Book Review: This Is Not A Test - Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Media Type: Print Book
Title: This Is Not A Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: Paperback; 323
Release Date: June 19, 2012
Source: Library
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Intended Reading Group: Young Adult
Content Screening: Violence, Sexual Situations
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HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Readers who enjoy a good zombie novel, with a very realistic twist.

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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 soared to the top of my reading list as soon as I found out that it was a zombie book, and done by Courtney Summers. I’m sincerely convinced that she can do no wrong. I wanted to see what her take on the zombie apocalypse would be! I can say, without a doubt, that I was pleasantly surprised at what I found between the pages! Hold on tight, let’s get this review started.

When the book opens the world goes from normal, straight to all out crazy. I’m not entirely certain how the zombie apocalypse actually comes about but it definitely hits hard. What I loved more than anything was the survival aspect of This Is Not A Test. This isn’t just a book about zombies. This is a story about six teens that are just trying to make it as far as they can. Six people who are trying to keep their sanity in an otherwise insane world. I really enjoyed watching them find their inner strength, and eventually learn what was most important to them.

The one wrench in my otherwise total enjoyment of this book was Sloane’s character. I liked her, but I found it a little hard to believe that there was literally nothing that she wanted to live for. The back story to Sloane’s character makes sense. I won’t spoil, but you can definitely see why she is hurting so much. Still, it became a little over dramatic after a while. I thought she had so much more potential.

If you’ve read Courtney Summers, you know how amazing this book is. It’s her type of book, just with the addition of a zombie spin. I’m extremely happy to say that This Is Not A Test takes its rightful place on my shelf of re-reads! I only wish that there was more of the story, because at the end I just couldn’t let go.

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