I loved almost everything about this book. The first half dragged in a few places, but once the girls left the school, everything clipped along at a sI loved almost everything about this book. The first half dragged in a few places, but once the girls left the school, everything clipped along at a steady, entertaining pace.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Native American rep, or that the concept of Native boarding schools was taken and used in the manner it was. I'm also not sure if it's my place to really comment on it, though, because I'm neither black nor Native. So I'll leave that thought as it is.
I loved the world-building, the tension, the fight scenes. I loved Jane's unapologetic personality. She's ruthless when she needs to be and doesn't seem to have any hangups about that, which is kind of refreshing. She and Katherine (who, honestly, I was rooting for as a couple until finding out that Katherine has zero interest in a romantic or physical relationship with anyone) have such good chemistry on-page.
Some very minor nitpicks... Big Sue was mentioned briefly at the beginning as being Jane's real only friend at school, but then she was never mentioned again until once much, much later on in the book. Jackson's appearances also felt a little convenient at times. He always seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
That said, the side characters were all wonderful. Even Lily, who we didn't get too much of, seems like she's going to be a little fireball in later books. Katherine was one of my faves. I'm *not* entirely looking forward to this implied love triangle I think we're going to end up with, but we'll see. Some authors can pull it off, and my dislike of love triangles is a personal thing rather than any kind of real reflection on the book itself.
The themes of racism in this book are hard-hitting, and Ms. Ireland did a fantastic job with it. No punches pulled. While I'm not normally big on cliffhanger endings, this one left off at a perfect spot, and I'm super excited for what comes next. ...more
Enjoyed it, but a depressing lack of zombies and action in this one. Lots of build up for it, but then no delivery. Not sure what I think of our narraEnjoyed it, but a depressing lack of zombies and action in this one. Lots of build up for it, but then no delivery. Not sure what I think of our narrator for this book. I like him, but...his crazy talking-to-George-in-his-head thing and everyone just casually accepting this got on my nerves. Still a good read. Starting on the next one!...more
First of all, I want to say, this e-galley did NOT like me. There were 10-ish pages that *refused* to load on my Nook toward the beginning, so I have First of all, I want to say, this e-galley did NOT like me. There were 10-ish pages that *refused* to load on my Nook toward the beginning, so I have no idea how Nick ended up from the chicken factory to being on the bus. I also don't know if the 'end' was the end I read, because the ending of the book kept screwing up, too. I felt like I was missing a chapter or two, but I have no clue. I tried opening the e-galley on my computer and had the same issues.
So, that being said...
Cover: 3/5 Interesting design, easy on the eyes, matches the story well. I can't say it's a cover I would've stopped in the store for, but it goes along with the book.
Characters: 3/5 There were some really fun and interesting characters. I loved Yeltsin and Swann the most, I think. And Nero/Nick and his sister. Sadly, there were so many half-developed characters that were on the brink of being explored and then...it kind of cuts off and drops a lot of character-building things.
Plot: 3/5 I loved the concept. LOVED. It was the execution that flunked for me...in places. This was a fairly long book, all things considered. The Infects don't even show up until around page 100, which means we have 100 pages of Nick working, being at home, getting arrested, etc. 100 pages to get to zombies...in a zombie novel. Had the beginning been cut down to 30-50 pages, it would've made the pacing so much better.
There were parts that were awesome...parts not-so-awesome and a little hard to follow. The idea that a company has gone through this contamination problem not once, but MANY times, is fascinating, and that it spreads so quickly via a fast food chain everyone loves. (Imagine if the beef at McDonald's got contaminated. How fast would that spread in a single day??)
Writing: 3/5 THE INFECTS has very entertaining writing. I loved the voice of it, the poeticness of the narration...but sometimes it could be a bit hard to follow. Especially in the mountains, and again in the house trying to fend off the Infects, I felt sort of lost as to who was where and what kind of room they were in. The writing wasn't terribly clear. But, again, great voice and some of the phrasing, Nick-to-Nero and back again, was lovely.
Overall: 3/5 This was a fun book. A heavier read than, say, THE OTHER LIFE, or other zombie novels I've read, but still fun and worth the time to read. I do wish the e-galley hadn't screwed up so much, and I wish some parts had a little more clarity and explanation. But if you want a good male POV book with gore, zombies, and plenty of typical-teenaged-boy humor, you'll enjoy this one. ...more
**spoiler alert** I'm sort of at a loss for this book and what to write about it, probably because so much happens. I'm not sure if I fully liked Geor**spoiler alert** I'm sort of at a loss for this book and what to write about it, probably because so much happens. I'm not sure if I fully liked Georgia. I think at times I did, and other times I didn't. Shaun, I loved. Same with Rick. Buffy was another favorite, despite her failings and the things she did that, ultimately, played a large factor in so many deaths.
The good? World-building. Holy hell. I can't imagine the research that went into this, especially after reading the acknowledgments. (Also--Heeeey, Sacramento!) The detail we're given was amazing. The cause of the virus wasn't just "here, have a virus that makes the dead come back to life." There was reason behind it. There was believable cause. And it was brilliant. The ending doesn't pull any punches.
