{Review} Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter



Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Number of Pgs. 404
Publication date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA
How I got the copy: Library


From Goodreads:

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….


I've been using a new way of reviewing that I saw over at Making the Grade.  It breaks the book down and makes it easier to rate.  The way it works is each category gets a score out of ten points.  Then you add them all up + 50 (50% automatically for each book) and that's your score out of 100.

Plot 8/10: I thought since this would be like Alice in Wonderland, but with Zombies.  I didn't find many similarities although I did enjoy the chapter titles.  But eventhough it wasn't at all what I expected, it was extremely entertaining and hot!  We're introduced to the world of Zombie fighting along with Alice so it's fun to see her grow and discover how the zombies work.  There weren't a lot of twists or surprises in this story until the end, but I definitely didn't see it coming.

Characters 9/10: I love cole and his badass hotness.  On a scale of 1 to Daemon he was about a 10...because I have yet to find a YA guy hotter than Daemon.  But cole was pretty close.  Besides the whole tall and handsome throwing Alice up against the wall and making out with her, he had other attributes as well.  He really cared for Alice and was loyal to his friends and family.  Alice was such a strong character.  If I could pick any character to be it might just have to be her.  She's quick witted, brave, and loyal.  I love that she didn't take any of Cole's crap either.  Alice's friend was entertaining and I admired her confidence.  I think there's more to her "story" than she's admitting.  Alice's grandparents cracked me up with their misuse of teenager's slang.  

Setting 7/10: The setting wasn't anything special.  Although I loved the zombie aspect of this world because it was different than any other zombie book I'd read.  When fighting the zombies the characters don't just hit them with sticks they use their souls to attack kind of.  I appreciated the author being original.  But other than that it was almost a contemp novel in between the zombie scenes.  

Pacing 8/10: The beginning was kind of slow for me because it was setting it up for Alice's life to be turned upside down.  But once her world is turned upside things start picking up and it's pretty fast paced.

Style 9/10: I love sarcastic witty dialogue and this book had a lot of that.  If you're looking for something to make you laugh and tear up all in the same hour this is definitely a good choice.  I loved this author's writing and I can't wait for the second book.

Final Thoughts: This is a must read.  Once this is in paperback I'll probably buy it, it's that good.  If you're looking for a fun zombie book (that's not too scary) to get you into the Halloween mood this is a good book to start with.
Total: 91/100 
 
"You're smart, pretty, and you aren't a douche purse."
If id had food in my mouth I would have spewed it. Douche purse? She must mean douche bag. But okay, I could roll. I was getting used to her filthy, funny mouth.


Cole cupped my cheeks and brought my gaze back to his. "Why wouldn't I dance."
Uh, maybe because at first glance he looked like he ate puppies and kittens for lunch? As for what he enjoyed having for dinner-that couldn't be discussed in polite public.


He had me backed against the bedroom wall, his body supporting mine. My legs were wrapped around his waist. His hands were flattened beside my temples; mine were in his hair. He'd imprisoned me with his strength to kiss the breath right out of me.

Quotes from: Mostly YA Book Obsessed



  
   

Mini Hiatus over

The past two weeks I have been so sick it has been terrible, but I'm finally feeling better.  First it was just a cold, so everyday after work I'd come home and lay down.  Then last Monday I got a stomach virus.  I was so sick that I didn't even pick up a book or my computer for days.  That's when you know something's wrong with me lol.  But I've been feeling a lot better now so I'm going to try to get back on track with posts this week.  Sorry for disappearing for a week!  

In other news... Here's my progress for my
 31 Days of Halloween Event/Readathon so far:


Books I have out from the library already (Crossed out means I read it):
1. Alice in Zombieland
2. Bad Girls Don't Die
3. Girl of Nightmares
4. Sweet Evil
5. Ten
6. The Body Finder
7. The Summoning (almost done)
8. The Unquiet
9. Vampire Academy
10.Velveteen
11. Xile
12. 666 Park Avenue

If somehow I finish all those:
1. Posess
2. The Ghost of Graylock
3. This is not a Test
4. The Devouring

Which one should I read next?

