Review: This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Title: This Is Not A Test

Author: Courtney Summers

Published: June 19th 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin
Ebook copy was provided by the publisher

Book Description:

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? 

MY THOUGHTS:

 I think this is a test, it has to be.

I’ve been hearing many good things about this book. So I’ve decided to give this book a shot. I love books about zombies. The gore, action, adventure, romance are my thing. Well, the book did not disappoint me. This book is the whole package. I swear, I have many jumpy moments while reading this book. This Is Not A Test is intense; there is nothing like it.

The story is about 6 teenagers, who are doing their best to survive a zombie apocalypse. We see the world in the eyes of Sloane, a broken girl who is about to give up. The group trap themselves inside their own school, basically barricading each exit. Will help be coming their way? Will Sloane finally use this opportunity to kill herself? You have to pick up this book to find out.

The world building is phenomenal. It’s like watching Big Brother in the eyes of a girl. The story is very believable. Indeed, it could happen! -Cough- Hopefully, not.  I was on the 3^rd page and literally on the edge of my bed. As I view the apocalypse from the eyes of Sloane, I could really feel her emotions towards everything. Her fear, struggles, dedication, courage and her wish to end things. That’s how good this book is! You could feel everything, like you are thrown inside the book to see and feel it. Thanks to author’s way of writing! I give her 3 thumbs up for creating a heart pumping read!

The character building is as good as the world building. Yes, the characters are very realistic. As a reader, I feel like I was one of them, paranoid and afraid. The author did a good job in making each character unique. There was an array of personalities. Sloane is hard to like at first. She is suicidal, hopeless and in denial. But she had changed Mid Part! I came to like her after her stunt. Her courage awed me.  Even though, she was just using that opportunity to kill herself. Rhys is my second favorite character. He’s cool, very courageous, smart and caring. Trace and Grace gave spice to the story. They are inseparable; the story tends to revolve around the two. How they blamed Cary for their parents death, had certainly entertained me. There are more characters in this book that I like. I will leave them to you to discover more about them. Again, you have to read this book to find out.

As for the love angle, I was literally expecting none. I mean, how can you find love amidst the chaos? You are constantly fearing for your life and expecting a zombie attack every now and then. This book surprised me! There was romance despite the apocalypse. I will not tell you Sloane’s love interest. All I can say is that, the romance melts my heart.  There were some steamy scenes in this book. Why not? There are 6 teenagers with raging hormones trapped inside.

Over all, this book is an excellent read. I recommend this book to mature YA readers who loves action, gore, suspense with a hint of romance. I will be stalking Ms. Courtney Summers from now on. I will see to it that I would read everything that she writes.

I give this book 5 bouncing whales.