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jodyladuemcgrath's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This isn’t a horror book. This is 13 Reasons Why with some zombies.
merlin_reads's review
2.0
Well, this one was interesting. I haven't read that many zombie books, and the few that I've read haven't been amazing. I'm coming to the conclusion that I like to watch zombies on my tv more than reading about them.
Zomburbia follows our heroine, Courtney Hart through her daily life in small town Oregon. She works at the local fast food joint while also selling drugs on the side to help her get out of town faster. She seems to only really have two friends, and one of those she treats like shit.
The beginning of the book seemed pretty cool. It was the normal life of a high school girl in a small town plus zombies. Gallardo kind of sneaked in the idea of the undead while you were busy reading about Courtney's latest drug deal. The zombies just existed, this was fact, and everyone had gotten used to living with them around. Not that they weren't dangerous - they still were. It just wasn't quite Walking Dead status.
Somewhere about a third in, my interest started waning. There were a few times that I honestly forgot I was reading this book, which is why it took about 3 months to finish. It just started dragging. I didn't care what happened to anyone. I also didn't understand why Courtney and her two friends were actually friends. They were horrible to each other and only seemed to care about one another when danger was near.
Maybe the book was just too long. There really didn't seem like there was enough happening to justify the length. Will I read the second one? Honestly, I may. I am interested in what happens, but I'm just not interested in the characters.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Zomburbia follows our heroine, Courtney Hart through her daily life in small town Oregon. She works at the local fast food joint while also selling drugs on the side to help her get out of town faster. She seems to only really have two friends, and one of those she treats like shit.
The beginning of the book seemed pretty cool. It was the normal life of a high school girl in a small town plus zombies. Gallardo kind of sneaked in the idea of the undead while you were busy reading about Courtney's latest drug deal. The zombies just existed, this was fact, and everyone had gotten used to living with them around. Not that they weren't dangerous - they still were. It just wasn't quite Walking Dead status.
Somewhere about a third in, my interest started waning. There were a few times that I honestly forgot I was reading this book, which is why it took about 3 months to finish. It just started dragging. I didn't care what happened to anyone. I also didn't understand why Courtney and her two friends were actually friends. They were horrible to each other and only seemed to care about one another when danger was near.
Maybe the book was just too long. There really didn't seem like there was enough happening to justify the length. Will I read the second one? Honestly, I may. I am interested in what happens, but I'm just not interested in the characters.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
liibookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
*Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for a honest review*
You can also find this review on my blog Lii's Adventures in Bookland
'Zomburbia' presents us with a new perspective on zombies. Not only because it suggests that they are not as 'dead' as they seem - they seem to have the capacity to make up plans in order to catch a prey -, the population learnt how to live with this infestation and there's also the use of their brains to develop a new drug - Vitamin Z.
I did enjoy this book very much since I am kind of obsessed with zombies, and "Zomburbia" seemed very coese.
This being said I must admit that this book, at times, seemed to drag along, maybe to not give the feeling that every event was rushed.
When it comes to the characters, I did like the main character, Courtney. She seemed driven and able to deal with whatever difficulties she was presented with. Her best friend Sherri, on the other hand, was not a favorite of mine. She was annoying and mean most of the time (in my perspective). Willie - the other best friend - was incredibly sweet but it lacked the ability to fend for himself and unfortunately their friends didn't seem to help him on that aspect.
Some questions were not answered in this book and I would very much love if they were, but thank God there will be a sequel ("Zombified") to be released eventually and hopefully it will feed my needs.
All in all I did like "Zomburbia" a lot, it was an easy read and it kept me interested for pretty much its entirety. I would recommend this book to everyone who has a soft spot for zombie books.
You can also find this review on my blog Lii's Adventures in Bookland
'Zomburbia' presents us with a new perspective on zombies. Not only because it suggests that they are not as 'dead' as they seem - they seem to have the capacity to make up plans in order to catch a prey -, the population learnt how to live with this infestation and there's also the use of their brains to develop a new drug - Vitamin Z.
I did enjoy this book very much since I am kind of obsessed with zombies, and "Zomburbia" seemed very coese.
This being said I must admit that this book, at times, seemed to drag along, maybe to not give the feeling that every event was rushed.
When it comes to the characters, I did like the main character, Courtney. She seemed driven and able to deal with whatever difficulties she was presented with. Her best friend Sherri, on the other hand, was not a favorite of mine. She was annoying and mean most of the time (in my perspective). Willie - the other best friend - was incredibly sweet but it lacked the ability to fend for himself and unfortunately their friends didn't seem to help him on that aspect.
Some questions were not answered in this book and I would very much love if they were, but thank God there will be a sequel ("Zombified") to be released eventually and hopefully it will feed my needs.
All in all I did like "Zomburbia" a lot, it was an easy read and it kept me interested for pretty much its entirety. I would recommend this book to everyone who has a soft spot for zombie books.
aprilk's review against another edition
2.0
Let's start with the positive...
Zomburbia has an interesting premise. Most zombie novels are about the destruction of the earth due to an invasion of zombies. But in Zomburbia it didn't destroy the earth, people just moved into the suburbs and put up fences around their homes, schools, and businesses to keep the undead out. Some of them also liked to get high off drugs made of zombie brains (what?!) which i thought was a unique twist. The story also had witty dialogue that was fun at points.
The negative...
