie that built up over time.
Emotionally
The plot is strange. In a lot of ways. We follow a group of teenagers who get thrown together while trying to survive what can only be described as a zombie apocalypse. They end up sheltered at their high school and the story surrounds them, their relationships and their choices. This is the kind of story that could’ve been really boring, even with the zombie element, because it’s more about the people than about what’s going on around them. And I’m not going to lie, there were some parts that had me yawning but it always managed to keep this really anxious undertone to everything. It kept me on the edge of my seat without it needing to be fast paced or full of action to accomplish it. Just a little lingering sense of dread and horror to keep you interested. Most of the time these kids were waiting around or discussing what to do with their existences but there were certain scenes placed in just the right moments that keep the reader engaged and in the mindset of the genre that this book is in. Otherwise, this would’ve felt like a really sucky contemporary novel.
Sloane is one of the weirdest points of views I have ever read. She’s suicidal, which makes me uncomfortable and I imagine that is the point. She is very clear and decided on her wish to leave the Earth and is just looking for the right moment to execute it without hindering her companions. It was really disturbing but sweet at the same time, even when she’s down on herself, she’s being selfless. Really strange, don’t gotta tell me twice. She has this obsession with her sister who is not around and it builds this driving force for her and her actions. She was just a generally off character and it was really hard to connect with her.
The rest of the characters all have some sort of issues. Grace and Trace, a brother and sister duo who are stuck in the past. Harrison, a freshmen unknown to the rest of the group who is really emotional and vulnerable. Cary who is the pseudo leader and has some issues from his actions. And last Rhys, who is probably the most level headed and determined of them all. This book wasn’t what I expected but I am interested to know how things progressed from the ending to the sequel.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
This was much more of a psychological type of thriller than I thought it was going to be. It had some action but it was much more about the problems that this type of situation causes in your mentality. It was scary and intense and full of death, not just in physical but also in thought process. It was all very anxiety inducing without being a very fast read.
Writing Style – 4.5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoy Courtney’s writing style, one of the reasons I picked up this book in the first place. It’s poetic but in a very ‘in your face’ and honest sort of way. It’s very sharp and unapologetic and doesn’t beat around the bush with tough topics or things that may be taboo. It’s very detailed and incredibly gruesome which lent itself very well to this genre.
Characters – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is where it fell a little flat for me. I am huge on character driven stories and I just didn’t connect very much to the main character or to the others if I’m honest. Sloane is just plain weird. She’s depressive and has dealt with physical abuse for years and she has the kind of mentality of someone whose given up on life. She’s has this obsessive quirk to her personality and she’s suicidal which then makes her be kind of selfless in regards to the other people in the group of survivors she’s in. She’s a little bit off her rocker and while it turned me off a bit, it didn’t surprise me at all. Courtney Summers has the tendency to write really off putting characters to open your mind to their situations. The rest of the characters are all just a bit off, for their own specific reasons. The group dynamic was also really strange but there was a kind of camaraderie that built up over time.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was very very weird but intriguing.The plot is strange. In a lot of ways. We follow a group of teenagers who get thrown together while trying to survive what can only be described as a zombie apocalypse. They end up sheltered at their high school and the story surrounds them, their relationships and their choices. This is the kind of story that could’ve been really boring, even with the zombie element, because it’s more about the people than about what’s going on around them. And I’m not going to lie, there were some parts that had me yawning but it always managed to keep this really anxious undertone to everything. It kept me on the edge of my seat without it needing to be fast paced or full of action to accomplish it. Just a little lingering sense of dread and horror to keep you interested. Most of the time these kids were waiting around or discussing what to do with their existences but there were certain scenes placed in just the right moments that keep the reader engaged and in the mindset of the genre that this book is in. Otherwise, this would’ve felt like a really sucky contemporary novel.
Sloane is one of the weirdest points of views I have ever read. She’s suicidal, which makes me uncomfortable and I imagine that is the point. She is very clear and decided on her wish to leave the Earth and is just looking for the right moment to execute it without hindering her companions. It was really disturbing but sweet at the same time, even when she’s down on herself, she’s being selfless. Really strange, don’t gotta tell me twice. She has this obsession with her sister who is not around and it builds this driving force for her and her actions. She was just a generally off character and it was really hard to connect with her.
