alienor's review against another edition
5.0
2015 reads :
▨ 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 me
b) Interest me
Dead 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 movies I ruined). If it wasn't for all the reviews I read which pointed that it wasn't really a zombie horror book, I'd probably never have given it a chance. That's why I'm pointing it too : If you expect a classic horror story, you'll be disappointed.
▨ This is not a book where the zombies scare you, this is a book where the characters make you think.
Now, you know I'm a huge fan girl when it comes to [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg], especially because I can't help but fall in love with every single character she brings to life. In this book, [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589039294p2/1487748.jpg] manages to create flawed characters I adore. Though it was anything but evident at first, because I have a thing : I don't usually love depressive characters. Yeah, you got it, the key word here is usually. Indeed Sloane is all kind of depressing - she actually wants to die - and yet she managed to move me like crazy. How did she do this? How? I'm not sure I can't even explain.
"We'll become reanimated corpses navigating a sorry imitation of our glory days and this is why I don't understand the point in going on, why it's so wrong to give up. There's nothing left."
There's something so desperate in her way to handle all the crazy stuff that happens constantly and yet she's never ever whining. Not a single time - I often found myself in awe of her perseverance, as I think there's some braveness to show such motivation, even if it's to die at some point. Did I find it stupid? Of course I did. I have a thing against suicide, I can't deny it, that's totally personal and I can't help it - it often obscures my judgment about characters like her, because not only suicide makes me sad, but it piss me off. But Sloane won me. Completely. I took her with all her flaws and wanted just one thing : to read about her.
➸ Look, I'm not saying she's going to die. In fact, I'm not saying anything - she's a believable character you know, so she can evolve. Or not. Yep, I'm totally a tease.
▨ This is not a book about battles, this is a book about survival and all we're ready to do to survive.
because...
▨ This is not a book filled with teenage angst, this is a book about the inherent injustice of life.
What do you think you'd be willing to do to survive? As I already said in my review of [b:The Ask and the Answer|6043849|The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking, #2)|Patrick Ness|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408312960l/6043849._SY75_.jpg|6219422], the only honest answer I can give you is I don't know. Sure, I could convince myself that I wouldn't be selfish and would always do the right thing but we have to know what this right thing is to begin with. Is it saving your parents? Saving your love? Saving yourself? Saving the human race? Tell me when you find your answer because I'm not sure I'll manage to.
"It was so easy," he said. "Just physically ... doing that. When it was over, I thought ... people ... we aren't made of anything. That's how easy it was."
Each character has his choices to make, and what can I say? That's real, that's painful, that made me feel : I can't not love it.
▨ This is not a book you'll spend days to read, this is a book you're going to eat in one sitting.
Surely you know the feeling : you're reading a book, sure that you've reached 50%, and you're stunned to realize that in fact you're at, like, 15%. This book brings the exact opposite of that feeling. Although the writing can appear pretty confusing in the beginning, I was hooked from page one and this feeling never ended until the end. Indeed [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589039294p2/1487748.jpg]'s writing contains particularities that I never fail to love when I'm lucky to find them : short and sharp sentences, well-done repetitions - her style completely serves the plot as it helps grandly to express the growing tension the characters feel.
▨ This is not a review, this is ... well, if this is not a review, I have no idea what the fuck it is.
PS : I thought I wasn't scared and in the end, it seems that the sensation of being threatened grew on me without realizing it. Yes, I totally freaked out when I got out to let my dog pee. Poor me.
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bloodmoonlips's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. It's worth the read
ryanjamesburt's review against another edition
4.0
1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
2) Genre: Horror/Zombie
3) Synopsis: Sloane is trapped in her high school. Not leaning but avoiding being infected by a single bite. Sloane isn't even sure she wants to live.
4) Feelings: This is certainly not a feel good book. Reading it, you feel kind of like Sloane with a dark cloud over your head. Although if you are surrounded by the walking dead there isn't a whole lot of sunshine.
5) Final recommendation: This is a good Zombie book. If that's what you are looking for this is the book to read.
Ryan James Burt
Husband, Father, and Writer
http://ryanjamesburt.wordpress.com/
2) Genre: Horror/Zombie
3) Synopsis: Sloane is trapped in her high school. Not leaning but avoiding being infected by a single bite. Sloane isn't even sure she wants to live.
4) Feelings: This is certainly not a feel good book. Reading it, you feel kind of like Sloane with a dark cloud over your head. Although if you are surrounded by the walking dead there isn't a whole lot of sunshine.
5) Final recommendation: This is a good Zombie book. If that's what you are looking for this is the book to read.
Ryan James Burt
Husband, Father, and Writer
http://ryanjamesburt.wordpress.com/
jodieboone's review against another edition
5.0
I love zombies.
I love reading about them, watching them, everything. Last halloween, I was zombie tinkerbell.I've always thought it might be kinda cool to have a zombie apocalypse, even if reason knew it would be horrible. I've read up on what to do during one, I know what I would personally do, what weapon I would have, who I would want in my group.