Stacking the Shelves/Sunday Post #15



STSmall_thumb[2]
 The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  Both are a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and talk about what is coming up for the week on our blog. Link up each week.  I will be doing Weekly Recap, What books I got that week, and a sneak peek of what to expect for the next week on my blog.

FROM THE LIBRARY & Barnes & Nobles

My bookshelf is now 4/5 shelves full!
      
666 Park Avenue
This is my third book for the 31 Days of Halloween event/readathon that I'm doing.  I also wanted to read it because the CW show just started.  Has anyone read and watched the pilot?  Is it any good? 

Anna Karenina
I saw April (@booksandwine) say on twitter that she saw the trailer for the movie that's coming out with Kiera Nightly and that she wants to reread it.  I've been wanting to read this one for awhile so I got it and April and I might cohost a read along.  Stay tuned for more info on that.

Obsidian
I have this in ebook form, but the problem with that is that I hate ebooks and hardly ever feel like reading them.  This is one of my favorite books so when I saw my Barnes & Noble FINALLY was carrying J.L.A. books I had to get it.  It was only $10.  Dameon is worth a lot more in my opinion lol.

Alice in Zombieland
I'll admit, I devoured this in three days last week.  I'm so excited that it's a series.  My review will be up sometime this week.

WEEKLY RECAP

     
I also posted My Goals for my 31 Days of Halloween event/readathon.  I've read
2 1/2 of the books I've listed so far.  A pretty good start I think!  Last week I had a cold and it sucked.  Then yesterday my new eye dr. dilated my eyes.  I hadn't had that done since I was ten so I couldn't remember what it was like.  Um...do they use that to torture people because it was the worst experience EVER!  I felt like a freakin vampire.  The sun burned my eyes!  But they're back to normal now so I've been reading a lot to make up for those five hours yesterday that all I could do was listen to my ipod and stare at the wall.  Hopefully next week is better haha.

 NEXT WEEK

Reviews to come:
(This is always tentative)
*Alice in Zombieland
*Ten
*Sweet Evil
*666 Park Avenue

Posts:
*Giveaway for 31 Days of Halloween Event
*Scary movies vs. books
*66 Park Avenue (book vs. the show)
*Teaser/Top Ten Tues
*Waiting on Wed


What goodies did you get this week? 
 Leave a link and I'll stop by.

My Goals: 31 Days of Halloween Event!

MY GOALS for 31 Days of Halloween Event:
31 Days of Halloween

I've already started reading for this already and I'm having so much fun creeping myself out!  Here are my overly ambitious goals.  I'm hoping to get lots of reading done this weekend because I'm sick and will probably lay in bed both days.  

Books I have out from the library already (Crossed out means I read it this week):
1. Alice in Zombieland
2. Bad Girls Don't Die
3. Girl of Nightmares
4. Sweet Evil
5. Ten
6. The Body Finder
7. The Summoning
8. The Unquiet
9. Vampire Academy
10.Velveteen
11. Xile
12. 666 Park Avenue

If somehow I finish all those:
1. Posess
2. The Ghost of Graylock
3. This is not a Test
4. The Devouring

If I missed a really good scary book let me know. 
 I usually don't read this genre so it's possible I've missed a lot.    


Want to join in the fun?





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Waiting on Wednesday #14





Bloggers feature books that they are eagerly anticipating to be published.






Goodreads Summary 

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.



Release date:  April 2, 2013

Why I am excited:  
This isn't usually something I'd be so excited about, but something about it really stands out to me.  I think because the cover is so unique and creepy.  And the fact the the character is waking up with no idea what happened and we will have to go on the journey to figure things out with her.  What do you guys think?
While you're here why don't you check out my review of


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