{Review}: This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Title: This Is Not A Test
Author: Courtney Summers Website | Twitter
Genre: YA/Horror
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 19th 2012) 
Paperback: 322 pages
ISBN:  9780312656744 
Source: Publisher
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description 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?

My Review

First Impressions: I don't usually read horror stories. I have an overactive imagination and reading such books leaves me sleepless for a few nights. Yet, when This Is Not A Test arrived and I read the synopsis I was intrigued because it sounded more like a book about a girl finding a reason to survive then a gory retelling of people's flesh being torn off by the living dead. 


Plot & Characters: Sloane has had it with life. She decides to end it but in a strange string of events she finds herself in her Cortege High taking refuge from the living dead with five other teens. I usually find it hard to relate to a character that wants to end her life and dislike when they are written in an over dramatic way but Courtney Summers does a wonderful job with Sloane. I loved the character and was almost praying for a fictional character. 


The five other students are great because they show very different reactions to a catastrophic event. They have to not only deal with the zombies at their door but like typical teenagers the relationships between them.There are a few extremely sad moments as well as many very scary scenes. This Is Not A Test contains very little romance, it is more about raw human emotions in a time of crisis. Just as a warning, know that Courtney Summers is not scared to kill a character you really like and are hoping will survive. 


Final Thoughts: This Is Not A Test does not have a dull moment. From beginning to end I was biting my nails scared for Sloane's life. If you enjoy contemporary books with tough issues or if you enjoy zombie/horror I think you will really enjoy this book. I wouldn't recommend this book to a younger audience because of the tough subject matter.


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Buy, but if you have an overactive imagination DO NOT read at night.


My Rating:

{Review}: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Title: Nevermore
Author: Kelly Creagh Website | Twitter
Genre: YA Fiction/Paranormal
Publisher: Atheneum (August 2010)
Hardcover: 543 pages
ISBN: 9781442402003
Source: Library
Available at: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

Description from GoodReads:

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look. 
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. 
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares. 

My Review:
I love Edgar Allan Poe so when I saw this book I just had to read it.


Cheerleader Isobel is paired for an English project with creepy Gothic Varen. They are both very apprehensive at first. As they slowly begin to know each other they realize that their new friendship might endanger both of their lives.


I enjoyed reading about Isobel and Varen. They are well developed characters. Isobel was a fun, smart girl that stood up for her beliefs and fought to protect the ones she loved. Varen was more of a mystery that I hope the next book will help unveil.


The story line was amazing due to its uniqueness. I can see the Edgar Allan Poe inspiration at the end of the story. Kelly Creagh did an amazing job at creating this world of dreams and nightmares. 


The only problem I has was at the last few chapters. They were a bit too fast paced and confusing. I had to re-read a few to understand what was going on. 


Nevermore is long but fast paced.. It's a dark romantic story about two people from different worlds that come together and unleash a world of nightmares.


My Rating:

Book Trailer ( Fan Made: skateland12345):

{Review}: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Genre: YA Fiction/Zombies
Publisher: Vintage (Oct, 2010)
Paperback: 240 pages
ISBN: 9780099549345
Source: Borrowed from Library
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

My Rating: 4/5

Description from GoodReads:

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving

My Review:
This book is like a zombie Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is a flesh eating zombie and Juliet a zombie killing human. A zombie romance? Yes, that is exactly what this is.

We get most of the story from R's perspective. He is a young zombie that is just living the zombie life until the day he eats the brain of young man and experiences his memories and falls in love with his girlfriend, Julie. Now his undead life is changing. He has purpose and is feeling emotions. Will R find happiness with Julie or will he just make her his next meal?

If it weren't for the creepiness of it all, it would have been one of my favorites but there is just something strange about falling in love with the murderer of your ex-boyfriend that was just too much for me. There are some hilarious/disturbing scenes of zombies attempting to do human things.

In Warm Bodies, zombies are even picky about what they eat. You are what you eat after all. These zombies gets glimpses of memories from the brains they eat. To me, the zombies in this book reminded me of humans that forget to live their life and just perform a pre-schedule series of task everyday. I guess we are all in danger of forgetting how to live and becoming zombies!!!

I definitely recommend this book. For zombie lovers and those who like me are terrified of them. This book will probably disturb you but entertain you at the same time.

{Review}: The Cellar by A.J Whitten

Title: The Cellar
Author: A. J Whitten
Genre: YA Fiction/Horror/Zombies
Publisher: Graphia (May, 2011)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN:9780547232539
Source: Netgalley
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

My Rating: 4/5

Description from GoodReads:

Meredith Willis is suspicious of Adrien, the new guy next door. When she dares to sneak a look into the windows of his house, she sees something in the cellar that makes her believe that Adrien might be more than just a creep—he may be an actual monster.
But her sister, Heather, doesn’t share Meredith’s repulsion. Heather believes Adrien is the only guy who really understands her. In fact, she may be falling in love with him. When Adrien and Heather are cast as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet, to Heather, it feels like fate. To Meredith, it feels like a bad omen. But if she tries to tear the couple apart, she could end up in the last place she’d ever want to be: the cellar. Can Meredith convince her sister that she’s dating the living dead before it’s too late for both of them?

My Review:
Let me begin by saying that I love Romeo and Juliet and I am scared to death of Zombies. So, did this combination work for me? Yes, it did. Sure I was scared or repulsed for most of the story but I really enjoyed it.

The Cellar had a very interesting take on Zombies. They are not your typical walking aimlessly grunting living dead. In this book they are intelligent and powerful undead creatures that retain their insatiable hunger for human flesh. These zombies also have interesting pets such as hyenas, ravens, flies and let's not forget the men eating fish.  For most of the story I was scared for Meridith and what Adrien would do to her but at the same time I couldn't hate the guy. Did Adrien make it to my list of book crushes? NO! He was just plain creepy to me. I just don't understand how Heather can date a guy and want to marry him without ever looking at his eyes.

Would I recommend this book? Definitely! I recommend this book to those who love Zombies and want a YA/Romanticized version of them. You can expect flesh eating and torturing scenes along with the romance of a teenager and a zombie. This might not work for some readers but it worked for me.