But this book made it 100% clear that just because I think I'd be prepared, doesn't mean I would be.
One of the main reasons I love zombie things is because of the survival side of it. Humans, doing everything in their willpower to survive, even though they know they might die tomorrow, even though so many people have died, even though they don't understand why it's happening is fascinating to me.
Of the things I've seen and watched of zombies, I think This Is Not A Test highlighted that the most. This book is not about zombies. It's about the psychological affect of them, the hopelessness of being in this situation, and I adored that.
It is the story of six teenagers who have taken refuge in a school. When it became clear that not many zombie killings would be involved, I wondered how bored I was going to be, but I was wrong. It was much deeper than that, and I found myself going through the grief along with the characters. I was emotionally attached to all of them, and when they were scared, I was scared. I wondered several times if I should get up and barricade my door, just in case, and usually, I don't get scared when reading. Not only did Courtney Summers make me feel scared, but she made me cry for characters I didn't really sympathise with, or like, and my main praise for the author is how well she made me feel everything. I was a wreck of emotions, and I felt like I was going through everything the characters were going through. Because of this, I rushed to go and get other books by Courtney Summers.
One plot I loved, was Sloane's opinion on her life. She didn't want to be alive. She was happy to go out and sacrifice herself, or to leave the group and just not come back. She didn't want to be there, or be alive, and I understood that. I wasn't annoyed, or thought she was being selfish.
The characters are a huge part of this book, more so than the zombies. They're all flawed, they're all emotional and they clash, making survival harder, but it was real, and I loved that.
The ending, in my opinion, was wonderful. With endings like this one, I'm always annoyed because I want more. And I did want more, but I wasn't annoyed by that. I liked that.
This book is wonderful, and I cannot recommend it enough.
I love reading about them, watching them, everything. Last halloween, I was zombie tinkerbell.I've always thought it might be kinda cool to have a zombie apocalypse, even if reason knew it would be horrible. I've read up on what to do during one, I know what I would personally do, what weapon I would have, who I would want in my group.
But this book made it 100% clear that just because I think I'd be prepared, doesn't mean I would be.
One of the main reasons I love zombie things is because of the survival side of it. Humans, doing everything in their willpower to survive, even though they know they might die tomorrow, even though so many people have died, even though they don't understand why it's happening is fascinating to me.
Of the things I've seen and watched of zombies, I think This Is Not A Test highlighted that the most. This book is not about zombies. It's about the psychological affect of them, the hopelessness of being in this situation, and I adored that.
It is the story of six teenagers who have taken refuge in a school. When it became clear that not many zombie killings would be involved, I wondered how bored I was going to be, but I was wrong. It was much deeper than that, and I found myself going through the grief along with the characters. I was emotionally attached to all of them, and when they were scared, I was scared. I wondered several times if I should get up and barricade my door, just in case, and usually, I don't get scared when reading. Not only did Courtney Summers make me feel scared, but she made me cry for characters I didn't really sympathise with, or like, and my main praise for the author is how well she made me feel everything. I was a wreck of emotions, and I felt like I was going through everything the characters were going through. Because of this, I rushed to go and get other books by Courtney Summers.
One plot I loved, was Sloane's opinion on her life. She didn't want to be alive. She was happy to go out and sacrifice herself, or to leave the group and just not come back. She didn't want to be there, or be alive, and I understood that. I wasn't annoyed, or thought she was being selfish.
The characters are a huge part of this book, more so than the zombies. They're all flawed, they're all emotional and they clash, making survival harder, but it was real, and I loved that.
The ending, in my opinion, was wonderful. With endings like this one, I'm always annoyed because I want more. And I did want more, but I wasn't annoyed by that. I liked that.
This book is wonderful, and I cannot recommend it enough.
chrissireads's review against another edition
4.0
I had some misconceptions before I started this book. I thought it was going to be a zombie book but really it’s a book that has zombies within the story. It’s much more than a zombie book. It’s a story about survival.
This Is Not A Test centres around six characters who are hiding in a school. It’s the end of the world and there are zombies outside who are determined to kill. The zombies will only need one bite to kill a person. Sloane has been suffering for six months and begins to wonder if it’s time to give up. Sloane has to experience the apocalypse through eyes of others that want to survive. Days pass by and life becomes even more unpredictable for the teens inside the school.
I thought this book was so intense and quite tough to read. As I expect from Courtney Summers, this book really was quite dark. I could feel Sloane’s pain through the pages. I’m not usually a fan of books containing zombies, but it really worked with this book. It wasn’t gory, but the reader certainly felt the threat throughout. It was creepy to think of them lurking outside hammering on the door. *shudders*
I absolutely loved the character of Sloane. She is incredibly complex and her pain was so tough to read about. I really feel a character like Sloane adds depth to the story. There’s so much to be found in this story, there’s grief, loss, a lot of pain and a struggle for survival. It really is a wonderful read and I’m intrigued to see how the story continues in Please Remain Calm.
