Alice in Zombieland (2012) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 4 stars

“Unique take on zombies... not what you'd normally think.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Loved, loved, loved this book. Did I say I loved this book? I’m usually not one for YA books. I just can’t take the teen drama but this, this was different. From the get go, this story drew me in. I finished within a day; I just couldn’t put it down. Well, I had to, to do some of the more mundane things like work and eat but I picked it back up every time I had the chance. So, what makes this story so addictive to me? Well, just about everything. It had humor, romance, great characters, paranormal elements, and kick-assery.

Don’t let the name of the book fool you. This isn’t a typical zombie book with blood and gore and brain-eating. The zombies aren’t true zombies in the sense. They are actually spirits of those who have been infected. Not everyone can see them either. And to kill them, you have to be in the form they are in…spirit. Confusing? It really isn’t. A lot of the questions you may have will be answered. Believe me, Ali took care of that.

On to the characters, the ones that stood out to me the most anyway.
-My fave person is the main character, Alice Bell. Ali is not like other 16 year old girls. She lives a sheltered life due to her father who believes monsters are real. Not until after a tragic car accident does Alice start believing that her delusional father was correct after all. Ali really amazed me. She’s not like most book heroines. She has been through hell and back and still manages to keep her head held high. She’s feisty, independent, and doesn’t take shit from anyone.
-Next on down the list is Kathryn Parker (Kat) who is Ali’s saucy best friend. The two meet under bad circumstances but they form an unbreakable bond with one another.
-Pops and Nana. Good grief. How I adore these two. They had me cracking up under several occasions. They are Ali’s maternal grandparents. They try their best to relate to Ali on her level which just leaves Ali groaning. Let me put it this way, the term crackalackin was used. Now you try to keep a straight face when your grandparents say that to you.
-Onto Cole Holland…I wish. The dark haired, violet-eyed, tatted, pierced, alpha bad boy of the book. I really shouldn’t be admitting this out loud, since he’s only 17, but damn! I’ve totally turned cougar over him. From the moment, Ali and Cole meet, they are drawn to each and can’t seem to keep apart.
-Mackenzie Love *gags*, to put it simply, a bitch. She’s Cole’s ex-girlfriend. ‘Nuff said.
-Emmaline Bell (Emma), Ali’s little sister. She’s the one behind the white rabbits. Not saying anything more than that.

I really didn’t expect to enjoy the book as much as I did. It was engaging , fun, and never boring. I’m a fan of Gena Showalter’s other works and she so did not disappoint with this. Now the wait begins for the next book in the series, Through the Zombie Glass.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Although this book was not the most intellectual, it was so much fun. But I have to caution the reader--in picking this book, I was hoping for a darker book, like "Pure" or "Fuse" (that trilogy I can't remember the author of... amazing books by the way. I reccomend them for that dose of dystopian we all need every once in a while.) While I wanted this to be dystopian it almost felt like fantasy. But despite that, this was so much fun. I usually DO NOT LIKE books set in high school, and because of that I near set this book down after the first fifty pages. I find them lacklustre and petty. But the main character and narration in this one had so much spunk, I had to love it. (And not to mention the zombies, which aren't your typical zombies.) Don't expect a strong "Alice in Wonderland" theme, because it just isn't there, but that doesn't take away from the book too much. Reccomended for a light, easy, fast read. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“I really didn't want to read this. I hate zombies. But it's a Flume nominee, so I felt that I had to give it a try. I liked it. It's a different take on zombies, and while still cringeworthy, I didn't mind, due to the interpersonal relationships between the characters. I cared so much about what was going to happen with them that it was difficult to not read straight through, and I kept sneaking the book out of my purse to read a page here or there when I had a second!”

