This Is Not A Test

This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From Goodreads

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?

This book isn't just about zombies. This book is about what would REALLY happen if there actually were a zombie apocalypse. We're not talking about guns blazing and hatchets swinging. This is what I imagine would really "go down" if zombies came to my town.

The story is told from Sloan's point of view. Her life is already a living nightmare and she's ready to check out. Her last thread of hope slipped quietly away in the night driving a beat-up old Volkswagen. She's now considering a desperate alternative and then a scream outside her house changes everything. What happens next is a fusion of personalities thrust together for the fight of their lives.
    
After the initial relief of finding a safe place to hide out from the zombies the tension builds among the cast of characters. Trust doesn't come easy and confrontations are inevitable. The five teens who come together have many flaws. You can't help but grieve for them because you might see someone you know...a brother, a daughter, or your best friend.
    
This is Not a Test isn't about the shambling dead outside. It's about the scared teenagers trapped inside and they're still dealing with all the issues that make being a teenager difficult...without the living dead.
    
Don't expect to feel good at the end of this story. This novel is gritty and raw and it will leave you holding your breath thinking "wow, someone should have warned me!" I loved it! Even though the living dead don't make many appearances the ending just blew me away. Up until this moment Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth was my favorite young adult zombie novel. Courtney's, This is Not a Test is without a doubt my other favorite. I received this copy for review and I'm so thankful for that opportunity. This is the first novel I've read of Courtney's but it won't be the last.

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The Hunger Games Trailer!

Love this series! I can't believe I'm going to say this but I think the movie is going to be (almost) better than the book. Watch this trailer and tell me what you think...



Am I right?!?!?

As an added note- where have I been? Just realized that's Lenny Kravitz as Cinna! Woo hoo! My anticipation just went up several notches.

Yet Another Zombie Book

Bits of the Dead by Keith Gouveia

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Goodreads

They live. They die. They return. Zombies. 38 authors. 38 gut-wrenching tales. Flash fiction at its finest, all illustrated by underground favorite Sean Simmans and edited by Keith Gouveia. Stories by Piers Anthony, Robert Appleton, Joel Arnold, Drew Brown, Adam-Troy Castro, Nick Cato, C.M. Clifton, Christopher Allan Death, Ed Dempster, J.G. Faherty, Paul A. Freeman, Charles A. Gramlich, J.H. Hobson, M.M. Johnson, Michael Josef, Kiernan Kelly, Nancy Kilpatrick, Michael Laimo, Catherine MacLeod, James Newman, Kurt Newton, Jeff Parish, Matthew John Peters, Jeffrey C. Pettengill, Daniel Pyle, Gina Ranalli, Steven Savile, Julia Sevin, R.J. Sevin, Nate Southard, Jeff Strand, Simon Strantzas, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Lee Thomas, William T. Vandemark, Steve Vernon, Tim Waggoner, John Weagly Bits of the Dead is a hard-hitting, pulse-pounding collection of zombie tales that'll have you ripping through the pages faster than a ghoul through a warm body.

Junk food for the brain....these are entertaining little "bites" of zombie fiction. Great price for zombie fiction fans:-)



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In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a fun meme hosted at The Story Siren where we share what books we received this week.

Here's what I got...

Zombies vs Unicorns by Holly Black

Hardcover 432 pages

September 21, 2010

From Goodreads:

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

 Another trophy to add to my Carrie Ryan Collection, her short story  Bougainvillea. Can't wait to read this little beauty! I'm also very excited to read Libba Bray's Prom Night. I thoroughly enjoyed Going Bovine and am very curious to see how her zombie tale plays out. Even though I am firmly on Team Zombie, I believe The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund has definite possibilities. I considered getting this book on the Kindle but would have missed out on the awesome cover, fun fonts, and little zombie and unicorn graphics.

September Zombies!

Oh my goodness! How could I have forgotten that September is Zombie Appreciation month?!?!? vvB32 has been celebrating zombies all month and is having a giveaway for Zombie vs Unicorns. I'm "dying" to read this one as it has a story from my favorite author, Carrie Ryan. I'm supposed to convince you, the reader, to see things my way and join team zombie...

Carrie Ryan and The Forest of Hands and Teeth series!

What an amazing series and what sparked my interest in "zombie lit." I've always enjoyed reading post apocalyptic books...my all time favorite, Stephen King's The Stand. When I read about Carrie's first book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth I just knew I had to read it. I was hooked and would "kill" to have an ARC of her upcoming third book, The Dark and Hollow Places. To tide me over in the meantime I read Carrie's short story in the anthology Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Romance. Hare Moon gives readers a little look  into Sister Tabitha's world and how she came to be the seemingly cold-hearted Sister she is in TFHT.

