Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Release Date: September 25, 2012
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 404

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.


Alice in Zombieland is the first book in the White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter. I'd never read anything by Gena Showalter before, but I'd heard great things about her writing. I started reading this book with great expectations for her novel and I soon found out that my expectations were met.

The tone of the writing was often sad. Ali's family just died and that's not something she can get over anytime soon. Which is completely understandable. However, the story was surprisingly lightened up with sarcastic remarks and humorous jokes, proving that life goes on. Eventually, grief became the last thing on anyone's mind.

That's not to say the entire story was about grief. Ali eventually didn't have enough time to mourn. Because zombies are real and they're after her. It's time for vengeance. This is about when the book speeds up and becomes that much more interesting. The author obviously wasn't afraid to kill people which set the stakes even higher. Another factor that upped the danger was that only a select few people can see the zombies. Only a select few can fight them. The plot grabbed me from the first page and didn't let me go until the end.

To me, Ali was a good person and I liked her from the start. She cared so much for her family and would do anything for them. Their death made her tougher and more wary of starting relationships yet when she loved someone, she never let them go. Her best friend Kat was vulnerable. To hide this she acted tough and often made me laugh with her nonsense. She has a secret, causing her to keep certain people at an arms length. I had a hard time liking Cole at first. He was rude to Ali and I was afraid of insta-love. However, they didn't jump right into a relationship and became friends first. As I got to know Cole I realized he'd been through a lot and, in the end, was a good guy.

Another character I need to mention is Ali's sister. She plays a special role in the story and always holds a place in her heart for Ali. Then there's Ali's dad who loves her despite it all. Finally, there was Ali's grandparents. They were a bit distant at first and didn't understand Ali at all. However, they were really trying. They cared for Ali and eventually got this through to her.

To look at the title, you'd think this would be a retelling of Alice in Wonderland. With zombies. But it's so much more than that. Although it has a couple things in common with Alice in Wonderland it has it's own unique plot and setting. It took place in modern day US and a portion of it was about high school.

Basically, this was a great start to an addictive series. I'm now desperate to devour the next book. So, if you like original stories with a touch of story retelling this is the book for you. This is also a good book for fans of zombies, kick-ass heroines, and paranormal reads.

Memorable Quotes

 

• “He’s body slammed enough people to start a new country. And there could be a neighbouring city for the people he’s punched in the throat”  
• “I looked around, counting the competition. Sixteen. To win, all I had to do was incapacitate each one, place my hand over their hearts and turn my palm into a flame. Easy.
  Yeah right.”  
• “Of course.” She fluffed her hair. “I don’t want to brag, but I’m very high
  maintenance.”
  “Uh, I think low maintenance is what’s desirable.”
  “Low maintenance is what’s forgettable. You might want to write that down, underline it, circle it and put a star by it. It’s golden.” With barely a breath, she added, “Now let’s find out if we’re compatible, shall we?”