Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Release Date – September 25, 2012
Publisher Website –  Harlequin Teen
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages - 404 pages
My Rating-2.5/5
**obtained from publisher via BEA for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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 seems to have everything that I would love in a novel - Alice in Wonderland influence, zombies, romance and secrets. It all should have added up to an exciting and awesome read. Sadly, this one ended up not being the book for me.

I went into this expecting a darker twist on the Alice in Wonderland tale, however I got something much different. There were only a few references to the classic tale and I did feel that expectation impacted my enjoyment. The white rabbit, Alice herself, and a potential character that could be a reference to the Cheshire Cat are the only ties between the two that I noticed.

I did rather enjoy this new twist on zombies. We got unique and intriguing take on them that I hadn't read before. This aspect of the story was the most fully explained, from how to deal with the zombies, and how they develop. The other aspect I found intriguing was the group wanting to study the zombies rather than kill them. I felt detailing the reasons for their presence and back story would have been a welcome addition to the novel. Hardcore zombie fans may feel that Gena Showalter’s zombies are too different, but I thought it was a creative twist on something that has been done already.

The characters were what was off-putting for me. I was unable to connect with them. I enjoyed Alice and her attitude. She was very much a typical teenager dealing with a lot. Her dealing with her parents death was the most honest emotions that, I felt,  came out of her character. The shutting down and raw heartbreak rang true for me.

Once romance entered the story is where things start to fall apart. A heroine that becomes single minded and unable to see anything beyond the hot boy in her life. The romance felt forced to me. I did not feel the connection between Ali and Cole as much as I wanted to. They barely spoke in the beginning to make a true connection to build from. He, in fact, glares at Alice at their first meeting, I even seem to recall him growling at her. I found him to be a huge turn off. He is an Alpha male that typically exists in romance novels and it felt strange to have those qualities in a teenager.

I loved Alice’s friend Kat. She’s hilarious and confident in a way that didn’t feel egotistical. She is just outgoing and genuine in a refreshing way. She was the most real character in the story and I would have loved more from her perspective. The friendship that develops between the girls makes Alice more enjoyable and was the strongest part of the story. A friendship built on being there for each other and understanding.

I would recommend reading other reviews to determine if this book might be for you. I do think quite a few people will enjoy and love this novel. I believe the sequel has the potential to be much better as the set up of some interesting plot points did happen. An intriguing premise, and a kick butt main character were not enough to make this a novel for me however.