If I haven't convinced you so far, check out the trailer for Carrie's second book The Dead-Tossed Waves.



If you want to join in the fun just go here and do the following:

1. Sign guestbook (if you haven't already).

2. Read each team captain's post (links are below) and leave them a comment.

3. Pick a team.

4. Grab the team badge of your choice below and create a blog post with your team preference and link it back to this post ( http://vvb32reads.blogspot.com/2009/02/zombies-vs-unicorns-challenge.html). Make a persuasive statement for your team so that your followers will be compelled to vote for your team too.

Note: all commenters of your post will be eligible to win this book too!

Don't forget to include your post link in comments on this post.

Offer ends Sept. 30, so hurry!

Book Review: The Reapers Are the Angels

The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

 
I read this book because it received good reviews here on Goodreads and because I'm a huge fan of "Zombie Lit." I was hoping it would be similar to The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan and while it didn't disappoint it was a very different book. Temple is a tough as nails character who is near and dear to my heart now. I wished she had let people into her heart a little more but I understand why she didn't. She had lost too much and didn't have a very high opinion of herself. The relationship between she and her nemesis was a very interesting one indeed. I would have liked to have seen it end on a little more hopeful note but then again, I don't really like endings that are all tied up in a neat little bow.



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Book Review: The Passage

The Passage by Justin Cronin (web site)
Genre: horror, apcocalyptic
Publisher: Ballantine, June 8, 2010
Hardcover 766 pages

From Goodreads:

"It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.
From the Publisher (Random House)

So my first thoughts on this novel are what a great read this was! It's the first time in awhile that I've lost myself in a story. I found myself caring deeply for the characters and praying for their salvation (though you know some of them are gonna die along the way). This book has frequently been compared to Stephen King's The Stand and I'm going to have to strongly agree here. Two comparisons that immediately come to mind are...shared dreams/visions and a wise, old, woman. The Passage's Auntie reminded me so much of Mother Abigail ("I'm 106 years old, and I still makes my own bread."). Like other great apocalyptic reads, there is that desire to know what is still left of the world. In the case of Mary (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) and Peter (The Passage), they want to know about the ocean. Their desire to discover the unknown, even at the risk of losing their lives, is all consuming.


I like the way Cronin drops clues along the journey. I have my own theories of the significance of Amy's Peter the Rabbit...it can't be coincidence.

My only true complaint with The Passage is the confusion I felt when the book jumps ahead about 100 years into the future and describes life in the survivor's colony.  The book goes into a lot of detail on the rules of the new society and the roles of the inhabitants. It was the one time I wished I hadn't been reading it on a Kindle, as I would have been flipping back and forth trying to refresh my memory on who was who and from what family they came from.


Another awesome novel that ranks right up there with The Passage and The Stand is Robert McCammon's The Swan Song. What sets this book apart from the other two is that the world ends with a nuclear disaster ...the world is a wasteland. If you've read The Road by Cormac McCarthy then you know what I mean.

I've been reading on the internet that The Passage is the first book in a trilogy-wow, that's pretty ambitious considering the whopping size of this one! With that said, the book ends with somewhat of a cliff-hanger but it's still a satisfying conclusion. I'm really looking forward to his second installment.

Apocalyptic Read A-likes

"It's the end of the world as we know it"-REM

For the Summer Break Reading Challenge activity #8 we were to make a Read A-Like list. Ever since reading Stephen King's The Stand I've been captivated by tales of the apocalypse. Currently I'm reading Justin Cronin's The Passage which is fast becoming my second favorite.

From Goodreads, The Passage by Justin Cronin:

"It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.
From the Publisher (Random House)

From Goodreads, Swan Song by Robert McCammon:

Swan Song is rich with such characters as an ex-wrestler named Black Frankenstein, a New York City bag lady who feels power coursing from a weird glass ring, a boy who claws his way out of a destroyed survivalist compound. They gather their followers and travel toward each other, all bent on saving a blonde girl named Swan from the Man of Many Faces. Swan Song is often compared to Stephen King's The Stand, and for the most part, readers who enjoy one of the two novels, will enjoy the other. Like The Stand, it's an end-of-the-world novel, with epic sweep, apocalyptic drama, and a cast of vividly realized characters. But the tone is somewhat different: The good is sweeter, the evil is more sadistic, and the setting is harsher, because it's the world after a nuclear holocaust. Swan Song won a 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel. It's a monster of a horror book, brimming over with stories and violence and terrific imagery--God and the Devil, the whole works.

