October 11, 2012

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Release Date ~ 9/25/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Harlequin Teen
Source ~ Publisher
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….
   Okay, a lot of bloggers have mentioned this in their review, but I'm going to do it too just 'cause. This book is not a fairy tale retelling. It's not even a mash-up like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The only similarity between the two is there is a white rabbit and the main character is named Alice. Savvy? 
   The first few pages of Alice Zombieland didn't really do anything for me. It didn't draw me in or compel me to read more. Then there was a lot of action and it really picked up from there. Though books that draw you in from page one are the best, this didn't deplete from the overall book that much.

    I really liked Alice, the main character. She was surprisingly outgoing after the first little bit and I like that in a character. I like a character that doesn't moan and groan but (this one's for you, Mel) rolls up her sleeves and does some zombie slaying! Badass characters + kicking butt + zombies almost always equals a win!

   As for the love interest, I have to say I frankly did not like Cole AT ALL. He was another character that thought about sex way too much and I don't like it when authors do that to guys in novels. It seems like it happens a lot and it's rather stereotypical.

    I really liked Gena Showalter's writing style! She had a very interesting style that varied a lot chapter by chapter. Sometimes it's very whimsical and dream like and sometimes it's nitty gritty in your face action narrative. I really like it when authors manage to change their style in different points as the book goes along.

    The zombies in Alice in Zombieland had a really different myth surrounding them then in most pop. culture. In most cases zombies are a disease created monster or a experiment gone wrong. In Alice in Zombieland zombies are spirits/souls trapped on earth, a bit like ghosts but solid. It was an interesting take on the zombie myth, and though I do prefer the disease created zombies it was nice to see a change in the zombie lore.

    Alice in Zombieland was a action-filled, very fun series starter that will make a good Halloween read for those who prefer to be freaked but not scared to death!
Cover Comments:
The dress Alice is wearing looks a lot like the one in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie, and I love the use of the black with only the bit of blue as the light! Very macabre!
Other reviews of Alice in Zombieland:
Xpresso Reads
     

8 comments:

  1. Oh, yes! Love that cover as well, - and can't wait to read the book! <3

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  2. This is one book that I want to read...but not as bad as I want to read other books. I really like Gena Showalter, though--I own the first two Intertwined books and can't wait until I get my act together to get the third. And you're so right: badass characters + kicking butt + zombies DOES equal a total win! And I don't like it when authors do that, either. Not only is it kind of stereotypical, but it also makes the boy kind of boring. Or at least predictable. Which usually leads to boring.

    Still, this is a book I'm kind of exited to pick up now...

    ♥Jessica(:

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  3. My review comes out later this week and like you I enjoyed this one and Showalter's twist on zombies..lovely review!

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  4. This book sounds awesome! I definitely need to check it out!

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  5. I honestly didn't care to read this one when I first heard of it, but after seeing so many great reviews on so many blogs I actually want to pick it up.

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  6. I'm sorry you didn't love it. I've been dying to get this one. I love Gena's other YA books!

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  7. Really want to read this!

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  8. Good review, i've heard alot of good things about this book and will definately put it on my Goodreads TBR! Thanks!

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