Monday 11 March 2013

Alice In Zombieland- Gena Showalter

"Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.
Her father was right. The monsters are real.
To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies."- Amazon Summary


My rating:

 7/10 stars


Alice in Zombieland. Huh. (*trying to smother my laughter*) Its a pretty ridiculous title. It took me a few months, and 12 or so filler books until I could finally take this novel seriously enough to buy it. I'm glad I did. The comical title is completely made up for by the gorgeous cover and enthralling story. It is a lovely cover picture, don't you think? Well, at least until you zoom in on the girl and notice that she looks more like a 27 year old than a teenager. Presentation issues aside, the concept was unique, the characters likable enough, and the plotline engaging. 
 So, this isn't your average girl-meets-boy-fights-zombies story. Nuh-uh, for these zombies don't eat flesh- they feed on spirit. Ali bell, the protagonist and narrator, has to team up with a group of badass zombie hunters, and learn to fight using her spirit form. Yeah, that's right, she actually has to detach from her physical body in order to slay the zombies. Pretty cool.
 Ali was a nice lead character, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. She was outgoing and witty; I wasn't bored. Although, she did have a little of that "oh, I don't think I'm pretty at all" syndrome. It makes little sense to me why she is complaining, for the first thing we learn of her is her beautiful blond hair, wide blue eyes, and long legs. Does she really sound that ugly to you?
 I had mixed emotions about Cole. The summary mentions that he is "the baddest of the bad boys", but I feel compelled to disagree. For starters, his danger level is that of a bunny rabbit in comparison to some of the other bad-asses I have read in YA fiction. Plus, about half way through the book, he stops being all bad and mysterious, and melts in to a gooey, marshmallow-smore kinda boyfriend. This isn't meaning to say that I didn't like him, its just that the summary is misleading. 
 I think my favorite character interactions in this book were between Kat and Frosty. Kat, Ali's best friend, was bubbly and likable; the typical 'BFF'. Frosty is Kat's ex boyfriend. Long story short, their relationship is complicated. One second they hate each other, the next, they are having a rather steamy make-out session. I found them quite amusing.  Nearing the end of the book, we receive some heartbreaking news about Kat… what's gonna happen when Frosty finds out! If you are reading this and wondering "what in the world is she on about?",  then you just have to read the book and find out…
 I've seen some pretty mean reviews of this novel on amazon and goodreads, criticizing it for not being anything like Alice in Wonderland… I personally don't think that their judgements are justified. Apart from the  title, the summary did not say anything to suggest  it was a remake of Alice in Wonderland! It just mirrors several familiar aspects of it. Oh, and there's the fact that the main character's name is Alice.
 All in all, I very much enjoyed reading it, and recommend that all of you sitting at home and aimlessly scrolling through Amazon should click the 'Buy Now' button on this book!
 Until next time,
- Daisy

2 comments:

  1. nice review. dont want to be picky but you're rating says 7/10 but there are 8 stars

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  2. Great review! This book is at the top of my TBR pile and you just convinced me to shove it up further :)

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