Saturday 28 June 2014

Alice in Zombieland book review

Spoiler Free!
I know I am in no way the first, and neither the last person to assume and hope that this book would be a dark, creepy and twisted version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
The nicely worded title, the cover, and even the blurb, all lead you to believe that this could be the case. Yet instead there's isn't much connecting the two at all. I had set myself up to something completely different to what I actually got.

Once I was over my disappointment though, I quite like the idea and the premise. Though it is a slightly unoriginal structure. Girl goes to new school. Snags the eyes of the bad boy that no one else can get anywhere near. Adventures and breakups ensue. Typical stuff. But that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, because I did. Very much so.

As an avid reader of Gena Showalter's books and writing, (She's my most collected author at 19 novels) then combining that with Zombies. I knew I would be in for a treat.
Can I just mention though, I can't help but feel slightly cheated as Gena's attempt at Zombies. We all assume, undead flesh easters, but this re-imagining is somewhat different to the stereotype.
These 'zombies' are quite similar to ghost, and they don't exactly eat people. More, their spirit or soul, something like that.

Main character Ali surprised me at first. I had expected her to be the wilting flower type, shy and a bit of a wimp. The second she stuck up for herself, my opinion quickly backtracked. Her wit and banter are things I love in a character.

Happily, this is another novel where I love the entire cast of characters. They completely complement each other.
Kat was fantastic and the complete epitome of the perfect best friend. Everyone deserves someone like that in their life.
Yes, Cole is a hotty and major swoonworthy. There is no doubt about that. He's yet another fictional crush of mine. 

The only thing I had a slight problem with is that, at 16, these guys and girls are all out fighting, risking their lives, and getting all these tattoos. I just find it a little unbelievable.

The writing was witty, flowing and compelling, just like I've come to expect and I found myself becoming more and more invested. With so many novels under her belt, I felt that Gena was comfortable in her style, and I think that comes across.

Gena Showalter has written mostly adult books but I feel that this attempt at YA was a successful one.
I already have the next installment, 'Alice through the Zombieglass' and I'm definitely looking forward to reading it.

I'm easily given this book 4 stars and I hope I enjoy that next just as much.

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