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luvrunr's review
5.0
Not your same old futuristic post apocolyptic story. The main character was refreshingly different than any I've ever experienced in a book of this type. While the main story is about "the change" and what's happening in Chicago I found the underlying story and topics to be the most interesting part of the book and why I rated it so high. On the surface it's a good book but when you look deeper you realize just how great of a story it is. I especially enjoyed how the main character seemed to struggle with her view of herself and how even in a time of great danger she had to stop and apply her make-up, I felt it spoke to the struggle that many black women face when trying to meet the expectations of society's opinion of beauty. I also liked the healthcare aspect and it sparked a debate on where we currently are and could be heading in that regard.
I'd love to read a sequel.
I'd love to read a sequel.
ellsea's review
5.0
Fantastic read
I fell in love with Tasha from the first chapter, and watching her genuinely evolve over the course of the book was wonderful. The plot is well constructed, Cole's pacing keeps you turning pages, and her style yanks you into this world and keeps you engrossed. Looking forward to reading more!
I fell in love with Tasha from the first chapter, and watching her genuinely evolve over the course of the book was wonderful. The plot is well constructed, Cole's pacing keeps you turning pages, and her style yanks you into this world and keeps you engrossed. Looking forward to reading more!
mellabella's review against another edition
4.0
I'm irritated that I waited so long to read this.
This book is timely and well written. It's a mix of genres (horror, sci fi, coming of age). Tasha is an interesting character.
In the beginning she's scavenging for food. Something has happened. The population in futuristic Chicago has been either changed into murderous monsters or killed by the murderous monsters. As the book unfolds we learn that some people got a chip implanted in their necks. The chip promised to make you a better you.
Tasha's parents died a few years before all this. She does have a sister named Leona that she is determine to find. But first she has to find someone Leona told her to seek out in her last letter.
It was fast paced when it should be and poignant at other times. The characters are fleshed out.
Looking forward to reading more of Olivia Coles work.
This book is timely and well written. It's a mix of genres (horror, sci fi, coming of age). Tasha is an interesting character.
In the beginning she's scavenging for food. Something has happened. The population in futuristic Chicago has been either changed into murderous monsters or killed by the murderous monsters. As the book unfolds we learn that some people got a chip implanted in their necks. The chip promised to make you a better you.
Tasha's parents died a few years before all this. She does have a sister named Leona that she is determine to find. But first she has to find someone Leona told her to seek out in her last letter.
It was fast paced when it should be and poignant at other times. The characters are fleshed out.
Looking forward to reading more of Olivia Coles work.
ashedryden's review against another edition
I wish I'd known that this book is basically a zombie novel :/
snowwolf75's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting novel with a twist on the zombie apocalypse. Also the heroine isn't the typical person for the genre - she's a 21 year old woman that was only worried about holding her job and what brands to wear. After the Change, her priorities did shift and it was great to watch her grow.
I got this book as a reward for backing the author's funding project and if she makes a sequel (which I saw teased somewhere) I will certainly buy that one too.
I got this book as a reward for backing the author's funding project and if she makes a sequel (which I saw teased somewhere) I will certainly buy that one too.
elfington's review
4.0
A good read. I had a bit of trouble sinking into it at first, some of the flashback/setup stuff seemed a little on the nose, but once I settled in I flew through it. There are things you could pick apart in this book, particularly the anachronistic dropping of current-era pop culture references, but the underlying vein of snark meant I was having too much fun to really worry about them.
sr_toliver's review
5.0
Tasha is a 21-year old Black woman living in Chicago. She works at the mall, loves Prada, and kills zombie-like creatures bent on ending her existence. In this story set in in a futuristic, but not so distant, society, California has seceded from the US, walking sidewalks replace the concrete ones, and people pretty much live in mega malls. A for-profit healthcare system creates a two-tiered hierarchy of citizens - those who can afford it and those who cannot. But, a glitch (I'm still not sure about whether or not this error was intentional) may prove that those who were unable to qualify for the healthcare fared better in the end.
What I liked most about Cole's novel is that the character spoke to me. I've always wondered if I would still worry about certain things if I lived in a dystopian world - Would I care if my armpits stunk? Would I wonder what my appearance was like? Would I risk death to get a hold of some deodorant and toothpaste? I'm not saying that every person would or should think about those things if the world was ending as we knew it, but I also think it's important to show that thinking about them is a possibility. Too often, I think that in trying to show that girls don't have to be princesses, writers create characters that are extremely anti-stereotypically feminine. Why can't a girl like lipstick and kick butt? Why can't she miss her flat iron as she sweats from running away from killers? Seeing female characters living unapologetically, whatever that may be for them in the context of the novel, is refreshing. I feel like if there were ever a zombie apocalypsse, I would be like Tasha, with my Wusthof in hand.
Diversity Elements:
The main character is an African-American woman;
Secondary characters are mostly people of color - women and men;
Nuanced identities for diverse characters
This book is full of women of color literally fighting a system that has marginalized them. Even when a character is present only for a short time, their story is still told. They have names, they have stories, they have dynamic identities.
What I liked most about Cole's novel is that the character spoke to me. I've always wondered if I would still worry about certain things if I lived in a dystopian world - Would I care if my armpits stunk? Would I wonder what my appearance was like? Would I risk death to get a hold of some deodorant and toothpaste? I'm not saying that every person would or should think about those things if the world was ending as we knew it, but I also think it's important to show that thinking about them is a possibility. Too often, I think that in trying to show that girls don't have to be princesses, writers create characters that are extremely anti-stereotypically feminine. Why can't a girl like lipstick and kick butt? Why can't she miss her flat iron as she sweats from running away from killers? Seeing female characters living unapologetically, whatever that may be for them in the context of the novel, is refreshing. I feel like if there were ever a zombie apocalypsse, I would be like Tasha, with my Wusthof in hand.
Diversity Elements:
The main character is an African-American woman;
Secondary characters are mostly people of color - women and men;
Nuanced identities for diverse characters
This book is full of women of color literally fighting a system that has marginalized them. Even when a character is present only for a short time, their story is still told. They have names, they have stories, they have dynamic identities.
taratearex's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed the world building of this book a lot. Oddly, I've never read a zombie book before, so I don't have a lot to compare it to within that genre, but it did remind me of The Hunger Games (YA trilogy, survival story centering a young woman of color). Fun and engaging story, enough that I'm interested in reading the sequels despite the writing being kind of overly quirky (but overall more enjoyable then the flatness of the prose in The Hunger Games).
I did have a hard time reading the parts about the animals in this world. I had to actively not think too much about the animal welfare issues in the story, I'm just sensitive to that in books.
I did have a hard time reading the parts about the animals in this world. I had to actively not think too much about the animal welfare issues in the story, I'm just sensitive to that in books.
ristretto's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5