Book Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland 

Author: Gena Showalter
Series: White Rabbit Chronicles, #1
Pages: 404
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Date of Publication: 5th October 2012
Source: Publisher*
Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

My Thoughts:
This book was awesome. I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that it was a book that I needed to read, and soon. I'll admit I did think it was a retelling of Alice in Wonderland but with zombies, from reading the title... I mean, there were the odd references, like there is a white rabbit, but it's definitely not a retelling. So don't get confused like I did! Despite it not quite being what I expected, it was a really great read that only got better as it gets further into the story.

I really liked Ali. She was determined and strong, and so brave to try to take on the zombies despite seeing them brutally kill her whole family. She made me laugh out loud more than once, and although there were several guys vying for her attention, she could be pretty independent at times, which I really liked, even if it didn't really last...

And it didn't last because at the beginning, there was some major Twilight-esque insta-love... She's the new girl, she's not particularly spectacular, yet two guys, one who never speaks to anyone apart from his twin sister (sound familiar...? *cough* Edward *cough*), and the other is the leader of the group of 'bad boys' in the school who is completely off limits to everyone, can't keep their eyes off her... Oh, they're both drawn to this mysterious new girl. SHOCK HORROR. Totally didn't see that one coming... ANYWAY. The reasons they are drawn to her ARE explained later in the book, so it's not all bad, I just thought I'd mention it because it really did annoy at the beginning and the rest of the book is awesome so I didn't want you to be put off by the beginning if this is the kind of thing that annoys you!

The supporting characters were great too. Cole, the leader of the bad boys and main love interest, was awesome, and I might just be a little bit in love with him, despite his reputation... But Kat, Ali's best friend, was definitely my favourite. She was funny, loud and she just seemed like the kind of person who you'd want as your best friend. She was loyal and she put up with Ali's secretive ways and the twist at the end for her was pretty upsetting... But I'm sure it'll all be fine in the next book! (I bloody well hope so!) #secretivenonspoileryvagueness ;D

The zombie parts of the book were done fantastically well. If I were judging this purely on the zombie aspects, I would rate it as my favourite zombie book. The other parts were awesome too, but the zombies were just amazing! The fight scenes were brutal and exciting, and the whole ghostly aspect was such a good idea and it worked really well. I won't say anything more about that because I don't want to spoil you and I don't know how much you already know if you haven't read it, but I found it to be a nice surprise while I was reading so I'll keep quiet.

The plot was action-packed and super fast but not confusing at all. It's full of awesome. Seriously, apart from the whole unexplained insta-love triangle at the beginning, there wasn't a part of it that I didn't like. I loved how all the strands came together at the end and it was written superbly. I can't fault it, though I'm not amazing at picking out plot holes... Which is probably a good thing in the long run!

So, hopefully that portrays my feelings on this book accurately! I've focused on the good and made light of the annoying... With unforgettable characters and a plot to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout, I would most DEFINITELY recommend this book to all fans of paranormal young adult, as it's brilliant. It really is. I can't wait for the next one and I shall certainly be seeing if I can get my hands on copies of Gena Showalter's other young adult titles!

*Huge thanks to MIRA Ink for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the book. 

Also, apologies for the awful use of a hashtag in this review. It won't happen again. Probably. I'm lying, it totally will xD Ach sorry I'm really hyper right now... :P And WOW you're awesome if you're still reading this, despite it being tiny and it being me not really saying anything of importance xD