The rest of the characters all have some sort of issues. Grace and Trace, a brother and sister duo who are stuck in the past. Harrison, a freshmen unknown to the rest of the group who is really emotional and vulnerable. Cary who is the pseudo leader and has some issues from his actions. And last Rhys, who is probably the most level headed and determined of them all. This book wasn’t what I expected but I am interested to know how things progressed from the ending to the sequel.
kayteaface's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I don't know, I have mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long time to get into in, and when I finally did start to enjoy it it was over too soon.
I thought the character development was great - where I started out disliking all of them, by the end of the book they'd all grown on me in their own way and I was rooting for them. What action there was was really good, too, it definitely had me at the edge of my seat.
That ending, though. What was that.
I thought the character development was great - where I started out disliking all of them, by the end of the book they'd all grown on me in their own way and I was rooting for them. What action there was was really good, too, it definitely had me at the edge of my seat.
That ending, though. What was that.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
I opened this book hoping for a somewhat faster pace than the other book i was reading. I thought, meh, this should be kinda interesting. i was wide-eyed wiht how quickly it grabbed my attention, like a hungry zombie, and made me want to read more.
zombies, high school students locked in the school for safety while the undead bang unceasingly on the doors to get in. interpersonal drama that shifts between the various characters, unpleasant happenings, death, running, more death, another deadth, surprise deaths. fun stuff!
zombies, high school students locked in the school for safety while the undead bang unceasingly on the doors to get in. interpersonal drama that shifts between the various characters, unpleasant happenings, death, running, more death, another deadth, surprise deaths. fun stuff!
iceangel32's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great story. It was a story of 6 teens that locked themselves in a school due to a Zombie Apocalypse. If you are looking for a true zombie story this is not it. This book is an amazing story of six teen trying to survive, both the outside world and their owns selves. Great book.
mon452's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
Courtney Summers’ trademark sparse yet hard-hitting prose meets the walking dead. Sound like either the next best thing or the stuff that makes you squirm in discomfort? It was a…strange…pairing in my opinion, and I’m still not sure what to think of it, but THIS IS NOT A TEST was a quick and intense read that was still hard for me to put down, despite some of my hesitations toward it.
There were many moments while I was reading when I stopped, pressed my palms into my eyes, and thought again how much subjective overkill of content this book contained. Sloane is a suicidal teenage girl with an abusive family history and a missing older sister. Sound like the beginning of a YA contemporary novel to you? It did to me too. Which was why I found the choice to make zombies a huge part of the problem in THIS IS NOT A TEST a rather strange one. The zombie premise made the book read sort of like a giant metaphor for not killing yourself and whatnot, and masked—at least for me—the subtlety of character development that a sophisticated contemporary YA allows.
It’s hard to not get fed up with the characters in THIS IS NOT A TEST. Sloane has a sort of narration that can dip into stream-of-consciousness at times, which combined with The Zombie Situation gave me headaches sometimes. (There are zombies. I just wanted some direct prose sometimes, y’know?) Other characters are even less likable, hung up on past events or sniffling at every single new thing that goes wrong. There were large chunks of the book that felt like characters simply shouting at one another, to no avail.
On the other hand, even if I wanted to grab some characters by the scruffs of their necks and drop-kick them outside to be at the mercy of the zombies, it’s hard for me to say whether or not this would be the natural behaviors of a group of six people stuck together in the middle of an apocalyptic situation. So I, as a reader, was torn between my frustration with some of the characters’ pettiness and the sobering thought that even I would be like those characters in that situation.
THIS IS NOT A TEST is not my favorite YA take on zombies, nor is it my favorite of Summers’ objectively accomplished novels: the strange juxtaposition of the supernatural with a setup that seems more ideal for a contemporary YA story didn’t quite work for me. However, if you’re a big fan of Summers’ writing style, don’t mind reading about zombies, and are interested in the details and behaviors of human beings in apocalyptic situations, THIS IS NOT A TEST will be just the thing for a dark and stormy night’s read.