This Is Not A Test centres around six characters who are hiding in a school. It’s the end of the world and there are zombies outside who are determined to kill. The zombies will only need one bite to kill a person. Sloane has been suffering for six months and begins to wonder if it’s time to give up. Sloane has to experience the apocalypse through eyes of others that want to survive. Days pass by and life becomes even more unpredictable for the teens inside the school.
I thought this book was so intense and quite tough to read. As I expect from Courtney Summers, this book really was quite dark. I could feel Sloane’s pain through the pages. I’m not usually a fan of books containing zombies, but it really worked with this book. It wasn’t gory, but the reader certainly felt the threat throughout. It was creepy to think of them lurking outside hammering on the door. *shudders*
I absolutely loved the character of Sloane. She is incredibly complex and her pain was so tough to read about. I really feel a character like Sloane adds depth to the story. There’s so much to be found in this story, there’s grief, loss, a lot of pain and a struggle for survival. It really is a wonderful read and I’m intrigued to see how the story continues in Please Remain Calm.
katdid's review against another edition
4.0
These days I don't generally mesh well with YA fiction but I was pretty into this! and have been thinking about it a lot since. I really liked the interplay between the infection and domestic violence. (Zombie) apocalypse novels have kind of been done to death but this offered some surprises (to me, anyway).
thepaperreels's review against another edition
4.0
If there's one word to describe my emotion after reading This Is Not A Test, it's.. surprised.
I know that zombies are involved, I just didn't know that it would be that emotional and that the story has that depth that usually books by this genre lacks. It's amazing how Courtney Summers made her readers sympathize to a main protagonist who whines every chapter because she just wanted to die. I honestly don't feel for suicidal heroines, I know, I'm heartless. But most of them are just irritating that's why it's hard to sympathize. But Sloane is different. She's real, she developed as a character and her journey is just heart wrenching.
Sloane is one of the students that hid inside Cortege High when the apocalypse broke down. In there, six students are trying to survive and making plans to stay alive. But they don't know that Sloane has other plans. You see, Sloane wants to die. From the opening chapter of the book, she makes it clear that she no longer wants to live. Her father hurts her and her sister, the only family she cares about, left her. What's the reason to live? But Sloane will find the answer to that question when she and and six more students found themselves trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
This Is Not A Test is a zombie book, but it's really not. Do you get what I'm saying? The atmosphere of the book is really good, it's like you're really there with Sloane that's why you get the chills and the creeps, and yet, the story.. is so emotionally raw. It's terrifying and poignant. Courtney Summers is one of the best authors ever, I can attest to that. Her writing is... WOW. I can't describe it. It's lyrical, gritty and gripping.
This is also one of the most character driven book I've ever read. The characterization is brilliant. Each character has stories and you will find yourself eager to know it. Though the book isn't focused on the romance aspect, being me, I still shipped Sloane with someone and guess what? It sailed!
Courtney Summers could write on a napkin and I would read it, devour it, love it. Although the fact that it’s a zombie novel is going to be widely publicized, the novel is so much more than that. This is a zombie novel for people who don’t like books about zombies. Fantastic contemporary YA with a twist. Highly, highly recommended.
I know that zombies are involved, I just didn't know that it would be that emotional and that the story has that depth that usually books by this genre lacks. It's amazing how Courtney Summers made her readers sympathize to a main protagonist who whines every chapter because she just wanted to die. I honestly don't feel for suicidal heroines, I know, I'm heartless. But most of them are just irritating that's why it's hard to sympathize. But Sloane is different. She's real, she developed as a character and her journey is just heart wrenching.
Sloane is one of the students that hid inside Cortege High when the apocalypse broke down. In there, six students are trying to survive and making plans to stay alive. But they don't know that Sloane has other plans. You see, Sloane wants to die. From the opening chapter of the book, she makes it clear that she no longer wants to live. Her father hurts her and her sister, the only family she cares about, left her. What's the reason to live? But Sloane will find the answer to that question when she and and six more students found themselves trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
This Is Not A Test is a zombie book, but it's really not. Do you get what I'm saying? The atmosphere of the book is really good, it's like you're really there with Sloane that's why you get the chills and the creeps, and yet, the story.. is so emotionally raw. It's terrifying and poignant. Courtney Summers is one of the best authors ever, I can attest to that. Her writing is... WOW. I can't describe it. It's lyrical, gritty and gripping.
This is also one of the most character driven book I've ever read. The characterization is brilliant. Each character has stories and you will find yourself eager to know it. Though the book isn't focused on the romance aspect, being me, I still shipped Sloane with someone and guess what? It sailed!
Courtney Summers could write on a napkin and I would read it, devour it, love it. Although the fact that it’s a zombie novel is going to be widely publicized, the novel is so much more than that. This is a zombie novel for people who don’t like books about zombies. Fantastic contemporary YA with a twist. Highly, highly recommended.