this isn't a zombie book so much as a zombie framing device to explore damage and the difficulties of making yourself vulnerable in front of someone - of communication's pitfalls and the numbing effects of trauma. there are people who believe that trauma builds character. these people have probably never experienced trauma. trauma does not build character, but how someone responds to trauma is the true and most telling test of character.more often than not, trauma leads to a retreat. nobody is a...

2015 reads : Do not give me zombies, 'kay?▨ This is not a book about zombies, this is a book with zombies.And I'm so okay with that. I mean, to be frank, I'm not into zombies. Like, at all. Usually, they never manage to : a) Scare meb) Interest meDead people who come back to life? Come on! That's just gross to me. Therefore I end bored more often than not, except if I take it as a parody, changing myself into this annoying buddy who can't help but laugh at awkward moments (sorry guys for all the...

"Now is not about gathering courage, it's about staying one step ahead of my fear." Oh my goodness gracious! What did I just read??? I have this basic concept about how any story that has to do with zombies is old and funny. Sorry I don’t watch Walking Dead. But I am now completely eradicating that concept from my mind because of this dark but masterfully written prose. This is my first Courtney Summers read and I am instantly and immediately captivated by the unique writing style via her us

"…I think it isn’t enough to survive for the sake of surviving…. Surviving should mean something like it means something to them. And if it doesn’t-If it doesn’t." Initial Final Page Thoughts. An Exchange of E-Mails between a friend and I. [Censored for spoilery badtimes]Last night.10.49 pm.OMG THIS BOOK.THIS IS A BOOK THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS.[blank] and then [blank] and omg [blank] !!!OMG CATIE. WHAT.... WHAT.... *head implodes*11.06pm.[A reply from Catie, aka, Pres

What an outstanding.... odd book. To be honest, I'm not even sure how to rate it. On the one hand, I just want to praise it, recommend it, tell you it's amazing and give it 5 stars.On the other hand, the aspect I didn't like is so macroscopic that I can't give it what it theoretically deserves.This is the first book by Courtney Summers that I have read but rest assured I will soon get my hands on her other ones - one I actually already own, Cracked up to be. There's something really powerful in

Let me tell you something. Once, or if you’re really unlucky, more than that, in your reading life there will come a book, whose sole purpose is to thoroughly mess up your brain and squeeze your heart out until it’s dry. This is that kind of a book. A book that’s so fucked up, it can’t help but hurt. I’ll make it clear upfront: I am completely over YA contemporary. Gone is the time when I fell in love with Lauren Oliver, and stayed up all night reading Sarah Dessen. And I really wouldn’t have...

This has been said a few times, but it's certainly worth repeating. This is not really a zombie book. Although it has zombies in it, they are just the constant threat in the book, and they are minimally shown. The gore is quite minimal, too. This is just a warning for others, like myself, who aren't really into gory books, because I wouldn't want anyone to not read this book just because of that. Of course that can go both ways, however, and a zombie fan looking for an all out gore-fest may be d...

4.5I owe a huge thanks to Courtney Summers for giving me a second chance to read and review this after my netgalley rejection. It made my day and I'm so glad This Is Not a Test was all that I'd hoped it would be.I'm going to say what I said at the start of my reviews or before I started reading: Feed, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Other Life and even the one I was sure would be the exception to the rule - The Reapers Are the Angels, and that is that zombie novels have never been my thin

When someone sees a zombie book there are two reactions: 1) Oh zombies, scary and gory! AwesomeSAUCE! or 2) Ewww zombies! Icky! - pass. So this is a warning: As far as zombie books go, This Is Not A Test has to be one of the tamest. It's not gory, nor is it an adrenaline filled story. Yes there are zombies and it can get intense at times, but funnily enough, it is not about the zombies. It's about a girl who doesn't want to live in this world anymore. She can't keep going with a dad that beats h...

4 1/2 starsBecause I’m a fancy creative post writer, I thought I’d start this off with a quote from someone whose opinion I really trust:“Can you imagine what she's going to do with zombie survival?!! I bet it's going to be gruesome. :D”You know what? I really do love the sound of my own voice. You are so, so right, me of approximately five months ago.Of course, this is Courtney Summers so the “gruesome” part of this book doesn’t arrive with the zombie apocalypse; it takes place within the grasp...

