This would be perfect for anyone who's a fan of zombies and The Breakfast Club!
Rating: 4/5
It's the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn't sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she's failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group's fate is determined less and less by what's happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
This is Not a Test is another zombie book, and it was so good! I buddy read this with my good friend, Lori @inkstainedlibrarian and it turned into such a great discussion!
We follow Sloane who wakes up one morning bidding her time until she decides when to commit suicide. But this morning is different when the world goes crazy and becomes overrun with zombies. Shortly after, Sloane finds herself with a few other kids from school who are determined to survive. She doesn’t know how to tell them she doesn’t want to survive. Sloane wants to end just like the rest of the world has.
I found this to be a unique apocalyptic story with The Breakfast Club vibes. The fellow students Sloane finds herself with trying to survive would never have interacted with each other before. However, now they’re stuck with each other as they bunker in the school while the dead walk around outside trying to get in.
I found this to be a unique apocalyptic story with The Breakfast Club vibes.
I really enjoyed following Sloane, we see how she struggles with wanting to live even before the world ends. Now that the world is running with zombies, she finds it easy to give up but knows the others wouldn’t understand. I appreciated seeing Sloane’s thoughts with how she reacted to the actions of the others and seeing the zombies they encounter. Normally zombie stories follow people determined to survive no matter what, it was interesting to see a character who didn’t feel that way.
Normally zombie stories follow people determined to survive no matter what, it was interesting to see a character who didn’t feel that way.
As I mentioned, this gave off strong The Breakfast Club vibes, it was mainly due to how they were in fact stuck in the school similar to The Breakfast Club being stuck in detention. Though there were other comparisons when it came to some of the interactions the characters in this story had as well. This book had its fair share of heated moments and open conversations, which I mean the world’s ended, this seems fair. But I wouldn’t say this felt just like The Breakfast Club, I actually didn’t make the connection until after I finished reading this book that it came to mind.
I really enjoyed this zombie apocalypse story. The pace was great. I was never bored, being fully entranced by this apocalyptic world. That being said, it was over too soon for me! It ended in a manner that was too open and left countless unanswered questions. I wanted to keep reading!
It was over too soon for me!
However! There is a sequel! Please Remain Calm is a novella that sounds like it follows the events shortly after this book ends, though this time we’re following other of the other characters we meet in This is Not a Test, Rhys. I’ll be curious to see the story continue from his perspective. I definitely plan on reading this soon! I need to know what happens next!
Apart from how much I enjoyed this one, there were a few plot holes that bothered me. Nothing major, not knowing them didn’t hinder the overall storyline. There were just a few sections of the story where we never learned the full details of some of the events that occur. I would have liked to see these parts in more detail. But as I said, even without these extra details, the plot didn’t suffer. I was just feeling nosy and wanted to know more.
Overall, this is a great zombie apocalypse book! I enjoyed every minute of it! Not only can I not wait to get to the sequel, which I already bought, it’s happening! But, I’m so excited to read more from Courtney Summers, I have a few of her other books waiting to be read and I so want to get them even sooner now! Also, I’m even more in the mood for more zombie books!
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys zombies and apocalyptic worlds, especially if you also are a fan of The Breakfast Club! Or if you’re just a fan of The Breakfast Club, I’d say give this a try too! The zombies in this one are on the lower scale compared to others, as the majority of the story is held in the school, so I wouldn’t consider this scary.