Scan barcode
collinssophie03's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
imjustcupcake's review
5.0
Imagine you find yourself in a world where all of your childhood stories are real. You get to meet your fairytale heroes: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and so many more. Now imagine that all of these beloved people you only thought existed in stories turn out to be zombies. This is Once Upon a Zombie in a nutshell and it is fantastic.
Our main character, Caitlin, gets to experience just this. There had been a bunch of sightings at some grave sites around the world of the living dead and her friend Jack talks her into going to the graveyard he thinks is going to be the next one to be visited.
They are supposed to go to the graveyard after the school dance, but thanks to some mean girls, she ends up at the graveyard alone. Or so she thought. Her sneaky little sister managed to follow her there despite being told to stay home.
However, that isn't the end of it. While at the graveyard, a hand starts to come out of the grave. Eventually an entire undead girl is standing before them. The undead girl is looking for...you guessed it....Caitlin.
The undead girl wants Caitlin to go with her back to where she came from. However, Caitlin is scared to go with her, and rightfully so in my opinion. However, her way to brave for her own good little sister jumps right in. Caitlin is then forced to follow, so that she can get her sister safely home.
What happens once she goes through the proverbial rabbit hole is a wonderfully frightening adventure. One you are going to have to read and experience for yourself.
I am going to be honest. While I ended up really enjoying this book, I thought the beginning was a little rough. I am going to chock it up to creating the world and the characters. Some of why things are the way they are aren't really explained, but they end up making sense when you get further into the story.
After I got to know the characters, I really liked them. At first I was really iffy about Caitlin. She is very scared of everything. I was wondering how our heroine was supposed to get anything done if she couldn't even leave the room without counting the corners of the room. Thankfully we get to see her grow throughout the course of the story.
However, her sister could have used a bit more growth I think. She was very brave. Sometimes too much so and very impulsive. The exact opposite of Caitlin. Then again, the poor girl was stuck in a chili pepper outfit and a yellow rain jacket for the majority of the book. I guess you have to be brave if you are stuck with that as your only outfit.
I loved the zombie princesses. Their personalities are very fun and each is very different from the next. Cinderella is the ever hungry one, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are both pretty quiet, and Rapunzel is obviously the leader.
There was one character that really kind of bugged me and that was the frog. Almost every single time he talked he said "Amigo." After awhile I just wanted him to be quiet and stop talking. The word was really over used.
I also really enjoyed the take on zombies. It did take me awhile to get used to it. At first I was wondering why the Princesses even needed to drink water seeing as they were dead. However, once I accepted that the zombies in this book aren't technically your traditional zombies I was able to over look this and let myself enjoy them for what they are.
By the end of the story I was completely sold. I found myself totally enjoying all of the characters and the creativeness of it all. I also loved the lesson that is built into this story (YES! There is a lesson!). I will most definitely be continuing on with this story in the future.
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.
Our main character, Caitlin, gets to experience just this. There had been a bunch of sightings at some grave sites around the world of the living dead and her friend Jack talks her into going to the graveyard he thinks is going to be the next one to be visited.
They are supposed to go to the graveyard after the school dance, but thanks to some mean girls, she ends up at the graveyard alone. Or so she thought. Her sneaky little sister managed to follow her there despite being told to stay home.
However, that isn't the end of it. While at the graveyard, a hand starts to come out of the grave. Eventually an entire undead girl is standing before them. The undead girl is looking for...you guessed it....Caitlin.
The undead girl wants Caitlin to go with her back to where she came from. However, Caitlin is scared to go with her, and rightfully so in my opinion. However, her way to brave for her own good little sister jumps right in. Caitlin is then forced to follow, so that she can get her sister safely home.
What happens once she goes through the proverbial rabbit hole is a wonderfully frightening adventure. One you are going to have to read and experience for yourself.
I am going to be honest. While I ended up really enjoying this book, I thought the beginning was a little rough. I am going to chock it up to creating the world and the characters. Some of why things are the way they are aren't really explained, but they end up making sense when you get further into the story.
After I got to know the characters, I really liked them. At first I was really iffy about Caitlin. She is very scared of everything. I was wondering how our heroine was supposed to get anything done if she couldn't even leave the room without counting the corners of the room. Thankfully we get to see her grow throughout the course of the story.