This is Not a Good Book.The summary sounded good. Six teens trapped in a school during a zombie crisis slowly go nuts on each other. The book did not deliver. What I was imagining from the summary was some sort of manhunt dog-eat-dog Lord of the Flies style breaking down of these trapped teenagers, where basic survival instincts would drive them into some crazy game of hide and seek trying to kill each other. In essence, the group of survivors themselves would be a more dangerous enemy to each o...

Talk about book that leaves you feel it long after you put it down....There was something extremely hypnotizing about this book, or perhaps it's the writing, inspite of my not wanting to read an emotional book at the moment, after just a prologue, I kept wanting to pick it up and find out what happens and to read her writing more. I... I don't know what it was, I cannot explain it. ^even Klaus approved~It has this calming effect on me while still made me very jumpy and extremely sad. It did cree...

“She always said I'd die without her and she left anyway.”“But you didn't die.”“I did,” I say. “I'm just waiting for the rest of me to catch up.” This isn't a typical zombie book. Let me say that first. Don't write this off because of the zombie-book think, or the dystopia thing. And don't add it because you like zombie books, either. I don't think I'd class this as a dystopia. So why should you read this? This is going to sound weird, but I think you should read this if you like And Then The

[Edited, because ZOMBIE NAILS. See below]4.5 starsThis is not a zombie book. This book has zombies in it. But it’s not about zombies, as such.It’s about so much more than that.Call them a catalyst, a threat, an inciting event – the zombies are an ominous presence that set off a chain reaction of events and lurk unnervingly around the corners of the book. But this is not even so much a book about survival, although that’s certainly one of the themes threading through the story. For me, deep at it...

I honestly don't know what to review.Thank to May, I'm officially Courtney Summers trash.This book is not about zombies, why they mutated, finding a cure, or having some badass fighting scenes with them. It just has zombies in them. This book is about survival, difficult decisions, loss and heartbreak.This is the second book I've read by Courtney Summers and I wasn't dissapointed. Her first book I read was a realisitic contemporary about rape and bullying and this book is totally different from

The gnashing of teeth. The desperate creation of McGyver implements and traps. The fighting to survive. It's been too long since I read a zombie novel and I've been missing the sense of butt-kicking hopefulness they can bring. Unfortunately, while Summers is stellar at character development, this isn't the book to assuage the craving for fighting the undead and affirming life. This is Holden Caufield meets Lord of the Flies. Nihlistic and dream-like--Summers has challenged us with a narrator cle...

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/3.5 Stars "This must be what Dorothy felt like, I think. Maybe. If Dorothy was six scared teenagers and Oz was hell." When I saw ALLLLLLL of my friends reading All the Rage recently I figured I would end up reading it wrong (see Exhibit A) and opted for Summers’ version of zombies instead . . . What can I say? I’m not interested in being the oddball again this week but I enjoy brain-nomming stories. *shrug*However, being that Sum...

*RE-READ FOR HALLOWEEN* I am so sad.I am so sad it makes me heavier than the sum of my parts. I shift, restless, but it doesn't help. It's like-time. All this time in here is on me, has its hooks in me. Maybe if I sleep more, I'll wake up and I'll feel different, but I can't. The storm is really happening now and it makes the room feel emptier. Makes me feel emptier. Okay, okay so.....I had some SERIOUS doubts on this one. Not because I don't trust my wonderful Alien friend (Anna), and not

2.5 starsInterested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!'The radio crackles the prerecorded voice of that woman at us over and over...'This is not a test. Listen closely. This is not a test.'But I think she's wrong. I think this is a test. It has to be.'The Storyline'This is not a Test' includes a group of sorrowful teenagers trying to survive (some of them at least) and a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies.Sloane Price has survived the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. She's joined up wi...

In the past I have read some good zombie themed books The forest of hands and teeth, Feed, but This is not a test has by far outdone all of these. Where can I start with this amazing book? It put me through a tumult of emotions; my nerves were always on edge, I had a constant aching in my chest. Basically I was a complete wreck after finishing it. It was one of the most powerful, thrilling yet gruelling books I’ve ever read. This is not a test follows six teenagers, Sloane, Rhys, Cary, Harrison,...