This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:
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?
My Review:
Man I love anything Zombie. And I mean LOVE.
Carrie Ryan's series? Love. THE WALKING DEAD? Love. I AM LEGEND? Love. THIS IS NOT A TEST? Holy WTF Batman?
The last twenty pages alone, I just about fell out of bed while reading it. Courtney Summers did NOT hold back in those last few pages. And I mean AT ALL.
The beginning may have been a tad bit slow for my zombie tastes, but once it started going, it never stopped. And all I kept thinking was what I would do if I were stuck in Cortege High School. Then again, if I were stuck with Rhys, it might not be so bad.
Then the story unfolded and it was exactly how I would've imagined it would be, if the world was suddenly taken over by zombies. Mass hysteria. A frantic search for refuge. Never being alone.
Especially that last one.
And normally you read about how slow zombies are, dragging a foot behind them. Slugging along with their arms outstretched, moaning. Zombies that aren't smart enough to climb over a fence. Or open a door. But what really did it for me, is that the zombies in THIS IS NOT A TEST were fast. They actually ran. And I think that scared the crap out of me. Something that could actually keep up? So. Not. Cool. Ms. Summers. Not cool at all.
Okay, you know I loved it. Really.
And the external battle wasn't the only one our MC Sloane was up against. Deeply flawed with her own personal demons, she struggled between fighting and giving up. In fact, all of the characters had their own issues, each bringing something different to the table.
In the end, I'll say I thoroughly enjoyed THIS IS NOT A TEST. And as sick and twisted as it sounds, I love a book that can make me pull my foot in from hanging off the edge of the bed. Or close my closet door. Or jump when my dog's ears perk up at a strange noise in the house. And THIS IS NOT A TEST? Yeah, it didn't disappoint.
Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 26 - Letter Z
Today's the final day! We're down to the letter Z in our Blogging from A to Z Challenge - and my topic:
Zombies - My Favorites from Books to Movies
I'm not gonna lie, I absolutely love me some good zombies. I have no idea why I enjoy having the bejeezus scared out of me, particulary by those that were alive, then died, then came back to life again. Whatever it is, zombies are definitely a guilty pleasure for me - and here are a few of my favorites:
Favorite Book(s):
THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan
Goodreads Summary:
In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?
Just the idea of having to live life inside a fenced-in village, surrounded by the undead who are constantly trying to claw their way in, sends chills down my spine. Carrie Ryan's Unconsecrated are the epitomy of things that go bump in the night. For more details, my review of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH can be found here.
THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan
Goodreads Summary:
Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.
The second installment of TFOHAT trilogy picks right up where the first one left off. Equally entertaining and full of the undead that haunted me in the first book, this one takes a closer look at how things got to be the way they did.
THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES by Carrier Ryan
Goodreads Summary:
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?
I enjoyed all three of these books - but the third and final installment, is definitely my favorite. Not only are the characters faced with the Unconsecrated, but they also have what's left of a desperate human race to contend with as well...leaving you question, if the world actually were to come down to this, who would be worse? My review can be found here.
Favorite TV Show:
THE WALKING DEAD
AMC Summary:
Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’sThe Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers,Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.
This show is hands down, 100%, absolutely a-mazing - and one of my favorites on TV. Fabulous cast, entertaining, yet thrilling plot, and all with some of the most incredible make-up and visual effects I've seen on TV - trust me, you'll wanna leave the lights on when you watch this!
Favorite Movie:
ZOMBIELAND
IMDB Summary:
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the Last Twinkie, and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park, join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America.