Sep 11, 2013

Alice in Zombieland By: Gena Showalter Review

Alice In Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Pages: 404
Rating: 4.5/5

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….



     With all the hype of zombies going around, I'm actually surprised to say that Alice in Zombieland is my first zombie read (although, Alice in Zombieland is more of a zombie meets spirits/ghosts kind of book). I don't know why these dead, moving corpses are so popular but I'll be the first to say I loved them in this book! I honestly haven't taken much interest in Alice in Zombieland before because for one, I thought it was a reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland (don't hate me but I can't say I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan) and two, based on the cover, I thought it was a younger-geared YA novel. It saddens me to say I didn't even give it a chance by reading the synopsis (I know, shame on me) but all of a sudden this past week I've been hearing all about how amazing both this book, and "this Cole guy," is! All of this combined with a ton of suggestions to read Alice in Zombieland from all of you made me buckle down and finally get to it!

     All of her life, Alice has had to be home before the sun goes down. Her father, who she understandably  thinks is crazy, believes that when night arrives monsters come out that are coming after Alice, her mother and sister Emma.  Despite her frequent attempts to persuade her parents to let her outside at night, they never budge.That is until one night, on Alice's birthday, Alice convinces them to attend Emma's recital. Everything is fine until they begin the drive home and get into an accident where Alice's father, mother and sister all die. It is here that Alice comes to the shocking discovery that everything her father warned her about is true. Zombies are real! Forced to move in with her grandparents and attend a new school, Alice meets a new friend named Kat and finds herself drawn to a boy with beautiful violet eyes, Cole. Although Cole and his group of friends have a bad reputation, Alice can't help herself from trying to catch glimpses of him whenever she can (especially because when their eyes meet, she experiences visions that typically involve her, Cole and kissing). Before she knows it, Alice is using her father's training to good use as she fights zombies and discovers more and more shocking revelations about this world she spent years denying existed.

     I frequently find myself becoming a tad annoyed by heroines in YA because there is a whiney/irrational pattern that seems to pop up in a lot of novels. However I know that most of the time these characters are teenage girls, and as a fellow teenage female I know that at times we can be a little pathetic so I try to not let that effect my thoughts on the book as whole. That being said, Alice handles everything so well! She's feisty, brave, and is able to handle herself among a group of well trained zombie killers. In addition to that, she's hilarious! In general, Alice in Zombieland as a whole has a lot of comedy that comes from both Alice, Alice and Cole, and secondary characters like Kat and Alice's grandparents (honestly, seeing her grandparents try and speak "teenager" made me laugh out loud while in the library the other day--I tried so hard to hold it in)!

     I've been waiting for a guy like Cole to show up and never did I think I'd find him in Alice in Zombieland....but, oh my goodness, am I so glad I did! Cole deserves a spot among the sexiest YA boys because he's got this intensity, strength and absolute swooniness to him that I found hard to resist. I absolutely loved seeing Alice and Cole's comedic, and frequently steamy, interactions because they're two opposites you probably wouldn't initially put together. As much as Cole is protective of Alice, he doesn't hold her back from training and fighting off the zombies responsible for her family's death. They work well together and their chemistry is, as they say, sizzling. I can't wait to see their relationship grow in the sequel!

Favourite Quotes...

“Don't look now, but that's my ex over there."

Surely I'm not the only one who takes "don't look now" as "there's no better time than now." I looked.

"Bad, Ali!" Another slap to my arm. "Bad, bad, bad Ali! Have you no self control?” 

~~~~~

He was gorgeous, and I absolutely, no question, had to be drooling. After a quick and hopefully stealthy check – big show, I wasn’t!- I found myself wonder what color his eyes were. Brown maybe. Or even hazel. Either way…wow, just wow. Deer? Headlights? Hi, I’m Ali.

Overall...

     Overall, Alice in Zombieland was zombie-tastic! Action, death, romance and kick-ass attitude are jam-packed into this deadly masterpiece that I was anxious to get home from school to read! I'm SO glad that book two, Through the Zombie Glass, will be out on September 24th-- take note that on that day I will be in my reading cave, devouring away! Have you read Alice in Zombieland? What did you think about Cole? Be sure to let me know in the comments below! Keep Reading!

Your Y.A. Bookworm,
Caitlin <3


2 comments:

  1. I'm not really a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, myself. But I am so glad I read Alice in Zombieland. It was tons of fun, and That Cole Guy. Yeah! :) I can't wait for the sequel. I'm glad you enjoyed this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhh, you gotta love That Cole Guy ;P So glad to hear you loved Alice in Zombieland too-- very different, isn't it?!

      I'm REALLY looking forward to book two !

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