I kept reading and reading waiting for something- anything- to happen to make me feel this book was worth the time I was taking to read it... but it just never happened. I felt like it just droned on and on with unlikable characters and never really went anywhere. I like wit and snark as much as the next person but sometimes the fun dialogue turned into just trying too hard. I wanted to like this book. It had all the right components, but in the end it just fell short to me.
I think some people will love Zomburbia, it just wasn't for me, but if you like zombies and snarky characters then you might want to give it a try.
Zomburbia has an interesting premise. Most zombie novels are about the destruction of the earth due to an invasion of zombies. But in Zomburbia it didn't destroy the earth, people just moved into the suburbs and put up fences around their homes, schools, and businesses to keep the undead out. Some of them also liked to get high off drugs made of zombie brains (what?!) which i thought was a unique twist. The story also had witty dialogue that was fun at points.
The negative...
I kept reading and reading waiting for something- anything- to happen to make me feel this book was worth the time I was taking to read it... but it just never happened. I felt like it just droned on and on with unlikable characters and never really went anywhere. I like wit and snark as much as the next person but sometimes the fun dialogue turned into just trying too hard. I wanted to like this book. It had all the right components, but in the end it just fell short to me.
I think some people will love Zomburbia, it just wasn't for me, but if you like zombies and snarky characters then you might want to give it a try.
thepaperreels's review against another edition
Short review.
It's been a month and I still can't push myslef to finish the book. I was halfway through when I decided to just abandon it because I feel like it's not going anywhere. Even the main protagonist isn't that great of a character to connect to, I still liked her. She's funny, practical and honestly, if you consider her situation and the world she's living in, her actions were just appropriate.
I abandoned it pretty much because it's so dull. Nothing exciting is happening and some chapters are just Chloe blabbering about useless stuff. And as I said above, I'm already halfway through and I still don't know if it has a plot. Like, what now? Is it just gonna be like this until the end?
Sadly, I didn't stick around to find out.
It's been a month and I still can't push myslef to finish the book. I was halfway through when I decided to just abandon it because I feel like it's not going anywhere. Even the main protagonist isn't that great of a character to connect to, I still liked her. She's funny, practical and honestly, if you consider her situation and the world she's living in, her actions were just appropriate.
I abandoned it pretty much because it's so dull. Nothing exciting is happening and some chapters are just Chloe blabbering about useless stuff. And as I said above, I'm already halfway through and I still don't know if it has a plot. Like, what now? Is it just gonna be like this until the end?
Sadly, I didn't stick around to find out.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh man, this was a fantastic zombie story, I loved the particulars, and the characters! Can't wait to continue!
abbylynn000's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Animal death
summerrae87's review
2.0
Courtney Hart has a best friend named Shelley, and even though she can be cold and downright cruel to Courtney, they can't seem to function without each other. Add in Willie, a pathetic guy who is used and abused by Courtney and Shelley for nothing more than transportation and mindless mockery. Combine these three with a new addition, Brandon, a jock who decides to suddenly abandon his social status to be with Courtney. What does this mess of characters create? A disaster of a novel, that left me feeling begrudged with each and every one of them. Between Courtney's awful choice in friends, surrounding herself with narcissistic "loved ones" and a sad father who doesn't seem to have much going on in his life, to her incessant internal moral compass wavering back and forth -- is she wrong for selling Vitamin Z, a drug made out of zombie brains? -- this novel was just incredibly disappointing. I was determined to finish it because I had to know the fate of Courtney, but now I kind of regret spending so much time on it. Also, I read an excerpt from the sequel featured in the back of this ARC, and all I can say is this: when you have the literary equivalent of "jumping the shark" within the first chapter, it doesn't seem there's much hope for the remaining 200+ pages.
ashthemagicbookdragon's review
2.0
I really liked the idea of everyday life still continuing even though there are zombies, that was really interesting. Sadly that's the only thing I liked about this book. I didn't like a single character, especially Courtney (the MC). I didn't even get through half of the book before I started losing interest.
tja055f6's review
3.0
Received from: Kensington Books
Received Via: NetGalley.com
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
I've been really into zombies lately and seemed right up my alley
What I thought
When it comes to Zombies this is not the best book I read. Don't get me wrong the premise was good and it wasn't like any other zombie book I read, and I did like it; it just had some flaws. Ok not some flaws one big flaw the Main character Courtney was completely unlikable she didn't have one redeeming quality about her. I'm just gonna say it I hated her and it ruined a good book for me. The zombie action was awesome but then it went back to her and I just couldn't wait to be done with this book. But like I said when it came to the zombies and the premise it was good.
Bonus Points!
- I really liked Brandon and Sherri
- I really felt bad for Brandon sometimes
- Poor Willy
Overall good zombie book bad charaterzation
Received Via: NetGalley.com
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
I've been really into zombies lately and seemed right up my alley
What I thought
When it comes to Zombies this is not the best book I read. Don't get me wrong the premise was good and it wasn't like any other zombie book I read, and I did like it; it just had some flaws. Ok not some flaws one big flaw the Main character Courtney was completely unlikable she didn't have one redeeming quality about her. I'm just gonna say it I hated her and it ruined a good book for me. The zombie action was awesome but then it went back to her and I just couldn't wait to be done with this book. But like I said when it came to the zombies and the premise it was good.
Bonus Points!
- I really liked Brandon and Sherri
- I really felt bad for Brandon sometimes
- Poor Willy
Overall good zombie book bad charaterzation
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