I know some people say they were uncomfortable with Shaun and George's close relationship, but I actually loved it and it kills me to think about reading the next book as Shaun is trying to move on. What they had wasn't just a sibling relationship, and it wasn't exactly a romance, but it was something special that exceeded both of those things.
The bad? As I mentioned in my status updates, there were times I wanted to start skimming because everything. takes. forever. There was never, ever a sense of urgency. Never a moment where I felt time was of the essence. Even when they SAID "we need to hurry," they still sat around talking things out in great detail. A lot of facts were repeated. How many times do we need to be told how the testing units work? Some phrases ("poking dead things with sticks") were repeated until I cringed when I saw them. If I were to go through and edit this book, I could easily cut out 150 pages by streamlining scenes and removing the facts we're beating in the face with time and time again.
But don't get me wrong--over-writing aside (which is the only reason this got less than 5 stars), this is probably my favorite zombie book I've read, for the world-building alone. I'm not big on reading series. I have a habit of reading the first one and never bothering to pick up the next...but I'm already itching to get the next book and see where Shaun takes us. ...more
**spoiler alert** Cover: 3/5 It's a decent cover. A little romanticized where it doesn't need to be (the font, for example, didn't need to be so scrip**spoiler alert** Cover: 3/5 It's a decent cover. A little romanticized where it doesn't need to be (the font, for example, didn't need to be so script-y). There's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't pop very much.
Characters: 3/5 There were times I liked Maddy, and times I didn't. Her wishy-washyness over Dane and Stamp at the end started to get to me, but I'll reserve judgment until the next book, because I'm very picky about my love triangles. After the first few chapters, I found Stamp annoying and couldn't at all see what Maddy saw in him; Dane was so much sweeter and they had a lot more interaction. The only character I really, really ended up enjoying was Dane. Dahlia and Bones felt like too much the opposite of Dane and Chloe. Boy/girl pairing on the side of good, boy/girl pairing on the side of evil. I didn't get a sense for why Bones and Dahlia had an interest in Maddy in specific. Villains who are evil for the sake of being evil just aren't terribly interesting to me. Also, I kind of liked Chloe and was disappointed Dane and Maddy didn't have much of a reaction to her death. I mean, it happened, then it was hardly mentioned again.
Plot: 3/5 Enjoyable! The action was good. I really liked what was done with Hazel, her steady decline. The romance was where it fell a little flat. I mean, I could feel it with Dane and Maddy, but Stamp was just...so superficial and the way things ended with the three of them didn't sit quite right.
Writing: 3/5 Good, solid writing in terms of voice and flow. There were a few typos that really, really should've been caught in editing. The one thing that drove me absolutely crazy and dropped this down to a 3 from a possible 3.5 or 4, however, was the overuse of everyone's names in dialog. It drove me nuts.
Overall: 3/5 It was an enjoyable read and I liked the take on zombies. I'll read the next book gladly, because the action was fun and I'm curious to see where the plot heads next, now that our heroes are essentially on the run. Definitely not the typical paranormal romance sort of story, and it's cheap! So it's very worth the money. ...more
Cover: 4/5 Love the cover (the one with the girl, not the other one), and it was part of what caught my attention. Good covers WORK, people! And this Cover: 4/5 Love the cover (the one with the girl, not the other one), and it was part of what caught my attention. Good covers WORK, people! And this one also fits the story very well.
Characters: 3/5 I liked Sherry. She did a lot of crying, but that was kind of expected given what she was going through. She was a good narrator. Her little quirk about counting time was fun, and it wasn't overused, which I like. I don't think there were any characters I hugely disliked. Grandma was hilarious in a screwed-up "there is something seriously wrong in this lady's head" kind of way. I loved that little subplot with grandpa.
But, alas, I really wasn't digging the romance. The relationship felt way too rushed and the story could've been greatly improved without it. Since I got the impression there's going to be a sequel, they should've used this book to give Sherry and her new boyfriend some solid basis for a future relationship, rather than trying to cram a whole falling-for-someone scenario into an already cramped space.
Plot: 3/5 The premise for this story is one of my faves. Extra points for Sherry and family leaving the bunker for the first time in three years because it was a unique spin on things. I loved all of that, and the concept of the Weepers (and how they got their name). Unforuntately, this didn't score higher because things felt kind of rushed and clunky at times. This was a really short read. I think it should've been longer, and the bit about the 'fence' should've been brought in earlier. I don't know how to articulate it what didn't work...it just didn't. The first half of the book was fantastic and I have few complaints. Around the time the family left the bunker for Safe Haven, though, it kind of lost some steam.
Writing: 3/5 This is where the novel fell flattest for me. The writing is good, grammatically speaking, but it's so stiff. The dialogue is formal and old-fashioned. I think this could have been hugely improved with more voice, and better dialogue between characters. I do have to say, though--the action scenes, especially in the beginning and when Sherry was looking for her dad, sufficiently creeped me out. Susanne Winnacker does suspense and horror well.
Overall: 3.25 This was one of those books that you enjoy reading because it was quick and easy and had some fun parts. (Not to mention, you know, creepy!) I'll pick up the second book without hesitation, and I'll reccommend this as a fun zombie-esque story. Really, there's just something about this book that made it hard to put down. I read it all in two sittings (broken up only because I had to work), and I immediately went to add the second book to my TBR list. ...more
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