Book Review: Alice in Zombieland
Zombies, mysterious visions and a hint of classic literature all in one book.
Alice in Zombieland is an intriguing and fast read that takes you into a world where zombies are real, but only a few people can see them. This was my first taste of zombie literature and it left me hungry for more.
The main character Alice Bell, who goes by the nickname Ali, in the first chapter loses her mom, dad and sister in a car crash. She thinks it's her fault because she urged her father, who fears hours after dark, to go out of the house to attend her little sister's dance recital.
After the car crash Ali changes schools, where she finds her best friend Kat, who's feisty and always says what's on her mind. Kat helps Ali to adjust to her new life and introduces her to a whole slew of interesting characters, including Cole Holland. Ali starts to see passionate visions with involving her new crush Cole, but she can't tell if they're real or just her imagination.
And if high school wasn't stressful enough Ali starts to see the monsters. These were the same monsters her dad told her about and feared. Everyone thought he was crazy, including Ali, but now she knows he was telling the truth.
Ali becomes part of select group of people that can see the monsters and soon becomes aware that the monsters are actually hunting her. The decision is her's does she fight or let them kill her?
This novel by Gene Showalter keeps the reader guessing and never reveals exactly what is going on until the last possible moment. I loved how there were new surprises around every corner. The story was complicated enough to keep you interested, but not too complicated to make you seem like a total outsider.
I also enjoyed seeing the allusions to Alice in Wonderland. Showalter is very clever when it comes to the title of the novel and the names of the chapters. This was the reason picked up the novel. I was interested because the novel had almost the identical name of the famous Lewis Carol novel.
The white rabbit even makes an appearance. Ali starts to notice that there is a cloud in the shape of a rabbit and it always appears as a warning that the monsters will be out that night.
I would recommend this novel to anybody remotely interested in zombies. If you aren't quite into zombies and are looking for a nice easy read that will ease you into the genre, this is a great first novel. Even if you are into zombies and feel a zombie apocalypse is emanate, it's still a good read because these are not your Left For Dead type of zombies.
I enjoyed this book so much that when I finished it I already wanted to read the sequel. Unfortunately the sequel doesn't come out until October of 2013.
Look out for the white rabbit and maybe there really are things that go bump in the night...