However, her sister could have used a bit more growth I think. She was very brave. Sometimes too much so and very impulsive. The exact opposite of Caitlin. Then again, the poor girl was stuck in a chili pepper outfit and a yellow rain jacket for the majority of the book. I guess you have to be brave if you are stuck with that as your only outfit.
I loved the zombie princesses. Their personalities are very fun and each is very different from the next. Cinderella is the ever hungry one, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are both pretty quiet, and Rapunzel is obviously the leader.
There was one character that really kind of bugged me and that was the frog. Almost every single time he talked he said "Amigo." After awhile I just wanted him to be quiet and stop talking. The word was really over used.
I also really enjoyed the take on zombies. It did take me awhile to get used to it. At first I was wondering why the Princesses even needed to drink water seeing as they were dead. However, once I accepted that the zombies in this book aren't technically your traditional zombies I was able to over look this and let myself enjoy them for what they are.
By the end of the story I was completely sold. I found myself totally enjoying all of the characters and the creativeness of it all. I also loved the lesson that is built into this story (YES! There is a lesson!). I will most definitely be continuing on with this story in the future.
Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/
This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.
smart_girls_love_trashy_books's review
4.0
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
This book was a whole heck of a lot of fun to read! I liked the characters, the fairy-tell retellings, all zombified, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! I wonder if it takes place in Wonderland since Alice is there?
It was fast-paced, funny, and gross, pretty much everything I love in a novel, combined with badass princesses. It did seem to be a bit YA-ish especially with some of the terms used instead of a middle-grade novel like it's marketed as, but that's a minor complaint.
It was also kind of weird it took place in England, as there wasn't very much British slang and at one point a girl's outfit is described as 'being made of Euros' even though England doesn't use Euros, it uses pounds.
Other than that though I enjoyed it and I really liked the lesson. I relate to the main character since I too am pretty much afraid of everything, so the lesson in this book really spoke to me and encourages me to become more confident.
Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
This book was a whole heck of a lot of fun to read! I liked the characters, the fairy-tell retellings, all zombified, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! I wonder if it takes place in Wonderland since Alice is there?
It was fast-paced, funny, and gross, pretty much everything I love in a novel, combined with badass princesses. It did seem to be a bit YA-ish especially with some of the terms used instead of a middle-grade novel like it's marketed as, but that's a minor complaint.
It was also kind of weird it took place in England, as there wasn't very much British slang and at one point a girl's outfit is described as 'being made of Euros' even though England doesn't use Euros, it uses pounds.
Other than that though I enjoyed it and I really liked the lesson. I relate to the main character since I too am pretty much afraid of everything, so the lesson in this book really spoke to me and encourages me to become more confident.
Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
awesome514's review
2.0
The writing in this book was way too.... spastic? I felt like it was written by a chipmunk on speed. This may appeal to the targeted demographic, but it just gave me a headache. One star for the concept, one star for the whimsy, and zero stars for the writing.
paradiselcst's review
1.0
dnf @ page 175, 47%
okay i’m dnfing this for a multitude of reasons. the reasons get weirder and grosser as i continue.
1) i never wanted to read this. when i picked it up, it was smooth sailing but i never wanted to pick it up.
2) going off of number one, i have other things i want to read. i don’t want to waste my time with this.
3) the writing is so juvenile. you can write a middle grade book that employs more than just your basic writing techniques. this reads like a 12 year old just downloaded wattpad for the first time.
4) the characters are fourteen yet they’re written like they’re in their twenty’s. they’re out driving, making big, fancy purchases, going to parties past their bedtime, walking to the train station by themselves. what???
5) the author has used “they smiled like the cheshire cat” far too many times. it wasn’t cute the first time.
6) the author said a 14 year old thought someone had “exquisite, long, golden locks”. who thinks like that ???
7) this is a middle grade book, as previously stated, and the male author described cinderella’s legs as sexy after describing 14 year old girls in a similar way. this is what did it in for me, i think. men need to realize they can capture the beauty of feminine characters without being blatantly gross.
anyways i’m unhauling this and will likely never think of it again unless i want to be angered.
okay i’m dnfing this for a multitude of reasons. the reasons get weirder and grosser as i continue.
1) i never wanted to read this. when i picked it up, it was smooth sailing but i never wanted to pick it up.
2) going off of number one, i have other things i want to read. i don’t want to waste my time with this.
3) the writing is so juvenile. you can write a middle grade book that employs more than just your basic writing techniques. this reads like a 12 year old just downloaded wattpad for the first time.
