Started reading: June 3rd 2017
Finished the book: June 7th 2017
Pages: 207
Genres: Zombies
Published: February 23rd 2017
Source: Got a digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: Not enough reviews
My score:
For deadpan snark queen Violet Sharpe, death is not the end.
If you think life sucks, wait until after you're dead. After finding out she's contracted porthmeos, a nasty parasite, Violet is faced with a choice: either meet her end before her thirtieth birthday, or become one of the Revived, which is the politically correct word for... well, a zombie.
But the challenges of her new un-life are way worse than she thought. As part of a new minority, she faces discrimination and hatred, not to mention a laundry list of physical limitations and the looming ghost of depression. Can she meet these challenges with her usual strength and dark humor? Or is being Revived a fate worse than death?
My thoughts
This is quite the unique zombie story. I couldn't call it a horror book, because it wasn't really scary and that's what made this something I've not seen before. Most of the time you have the humans and the zombies that fight against each other, but not in this book! People actually get the chance to choose if they get sick, and that's how you get to know Violet in this story.
Pros
- Violet: Violet is a badass lesbian chick who is not afraid to say what she thinks and how she feels. I love the way she hits on girls and has a crush for Scarlett Johansson. Violet is an awesome narrator and she is bold and sarcastic, but not afraid to show feelings as well, I love it!
- A lot going on: A LOT is going on. You switch from transforming into a zombie, to meeting new friends, to dealing with the press and the people who despise zombies. It's a story that keeps the pace going and keeps you reading. It kept my attention all the way through.
- Very unique: Like I said, it's not your usual zombies-that-eat-the-living story. People actually keep their brain and their feelings, their body is just dead. So they have to be careful, not bump yourself or break something, or you'll have to get it fixed. A really unique take on the subject!
Cons
- Violet: Violet is a cool chick, bold but with feelings, but also has a temper. I found her to get annoyed really fast, to get mad really fast and she hurts people by doing that. This made her to not be my favorite character of all times. Since she died, I'd love for her to be happy that she has friends who take her in, and not treat them like she does at some points.
- A lot going on: There is a lot going on, with a lot of loose ends, to my opinion. Like the first surgery Violet has, that opens up her belly, whats going on with that? She meets a girl in one of the first chapters and you only hear from this girl once again. The business, the people Violet meets, it all just goes a bit too fast for me. It is a pro, that the story is fast paced, but on the other hand I would've loved to maybe see 50 pages more and have some aspects worked out a bit better. I'm pretty sure it would've kept my attention just the same.
- No chapters: The story felt unfinished, because there were no chapters. The story could've had some nice cliffhangers or chapter endings here and there. I'm a nitpick sometimes so here I am, complaining about chapters. But sometimes I'm just at that point where I tell myself: "Just one more chapter" and I couldn't do that, in this book. I had to figure out myself where to stop reading and pick up again after that.
Overall
A very unique book about zombies that has a badass maincharacter! You can see that most of the pros were cons for me as well. I think the story could use some fine tuning, but that didn't take away the pleasure I had reading this book. The conversations were nice, the pacing of the book was good, and hey, zombies, yeah! This wasn't your usual scary, sloppy, dirty zombie-horror story. It's something different. Different is good!
Are you a zombie/horror person? Why, or why not?!
