Monday, December 21, 2015

Alice in Zombieland

A few weeks ago, my niece let me lend her, probably, all time favorite book: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. Last summer she was rereading the books when I was with her in the Ardennen. If you wonder where that exactly is, it's down south in Belgium. It's where nature surrounds you! We've had our own little space behind the caravan with a table and two chairs, and read. The whole time. 

One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. There's one night, on what was supposed to be a big and good day, where everything she loved turned to something bad. It took one night to change Alice's life forever . 
Every since that night, she's been seeing things and has been telling herself that what she sees isn't real. She's delusional and being crazy and because of that she doesn't tell her grandparents anything. 

It's a big relief that she met a girl she'd be going to school with, one that makes her laugh after her tragedy. 
She feels a little bit more comfortable until she makes eye contact with a boy that seems murderous. Ever since then he's annoyed by her and she's been seeing more things that make her feel a lunatic. Especially when the white rabbit cloud passes along... 

This story was a little harder to get into for me. The first few pages that described the awful tragedy where really good but then I felt a little lost for some chapters. After living through those chapters I fell in it, like Alice fell in that hole! 

The mystery around the boy, the things that happened and her own disbelief in what she was seeing made it a very thrilling and exciting read. The author really makes you feel like you're her too because she describes a lot of her feelings and her surroundings. I did like that the most about the book because you could really visualize everything in detail. 

Things got only better when we got to know more of Cole. The mysterious and tough looking boy, in the beginning I wasn't really fond of him because he really challenged Alice. And he kind of pushed my buttons but when we see more of him and are allowed in his zone, he's really a sweetheart. He's very protective over Ali and it also gives us a fierce romance you didn't expect. 

I did expect there'd be some sort of romance but not this kind. It was really strong in my point of view and something I loved in this book. It did bother me a little that Cole was hot and cold and kept jumping between those. Make up your mind, Cole! I guess it did make it even better for the reader that he did that because then you'd keep reading to find out what it's going to be. 

As for Alice she's a very strong character with a very strong personality. She might be broken on the inside and struggling with the loss but nobody is stepping on her toes! She's very protective and will stand up for herself or her new friend. 

Alice was a very cool character because of her stubbornness. She might've been broken ever since that night, she wouldn't let anybody else break her even more. She would pretend that she was a lot stronger than she actually was. Shielding herself and her true emotions so others wouldn't pick on her and I really liked that about her. She's also very daring and not scared, she'll do anything to protect her grandparents, even if it meant for her to die. 

There's one character I'd like to discuss because she might be my favorite in the story, Kat. She's really eccentric! She'll also stand up to anyone who steps on her toes or on those of her friends. In the beginning you might think she's a little vain and very enthusiastic but further into the story, you'll appreciate her. 

There's even a moment in the book where her character surprises you and the outcome did make me feel a little sad. Not that sad in the way that it ruined the character but sad in a way that you have compassion with her.   

Which brings me to the actual story, the book makes you feel a lot of things. There are books that you can read and think okay, I get it but this books (as many others) really grabs you at the heart. Next to that the book is very mysterious and thrilling which I adored! The ending was also very surprising and that did things with me! Also there were some references of Alice in Wonderland, such as the white rabbit. It was presented as a white cloud that looked like a rabbit and it has it's purpose and I liked it that the author used elements of the fairytale.

But the chapters are long! I point that out because I'm easily bothered by very long chapters. I'm that kind of girl that want's to read the whole chapter before stopping so I can go to bed or go out to do something. Because the chapters were so long, you either didn't start it and or started it but didn't finish it. I don't like to stop mid a chapter, it just bothers me for some reason. That's a little negative point but something that's really personal and can be different from reader to reader.

The book was a very good read and now I understand why my niece really enjoyed it and was really fond of it. It's also the first in a series of 4, I don't know if there'll be a fifth or not. Just so you know, it (currently) has 4 books in this White Rabbit Chronicles series, right now and the fourth came out last September! 

"She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever."

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