Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Fantasy/Horror
Release date: September 25th, 2012
Pages: 404 (ARC)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Publisher
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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 was in love from the moment I first read the title.  I love a good zombie book, but the author had me at the slight, yet refreshing Alice in Wonderland theme.  When one traumatic event causes Alice to lose her family, she's left to fend for herself.  Worse, she starts to see what her dad saw all these years; creatures that no one else noticed.  No one but a select few.  Alice feels like she's been thrown into this completely different world, but with the help of others, she learns how to protect herself before it's too late.

Every time Alice locks eyes with Cole, the most vivid and unusual visions play behind their eyes.  Because of this, they realize that they're connected in some way and once they get to know each other, they find out that they're much more alike than they could have ever imagined.  Though Cole has a tough shell, he turns out to be a lovable character.  Like Ali, he's willing to do anything to save the people he cares for.  Though Ali originally thought that she was developing a mental illness, once she found out the truth, she was even more determined than ever.  It wasn't just about avenging the deaths of her family, it was about protecting others from going through the same thing.

I found the plot to be incredibly interesting, the fact that these zombies were merely spirits instead of the image that most people picture when they hear the term.  I loved that the team had to learn to separate their spirits from their bodies in order to do any damage to them.  There was so much action in this story, it made it hard to put the book down, even just to take breaks.  It will be easy for many readers to see the struggle these characters go through and that makes it difficult not to get emotionally attached.

Overall, Alice in Zombieland has proven to be a fantastic story with a well-thought-out plot, characters that are easy to relate to and scenes filled with pure excitement and enough romance to make your teeth ache.  You'll find yourself cheering Alice on as she makes her transition to good-girl to kick-ass heroine.  I can easily say that I'll be anticipating the sequel, Through the Zombie Glass.