From Goodreads, Into the Forest by Jean Hegland:

Set in the near-future, Into the Forest is a powerfully imagined novel that focuses on the relationship between two teenage sisters living alone in their Northern California forest home.

Over 30 miles from the nearest town, and several miles away from their nearest neighbor, Nell and Eva struggle to survive as society begins to decay and collapse around them. No single event precedes society's fall. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. The sisters consume the resources left in the house, waiting for the power to return. Their arrival into adulthood, however, forces them to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship to the land and each other.

Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, Into the Forest is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking novel of hope and despair set in a frighteningly plausible near-future America.

From Goodreads, The Things That Keep us Here by Carla Buckley:

How far would you go to protect your family?

Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.

A year ago, Ann and Peter Brooks were just another unhappily married couple trying–and failing–to keep their relationship together while they raised two young daughters. Now the world around them is about to be shaken as Peter, a university researcher, comes to a startling realization: A virulent pandemic has made the terrible leap across the ocean to America’s heartland.

And it is killing fifty out of every hundred people it touches.

As their town goes into lockdown, Peter is forced to return home–with his beautiful graduate assistant. But the Brookses’ safe suburban world is no longer the refuge it once was. Food grows scarce, and neighbor turns against neighbor in grocery stores and at gas pumps. And then a winter storm strikes, and the community is left huddling in the dark.

Trapped inside the house she once called home, Ann Brooks must make life-or-death decisions in an environment where opening a door to a neighbor could threaten all the things she holds dear.

Carla Buckley’s poignant debut raises important questions to which there are no easy answers, in an emotionally riveting tale of one family facing unimaginable stress.

From Goodreads, The Stand by Stephen King:

This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail -- and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

From Goodreads, Life as We Knew it by Beth Pfeffer:

It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a fun meme hosted at The Story Siren where we share what books we received this week.

Here's what I got...

The Passage by Justin Cronin
Genre: fiction, horror
Publisher: Ballantine, June 8, 2010
Hardcover, 766 pages

From Goodreads:

"It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born."

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

I bought this one on my Kindle due to the behemoth size. I wanted to be able to tote it around without spraining my wrist. I am officially 50% through and can't put it down! I would recommend this book to fans of Stephen King's The Stand. Another great book like this one is Robert McCammon's Swan Song...love it!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

From Goodreads:

Full of dark seduction and modern romance, this short story collection presents a variety of talented voices sure to satisfy every werewolf, ghost, fallen angel, zombie, and shape-shifter’s dark desires.

I absolutely cannot wait for this book! Carrie Ryan has a short story about a teenage Sister Tabitha from The Forest of Hands and Teeth series. Other popular authors include: Becca Fitzpatrick, Maggie Stiefvater, and Diana Peterfreund. This book is due out July 27, 2010.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link here!

Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (website)
Genre: Young adult, post apocalyptic, horror
Publisher: Delacorte, March 2010
407 pages

From Goodreads:

Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known and, and all she needs for happiness.

But life after the Return is never safe and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but, like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.

One night beyond the Barrier . . .
One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery . . .
One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.

Now Gabry knows only one thing: if she has any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

After reading Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth I became hooked on zombie literature. I already loved to read post apocalyptic novels...my favorites being The Stand by Stephen King and Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book by Carrie and I didn't have to wait too long. I won a contest at Karin's Book Nook and received the ARC. This book didn't disappoint! I had so many questions from the first book which were answered in this one (namely why the heck was Gabrielle so darn fast). Still...some questions were left unanswered and that is why I am eagerly anticipating her third book. As I recommended this book to a friend I felt it my duty to explain that this book had, what I thought, was a very disturbing scene... the Soulers. For those of you who read it, you know what I mean. I still get the shivers when I think about it. This is what set this book apart from other zombie novels I've read, it makes you think and it isn't the usual fare for a zombie apocalypse. My only complaint would be that Gabry seemed to be a little whiny. I just wanted to tell her to make her mind up already. I guess a person is entitled to be a little whiny though when your world is surrounded by zombies and you have two intriguing young men to choose from. The third book, The Dark and Hollow Places is due out in the spring of 2011. In the meantime, be on the lookout for the anthology Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love which is due out July 27th, 2010. Carrie Ryan is contributing a story that focuses on teenage Sister Tabitha!

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Rot and Ruin

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This is my first one!

Due to the fact that I'm a huge fan of zombie literature my pick this week is Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, release date- Oct. 5, 2010

From Goodreads:

A teenager grows up in a post-apocalypic, zombie-infested America in Jonathan
Maberry's Rot & Ruin.

The description leaves something to be desired but it's my understanding from reviews on Goodreads that there's a bit of a twist to this zombie novel!

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link here!