4) the characters are fourteen yet they’re written like they’re in their twenty’s. they’re out driving, making big, fancy purchases, going to parties past their bedtime, walking to the train station by themselves. what???
5) the author has used “they smiled like the cheshire cat” far too many times. it wasn’t cute the first time.
6) the author said a 14 year old thought someone had “exquisite, long, golden locks”. who thinks like that ???
7) this is a middle grade book, as previously stated, and the male author described cinderella’s legs as sexy after describing 14 year old girls in a similar way. this is what did it in for me, i think. men need to realize they can capture the beauty of feminine characters without being blatantly gross.
anyways i’m unhauling this and will likely never think of it again unless i want to be angered.
cherryreads's review
3.0
While this was an interesting story that brought to life many childhood favorites from fairytales, it just wasn't a for me. It's classified as young adult but really it read more like a middle grade novel and I don't get much enjoyment from those.
bookertsfarm's review
4.0
In order to write this review, I really had to thing about it for a few days. I think it is important to say that I am not the target audience for this book. I believe it is aimed at young adults or middle graders. So when rating it, I had to look at it from that perspective.
Let me say I would have loved this type of book when I was younger. I am probably dating myself, but I have no recollection of young adult or middle grade books when I was that age. Of course, I was also reading Anne Rice and Stephen King when I was in the 6th grade, so maybe I wasn't the average middle grader. I would have devoured this book at that age, and came close to doing the same even now.
Once Upon A Zombie tells the tale of Caitlyn and her sister Natalie. They have recently moved to London and live with their father. All that is really known of their mother is that she disappeared several years ago. Caitlyn has all kinds of problems. She is a loner at school and suffers from severe anxiety. She has all kinds of worries and fears which makes her an unlikely option for saving an alternative universe...or does it. Along the way, the two encounter a gang of misfit zombies who consist of Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Let me tell you, Zombie Disney Princesses is a genius concept. Totally my kind of Disneyland.
This book not only tells a wonderful tale, but also speaks to teen bullying, overcoming fear and anxiety, and expressing one's individuality. Natalie is a brainiac and is quite easily my favorite character. She is witty, snarky and smart as a tack and I really hope she is in the future installments. I enjoyed this book and believe it offers something to readers of all ages. If you like books which are unique and imaginative, then you should definitely give this one a chance.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and also received a hard cover from Smith Publishing. I believe they are soon marketing dolls from this series and I can't wait to get my hands on a Zombie Rapunzel or Snow White!
Let me say I would have loved this type of book when I was younger. I am probably dating myself, but I have no recollection of young adult or middle grade books when I was that age. Of course, I was also reading Anne Rice and Stephen King when I was in the 6th grade, so maybe I wasn't the average middle grader. I would have devoured this book at that age, and came close to doing the same even now.
Once Upon A Zombie tells the tale of Caitlyn and her sister Natalie. They have recently moved to London and live with their father. All that is really known of their mother is that she disappeared several years ago. Caitlyn has all kinds of problems. She is a loner at school and suffers from severe anxiety. She has all kinds of worries and fears which makes her an unlikely option for saving an alternative universe...or does it. Along the way, the two encounter a gang of misfit zombies who consist of Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Let me tell you, Zombie Disney Princesses is a genius concept. Totally my kind of Disneyland.
This book not only tells a wonderful tale, but also speaks to teen bullying, overcoming fear and anxiety, and expressing one's individuality. Natalie is a brainiac and is quite easily my favorite character. She is witty, snarky and smart as a tack and I really hope she is in the future installments. I enjoyed this book and believe it offers something to readers of all ages. If you like books which are unique and imaginative, then you should definitely give this one a chance.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and also received a hard cover from Smith Publishing. I believe they are soon marketing dolls from this series and I can't wait to get my hands on a Zombie Rapunzel or Snow White!
isadorawonder's review
5.0
This was a really good book. I did not expect that small twist at the end.
The actual story ended on a good note. There were no cliffhangers or bad things happening.
However, in the epilogue stuff actually went down. It continued the story after the dance. But somebody tells her something (in her room) that makes Caitlin continue her adventure. But this time in her own world...
The actual story ended on a good note. There were no cliffhangers or bad things happening.
However, in the epilogue stuff actually went down. It continued the story after the dance. But somebody tells her something (in her room) that makes Caitlin continue her adventure. But this time in her own world...
More...