This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher:St. Martin's Griffin
Source: Marissa
Stand Alone
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?

Review
This is a very popular book. I've read some mixed reviews. I wanted to read this one so I could know what everyone was talking about, two so I could see what my opinion was going to be. A lot of people like or loved this book. I can understand why, it was a very fascinating book. I don't really think it lived up to my expectations. I went into it expecting it to be absolutely amazing and for me it was just good.


I really didn't like the characters at first. They kinda grew on me. I ended up really liking some of them. Sloane really annoyed me in the beginning. She was just too depressed for my taste. But that really is a vital part of the story. I loved Rhys from the start. He seemed like the nicest most normal out of the 6. I liked Cary at first then ended up hating him for the rest of the book. It was the same with Trace. He was just annoying. the only thing I liked about him was how much he cared for his sister. Grace I liked a lot. She just had a nice personality. Lastly we have Harrison. To me he didn't really play that big of a part. I can say I was shocked about how many actually made it. It was pretty surprising. It wasn't who I was expecting at all. Also I loved the differences between characters and the outcome and growth of each character. It was all so well done, this author really tied things up perfectly.


One of the reasons I wanted to read this so bad was because its a survival zombie book. I rarely read any kind of zombie book. I like how different it was from anything else I've read. I expected it to be like creepy zombie but it really wasn't. The zombies were more a part of the setting than the story. It was more focused on the characters.



The plot was sorta on and off. It had its exciting moments and its boring moments. After reading it, I can really understand why a lot of people loved this but I can also understand why some might not. This is really one of those books you need to just read so you can see for yourself. Overall I did enjoy this. I know it sounds like I didn't but I did. I'm glad I read it. It just wasn't what I was expecting. As for recommendation, I would say give it a chance because you never know what could happen. 4/5 stars


Jasmine :)