Fast paced zombie apocalypse novel follows teenage girl with severe family issues. The group she bunkers down with make this a bit like The Breakfast Club, with zombies. Could not put this down -- best read in one sitting. ( )

Sloane wants to die... which should be easy considering everyone else around her is, but for some reason she's still here.
The world is over, there are zombies/undead everywhere you turn. Six teens find shelter in the old high school, but how long will it last? As Sloane contemplates how much she wants to die, the other five teens desparately want to live. The only problem is: they can't stay in the school forever, but leaving means probable death...

I was SO excited for this book... I even had a countdown on my blog! Although I really didn't want my favorite contemporary author to go zombie, I tried to embrace it knowing that it would still be awesome because Courtney Summers wrote it! And it was awesome. I HAD to finish this book because I was sick of having nightmares, so I forced myself to read as fast as possible.

This book is very Dawn of the Dead meets [b:Trapped|8428140|Trapped|Michael Northrop|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328837786s/8428140.jpg|13291342]... Honestly as much as I liked it, it was a very depressing book. Everywhere you wanted to find hope, even just a little glimmer of a relationship/friendship type hope it was smashed somehow. The ending also was a little bit vague... I mean I get it, but I wanted more What happened to Cary!!!, What was the shelter like??, How did Lily wind up back home and why?. I also kind of felt like I didn't fully understand Sloane... she was depressed and angry and felt dead inside, but couldn't she have gave a little something more?? I don't know I just didn't fully get her and it was hard to relate to someone who couldn't form any meaningful relationships.
In spite of that, it was amazing how well developed these characters were. They all had their issues and flaws, but I still felt like I understood them (except Sloane). They didn't just band together in love and kindness as I would expect in a tragedy... their personality clashes and issues were too great for that. They fought and sometimes seemed utterly alone even though they theoretically had each other. I wanted the best for each of them because they were all so real to me!

You can always count on Courtney Summers to pull out your heart and give you enough to close out the book, but still leaving something up to you to decide. And that's why I love her. She gives her readers credit that they are going to be able to take the characters she's given you and imagine your own future for them. It's cool when it's done right, and she always seems to do it perfectly!

Anyway GREAT book, especially if you liked [bc:Trapped|8428140|Trapped|Michael Northrop|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328837786s/8428140.jpg|13291342] since it's very similar. ( )

CW: MC writes a suicide note to her sister because she abandoned her to live with her violent father. She intended to overdose but then the zombie apocalypse happened.

3.5 Stars ( )

Love the cover! Its so mysterious and beautiful.

I cant help but think of a song: Florence and the machine-No light,no light

When zombies attack, you have to be very motivated to survive. What if you were feeling depressed and suicidal before the zombie apocalypse began? ( )