• Rated 4 stars

“Recensione completa: http://ariadnetrailibri.blogspot.it/2013/01/recensione-alice-in-zombieland.html
Alice in Zombieland è il primo romanzo di una serie per adolescenti, The White Rabbit Chronicles, della già nota autrice di paranomal romance per adulti, Gena Showalter.
La protagonista, Alice Bell, è una normale sedicenne, se non fosse che non può uscire di casa dopo il tramonto o avvicinarsi ai cimiteri per ordine del padre che vuole proteggere la famiglia dai mostri che vede soltanto lui. Alice è convinta che sia pazzo. Finalmente, la sera del suo compleanno, riesce a convincere i genitori ad uscire per assistere al saggio di danza della sorellina Emma.
Quello che Alice non sa è che la sua vita sta per subire un drastico e brutale cambiamento. In un tragico incidente d'auto, Alice perde tutta la sua famiglia. La sua vita è completamente stravolta e,come se non bastasse, da quel momento inizia a vedere i mostri che vedeva suo padre. Gli zombie sono reali.
Viene catapultata in una realtà dove niente sarà più come prima. Affidata ai nonni materni, si ritrova in una nuova casa, in una nuova città e in una nuova scuola. Alla Asher High School, conosce Cole Holland, il ragazzo peggiore della scuola. Bello, dagli occhi viola e pericoloso, fin da subito i due scoprono una particolare "attrazione" che li lega. A capo di una misteriosa banda di ragazzi definiti da tutti pericolosi e selvaggi, sarà Cole a insegnare ad Alice come combattere e l'accompagnerà nella terra degli zombie.
Prima di iniziare Alice in Zombieland, ero convinta si trattasse di una rivisitazione del classico Alice nel paese delle Meraviglie di Lewis Carroll in chiave post-apocalittica condita da qualche storia d'amore adolescenziale che mi avrebbe fatto storcere il naso come la maggior parte degli YA.
Fin dalla prima pagina mi sono dovuta ricredere. In realtà si è rivelato un romanzo in cui fantasy, horror, mistero e romanticismo si fondo fino a creare una storia originale, che riesce a conquistare il lettore. Grazie anche ai suoi personaggi. A partire dalla coraggiosa e caparbia protagonista, Alice, fino all'affascinante e misterioso Cole, l'unico che riesce a tenerle testa.
"Avete ragione. L'altra sera ero a cena con Carl lo Zombie. Niente di complicato, bistecche al sangue e una bella bottiglia di A positivo. Mi ha raccontato tutti i suoi segreti, ma per vostra sfortuna gli ho promesso che non li avrei rivelati a nessuno. In cambio gli ho chiesto di radunare i suoi migliori amici non-morti e di darmi la caccia nel giardino della mia amica. E, certo, che andava benissimo se volevano utilizzarmi come buffet, perchè avere gli organi interni ormai è cosi fuori moda"
Senza dimenticare i personaggi secondari, come l'esuberante Kat, migliore amica di Ali, dall'irrefrenabile sarcasmo, Mackenzie Love, ex ragazza di Cole, tutti gli altri ragazzi della banda e i nonni materni di Alice, un'inesauribile fonte di risate. Ma anche i "cattivi" riescono a farsi spazio pian piano.
"Ali, Ali, Ali," disse Kat facendo schioccare la lingua. "Non tenere il broncio. Hai preso la decisione migliore. Una volta Cole ha mangiato un chilo di chiodi arrugginiti per poi sostenere sapessero di lacrime d'unicorno e polvere di fata. Seriamente. Io c'ero."
Gena Showalter è riuscita a creare dei personaggi a cui ci si affeziona immediatamente.
Riprende solo degli elementi dall'originale di Lewis Carroll, per poi trasformarli e inserirli nel punto giusto e al momento giusto della storia (come i titoli dei capitoli, ad esempio), dando così al romanzo "quel tocco in più" che di certo non guasta.
Alice in Zombieland si è rivelata una lettura coinvolgente, con una storia imprevedibile che mi ha tenuta incollata fino all'ultima pagina. Il ritmo è incalzante, la tensione alta dall'inizio alla fine, ma viene anche lasciato ampio spazio alle emozioni. Dalle grandi risate scaturite dai dialoghi dei nonni, al romanticismo degli incontri di Alice e Cole (a parte all'inizio in cui prevale la "prepotenza" di lui), fino alle emozioni più tristi nel momento del lutto e del dolore.
Ho inoltre apprezzato moltissimo la scelta della casa editrice di mantenere la cover originale, apportando solo dei lievi cambiamenti.
Con colpi di scena finali e nuove domande, non ci resta che attendere il seguito di questa coinvolgente storia per continuare insieme ad Alice e agli altri protagonisti il viaggio attraverso Zombieland.
Una storia originale, coinvolgente, dove anche gli zombie riusciranno ad affascinarvi.
”

• Rated 0 stars

“I love the tension between Alice and Cole. I was hoping we would get a little more about Alice's parents thourghout the story, but hopefully more will be made clear in book two "Through the Zombi Glass". I want to know more about the journal and its author, and more about Mackenzie and Coles former romance. I really hope Kat doesn't die before the series is over, but based on the characters health and how we come to learn about it, I will probably have to say goodbye to her sooner rather than later. As for our antagonist Justin and his twin sister Jaclyn, I wasnt all that happy with the explanation of how their company deals with the zombies. Hopefully book 2 will describe things better and allow the reader to form their own opinion on why "the suits" are bad. Or better still, what exactly it is they do when it comes to letting zombies be inside people. Over all a good read. SLow to begin, but after that first look with Cole things get exciting. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“Listened to it on Audiobook. Really good story! Not what I was expecting but it surprised me in a good way. Can't wait for the 2nd one.”

• Rated 2 stars

“Uneven yarn about a girl who survives a car crash that kills her parents and little sister, goes to live with her grandparents and then gets pulled into a war against zombies. Weird mix of sadness, romance and supernatural, reminiscent of the Mara Dyer books, but not as smoothly written. And the Alice parallel is too contrived to work.”

• Rated 2 stars

“Could not get into it. As far as I got (not much) I couldn't understand why her dad was the only one seeing zombies. Tried to stick with it to find out, but ugh, couldn't. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“a good start..nearly cried”