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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love the world of this book. I think it is such and interesting take on a zombie story set in an already tumultuous time in American history. I loved the satire of the zombie story line that in many ways is an exaggerated idea of the reconstruction period when southern democrats were still doing everything they could to maintain white supremacy and uphold slavery. This is shown in the combat schools in this book as well as the “survivalists” ideologies. Really interesting set up and I liked the characters a lot. I wish we saw more of Kate and Jackson in the middle third of the books but there was a lot to cover. I also found the end a tad unsatisfactory. I just wish more was resolved but it does a good job setting up the next book. I think I will continue with the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence
Moderate: Gore
This is just a well done historical fiction mixed with zombie horror. The fact that the combat schools are based on industrialized schools for native children and the fact that the institutions are paramount in showing that the real horror were the people in power. This thread is further elaborated on when Jane, Jack, and Kate get to Summerland and the utter atrocities and mismanagement that occurs there and further solidifies the fact that no one is safe when people with their own selfish agenda are in charge. I honestly loved that thorough line in the midst of this zombie horror historical fiction.
Then there is Jane. She is nothing short of incredible and I love her narration. She is an absolute badass(excuse my french) and does what she needs to do to survive. I love her humor, her sarcasm, stubbornness, and opinions throughout the whole book. And the reveal about her mother and her mother's husband was so unexpected and a great device in this story. She is perhaps one of my favorite characters in fiction, probably because I could see a bit of myself in her.
Kate is also incredible and the author beautifully demonstrates the toll of pretending and assimilating and that even after all of that you will still be mistreated and turned on. I also loved the fact that she didn't want to get married and didn't have crushes, it was refreshing. Kate is also incredibly amazing and bad ass and I love the fact she wants to look good while defeating zombies, as one should. Beauty is a weapon after all.
Needless to say, this was a great way to start off spooky season.
Then there is Jane. She is nothing short of incredible and I love her narration. She is an absolute badass(excuse my french) and does what she needs to do to survive. I love her humor, her sarcasm, stubbornness, and opinions throughout the whole book. And the reveal about her mother and her mother's husband was so unexpected and a great device in this story. She is perhaps one of my favorite characters in fiction, probably because I could see a bit of myself in her.
Kate is also incredible and the author beautifully demonstrates the toll of pretending and assimilating and that even after all of that you will still be mistreated and turned on. I also loved the fact that she didn't want to get married and didn't have crushes, it was refreshing. Kate is also incredibly amazing and bad ass and I love the fact she wants to look good while defeating zombies, as one should. Beauty is a weapon after all.
Needless to say, this was a great way to start off spooky season.
Took me a bit to get into the story, but once i did I tore through it. Jane is a likable misfit, and Katherine is sort of like her Jiminy Cricket, but also bad ass. It’s a history lesson on reconstruction and racism, zombie story, and female friendship and empowerment all in one. What’s not to like?
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Riveting from start to finish. The main character is complex, interesting and wildly wildly intelligent. Def the best portrayal of a smart character I've seen in books. I find that a lot of times authors just want to tell you the character is smart and not show bc a character can only be as smart as an author but Jane was def a shining example of what to do. A couple of characters are casually queer. And you can see in real time affection between characters blossom. Loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Xenophobia
This was one of the books I wanted to read most this year and I originally planned on reading it back in July since I am American and this book sort of centers around/takes place during the early years of America but I obviously didn’t end up doing that. I decided to save it for a time closer to Halloween just because my brain always places zombies/the undead as part of the horror genre. (Though I rank zombies as the lowest form of horror…) I am glad I waited until this time of year to read this book just because I found it more enjoyable now then I would have at that time.
I knew going into this book that I was either going to love it or hate it just because like I said I really do not care for zombies luckily I loved this book. I found the main character to by likable and for the most part relatable. The side characters were well written. Even the smallest characters felt real which can be difficult when dealing with a story where you meet plenty of people for just a few moments. You found yourself saddened when they are turned even if you just met them a few pages prior.
I also found I really enjoyed ow this book handled the sexualities present in it. the main character is bisexual and while it is only addressed a few times we never see it being seen as big deal and while the character doesn’t talk about it very often she is not ashamed of her feeling towards people weather it be men or women which I greatly admired since it is so rare to see bisexual character who aren’t labeled as confused or who aren’t portrayed as constantly questions and pushing themselves in one direction or the other. Plus this book also has an asexual and aromatic character which is also very refreshing. It is only mentioned once but still it nice to see when ace characters are so rare.
This book also shines a light on just home damaging prodigious can be for everyone involved. Even though this book takes places during the early days of America the message about how harmful racism can be rings true even to this day. Not just its messages about over all racism but also the message about how religion can effect the way we view people around us and in some cases can cause undo hate just as it can cause some to see the things taught to them is wrong.
While I did find aspects of this book I wasn’t all that found of such as the blooming love triangle, the way the undead had no originality to their actions or their so far unknown origins, and a couple other random bits and bobs here and there.
Overall I really did enjoy this book and I think it was a great start to the story I just hope the rest of the books can follow suit. This is one of those book that could either be amazing or fall flat because it has no hope of keeping up with its start. In either case it will still be interesting to see what direction the series takes.
I knew going into this book that I was either going to love it or hate it just because like I said I really do not care for zombies luckily I loved this book. I found the main character to by likable and for the most part relatable. The side characters were well written. Even the smallest characters felt real which can be difficult when dealing with a story where you meet plenty of people for just a few moments. You found yourself saddened when they are turned even if you just met them a few pages prior.
I also found I really enjoyed ow this book handled the sexualities present in it. the main character is bisexual and while it is only addressed a few times we never see it being seen as big deal and while the character doesn’t talk about it very often she is not ashamed of her feeling towards people weather it be men or women which I greatly admired since it is so rare to see bisexual character who aren’t labeled as confused or who aren’t portrayed as constantly questions and pushing themselves in one direction or the other. Plus this book also has an asexual and aromatic character which is also very refreshing. It is only mentioned once but still it nice to see when ace characters are so rare.
This book also shines a light on just home damaging prodigious can be for everyone involved. Even though this book takes places during the early days of America the message about how harmful racism can be rings true even to this day. Not just its messages about over all racism but also the message about how religion can effect the way we view people around us and in some cases can cause undo hate just as it can cause some to see the things taught to them is wrong.
While I did find aspects of this book I wasn’t all that found of such as the blooming love triangle, the way the undead had no originality to their actions or their so far unknown origins, and a couple other random bits and bobs here and there.
Overall I really did enjoy this book and I think it was a great start to the story I just hope the rest of the books can follow suit. This is one of those book that could either be amazing or fall flat because it has no hope of keeping up with its start. In either case it will still be interesting to see what direction the series takes.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Alternative history, if a zombie virus popped up at the battle of Gettysburg and changed the fighting to fighting the dead. Great adventure story, still dealing with prejudice of the civil war. Solid adventure heroic read.