There were many moments while I was reading when I stopped, pressed my palms into my eyes, and thought again how much subjective overkill of content this book contained. Sloane is a suicidal teenage girl with an abusive family history and a missing older sister. Sound like the beginning of a YA contemporary novel to you? It did to me too. Which was why I found the choice to make zombies a huge part of the problem in THIS IS NOT A TEST a rather strange one. The zombie premise made the book read sort of like a giant metaphor for not killing yourself and whatnot, and masked—at least for me—the subtlety of character development that a sophisticated contemporary YA allows.
It’s hard to not get fed up with the characters in THIS IS NOT A TEST. Sloane has a sort of narration that can dip into stream-of-consciousness at times, which combined with The Zombie Situation gave me headaches sometimes. (There are zombies. I just wanted some direct prose sometimes, y’know?) Other characters are even less likable, hung up on past events or sniffling at every single new thing that goes wrong. There were large chunks of the book that felt like characters simply shouting at one another, to no avail.
On the other hand, even if I wanted to grab some characters by the scruffs of their necks and drop-kick them outside to be at the mercy of the zombies, it’s hard for me to say whether or not this would be the natural behaviors of a group of six people stuck together in the middle of an apocalyptic situation. So I, as a reader, was torn between my frustration with some of the characters’ pettiness and the sobering thought that even I would be like those characters in that situation.
THIS IS NOT A TEST is not my favorite YA take on zombies, nor is it my favorite of Summers’ objectively accomplished novels: the strange juxtaposition of the supernatural with a setup that seems more ideal for a contemporary YA story didn’t quite work for me. However, if you’re a big fan of Summers’ writing style, don’t mind reading about zombies, and are interested in the details and behaviors of human beings in apocalyptic situations, THIS IS NOT A TEST will be just the thing for a dark and stormy night’s read.
celjla212's review against another edition
4.0
Sloane was planning on doing something drastic...until some even more drastic happened. Not only to her, but to the entire world. Her town of Cortege has been overrun by infected dead, and Sloane and 5 of her schoolmates are barricaded inside the high school with little hope of survival.
For those of you looking for a zombie-killing, brain splattering blood and gore fest, this is not your book. This book is more of a study in personality conflict and psychological changes to individuals in traumatic, unimaginable situations. So, just a fair warning.
Did I like the main character? No, I can't necessarily say that I did. I think most of what I felt for Sloane was pity. At times I found her very weak, but I'm not sure I can fault her for that after all the horrible things she had gone through in her life. She was definitely a change from the kick-ass, fiercely independent heroines that seem to be so popular in books these days.
This book has a taut line of tension that stretches throughout the entire story until the characters finally snap. The characters were archetypes: the leader, the hothead, the good girl, the rebel, etc. This was one aspect of the story I didn't care for--I was hoping for more originality in that aspect.
In the end, Sloane finally understands why she has made it so far and is lucky to be still alive. Especially since there were so many close to her, who did not.
For those of you looking for a zombie-killing, brain splattering blood and gore fest, this is not your book. This book is more of a study in personality conflict and psychological changes to individuals in traumatic, unimaginable situations. So, just a fair warning.
Did I like the main character? No, I can't necessarily say that I did. I think most of what I felt for Sloane was pity. At times I found her very weak, but I'm not sure I can fault her for that after all the horrible things she had gone through in her life. She was definitely a change from the kick-ass, fiercely independent heroines that seem to be so popular in books these days.
This book has a taut line of tension that stretches throughout the entire story until the characters finally snap. The characters were archetypes: the leader, the hothead, the good girl, the rebel, etc. This was one aspect of the story I didn't care for--I was hoping for more originality in that aspect.
In the end, Sloane finally understands why she has made it so far and is lucky to be still alive. Especially since there were so many close to her, who did not.
shebolebolee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
melissaalgood's review against another edition
5.0
This might be my favorite zombie book of all time
4saradouglas's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book SO quickly and just loved it. It really sucks you in, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I really liked the characters, even the one I couldn't stand, if that makes sense. I'm just mad that it ended!! Sequel??