The Reader Bee: Zombies

Showing posts with label Zombies. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2018

My Thoughts: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Audiobook)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30223025-dread-nation

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. (Goodreads)

Dread Nation has been on my radar for quite a while now, and I was extremely curious and excited to finally get my hands on the book. I had an e-Arc of the book, but then a physical copy arrived on my doorstep, so I took that as a sign that I needed to get started on the book right away. I'm SO glad I did. This book, you guys... this book deserves ALL the stars! I'm so glad I read it!

Let's get this started by talking about the storyline for Dread Nation. Wow, there's so much to say about the storyline for this book. To say it was interesting would be an understatement. I, admittedly, am not the biggest fan of zombie stories, (even though Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a particular favorite of mine), but that didn't stop me from reading this book for even a moment. 'Two days after Jane's birth, the dead began to walk again?' If that doesn't draw you in to the story, I don't know what will. I was hooked. The book also deals with a lot of issues that are rampant in the world today; including racism and oppression, and these parts of the book both broke my heart and made me completely rage. So while this book is an entertaining read, it also has a message. A big one, which I hope you take something away from should you read the book. (And you should totally read the book.)

Now let's talk about the characters. If you haven't noticed, bad-ass heroines are my favorites, especially when they are the super snarky ones. When we first meet Jane in the beginning of the book, she's in finishing school that trains not only in etiquette, but in weaponry as well, because you have to know how to fight the zombies. So, yeah, Jane can totally take care of herself, which she proves over and over again throughout the story. I love that heroines like Jane are popping up more and more in books lately, and that the youth of today are reading these books with these amazing young ladies, and they see that they can be a Jane as well. It's awesome!

Before I wrap this up, I also want to mention that I opted to listen to the audiobook while I read the physical copy, and it made the experience even more memorable. I've done this for a few books now, and I love having someone read the story to me while I read along with the book. (Seriously, try it sometime!) The audiobook is narrated by the awesome Bahni Turpin, who did such an amazing job of narrating the story to me. This is the second audiobook that I've listened to that Bahni has narrated, the first being Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi , which was also amazing. I'm really looking forward to listening to more audiobooks by her soon, including The Hate U Give, The Sun is Also a Star, and They Both Die at the End! If you have the opportunity to listen to something narrated by her, you should totally do so!

Overall; If you can't tell by my super gushy review, I really, really loved Dread Nation! I will most definitely be spending the next year pining away for the next book in the series, which is currently untitled, but set to release sometime in 2019. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more information on that book, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Add Dread Nation to your TBR, and read it as soon as you can! I promise you won't regret it.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Halloween Reads Week: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland
(White Rabbit Chronicles #1)
by Gena Showalter
Author Website | Twitter | Facebook

Publication Date: September 25th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 404
ISBN: 9780373210589
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Own

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

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….

I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish. (Goodreads)

Alice in Zombieland is book #4 in my Halloween Reads Week! I’ve been simply dying to start this book because it sounds pretty amazing, and has gotten really great reviews. Plus, it’s a Harlequin Teen novel, and I never regret reading one of their books.

The main character in the story is Alice Bell. I didn’t really know what to expect from Alice going into the story. I worried that with everything that she had been through, that she was going to be a weak character. I’m super glad to say, Ali totally proved me wrong. Instead she stayed strong and held her ground against the people who wanted to bring her down. I loved her snarky attitude. Ali’s love interest in the story is bad boy Cole Holland. Cole is the tattooed, smexy hot guy that I have come to love in my books. The relationship between these two characters was trying at times, but once they finally give into each other, they are absolutely perfect together.

I have to say that I really love the secondary characters in this book as well. Ali’s best friend, Kat, was a hoot. She definitely made the book more enjoyable for me, even though she was slightly mysterious. I also really love Ali’s grandparents; they were so cute and tried so hard to be ‘in the know’ about their granddaughter. Their use of ‘teen slang’ was pretty comical. I found all of the kids in Cole’s little group to be pretty interesting as well, each for their very own reasons.

I’ve read the Alice in Wonderland books by C.S. Lewis. However, I started Alice in Zombieland not even thinking about this book as an actual retelling. Yes, there were a few references to Alice in Wonderland, but only a small few, and the story was enjoyable just the way it was written.

I also liked that while this was a zombie book, the way the zombies were seen and dealt with were completely different than the other zombie books that I’ve read recently. I found that to be extremely refreshing. I started reading this book really late one night, and I kept telling myself that I would go to bed when I finished the chapter that I was reading. But the story was so addictive that I kept reading and reading well into the night. (Of course, I paid for this the next morning. Yawn.)

Overall; this book was SO good! I enjoyed it so much more than I ever expected to, and now I’m dying to get my hands on the next book. I am going to try to get to it as soon as possible, because I need more Cole! Er, I mean… Alice, Cole and crew. Wink.

Happy Reading!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Halloween Reads Week: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

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? (Goodreads)

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers is book #3 in my Halloween Reads Week! This is another book that I have wanted to read for a while now, and I’m super glad I finally decided to read it this Halloween. It made a perfect addition creepy Halloween reading list.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of zombies. You’ll never catch me voluntarily watching The Walking Dead or anything like that. I can take them, in moderation, and that’s exactly what we get in this book. While they are around, and the times we do see them are freaking intense, they aren’t the main focus of the story. I enjoyed that about the book, I think it made it the book a lot easier for me to read.

The main character in the story is Sloane. Wow, this character is seriously messed up. After years of abuse from her father, and being left by her older sister who promised to always take care of her… it’s easy to say she has some serious issues. You totally feel her emotions when reading the pages. She wants nothing more than to give up on life, and so different than what I am used to reading in a main character. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for her situation. The way that she interacts with the secondary characters, who are all hoping to survive, you can just fell her despair and detachment.

The storyline was so very creative. The book is mainly based around the six teens trying to survive inside their high school. Their survival stories made the book an intense read, especially the parts with the zombies, and I flew through the pages to find out what was going to happen to everyone in the end. Speaking of the end… WOW, what an ending. I’m surprised I didn’t have nightmares! (Yes, I’m a big chicken.)

Overall; I had heard this book was pretty great, and I’m seriously kicking myself for not reading it sooner. It has a major creep factor going on, which made it yet another awesome Halloween Read!

Happy Reading!