Book Review: This Is Not A Test

This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Format: E-ARC
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 19th June 2012
Pages: 326
Main Characters: Sloane
Date Started: 9th June 2012
Date Finished: 14th June 2012
Rating Given: ****

Blurb from Netgalley:

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?

I actually can't remember why I requested this book from Netgalley as it was awhile ago now but I think that it might have had something to do with Zombies but I'm not sure. Whatever the reason was I knew that I needed to read it soon as the archive date was coming up and I am glad that I have read it because in the end it was a very intriguing book to read.

The cover could have been another reason why I wanted to read this book as it's very captivating as we don't actually see the girls face so we don't know anything about what is going on with her but there does look like there is some blood on the top of the cover which does make me wonder what is going to happen in this book. It looks a bit strange but I think that fits the actual story perfectly. I love that there isn't much going on in the cover as it keeps me guessing which again fits into the story.

This is not the debut book from Courtney Summers but it is my first time reading one of Summers books and it won't be my last. There is a couple that I have wanted to read for awhile but never actually took notice of the name until now so I think they will go closer to the top of my list of books that I will be getting. Summers has written a very gripping book even if it was a bit strange. She was also able to add family problems into a world where zombies live is just brilliant.

To start with I didn't actually like this book as I was very confused to what was going on but the further I went into it the more I enjoyed it to the point of rating it four stars. There wasn't much action until nearer to the end but then one thing happened and then everything seemed to happened just like the domino effect. It was a very dark and depressing book so I would suggest before reading it make sure in the mood for that kind of book especially when there isn't any lightness to the story. We don't actually see the zombies for most of the book but we know they are out there especially nearer the end it sounded very gross. I didn't like the ending I felt the same way as the same last line what happens next?I don't think this is a part of a series which is a shame as I could see loads more happening as we have loads of unanswered questions.

The point of view of the story is from Sloane who has been going through some huge family problems for most of her life so throughout the book she seems very depressed to the point of wanting to die and because of this I wasn't a huge fan of her but I did understand where she was coming from. There was five other characters that where alright but we didn't get to know a great deal about them and for the most part they where annoying there was points in the story where I liked and hated them.

Overall a very intriguing book that keeps you gripped even in the darkest times.