It reminded my a little of The Walking Dead, in that it’s set in a zombie apocalypse but the zombies are merely the backdrop for the human drama. But while The Walking Dead features a mostly adult cast (give or take an annoying kid or two), This Is Not A Test focuses on six teens as they hole up in their high school and try to figure out how to survive. Or if they even want to.
You see, the book opens with the protagonist, Sloane, contemplating suicide. But not because of a zombie apocalypse. Because of the very human problem of living in an abusive home and feeling abandoned by her sister, the one person who promised to take care of her. Then zombies appear on the scene and it’s almost a relief to her. She’s away from her abuser for the first time in her life, but she’s still despairing that her sister left her. Oh, and the fact that the world’s gone to hell. Much of the book centres around the tension between her desire to die and her increasing interest in life, and it’s quite a fascinating concept.
I also really enjoyed watching the dynamics of the group unfold. A lot of conflict derived from who survived when they perhaps shouldn’t have – and who didn’t survive when they should have. It was also interesting to see how people who wouldn't normally interact adapted to living in constant close quarters. There was a lot of tension but also a lot of lovely bonding moments.
The setting of the school and the atmosphere of impending doom was awesomely claustrophobic. There's one particular section early on where the zombies are constantly banging on all doors and windows and it's dreadful (in a good way). The repeated unchanging messages of "This is not a test" also added to the tense mood. It all felt very authentic.
What I loved most of all about This Is Not A Test were the raw emotions. Anger, despair, hope, fear, love, hate, attraction, detest, grief... there are so many emotions the characters go through and they're all beautifully and realistically rendered. Forget braaaaains, this zombie book will grab your heart and twist it and rip it and squish it until all your left with are frayed nerves and FEELS. So many feels.
Rating: 5/5
Headcanon Cast
 |
| Lily Collins as Sloane |
 |
| Steven R. McQueen as Rhys |
Fine Print
Published: 2012, St Martin's Griffith
Get It: Book Depository
Aaaaaand this is why I love post-apocalyptic books --- because when they're done well, you get to experience so many emotions and high drama. These books are about PEOPLE, first and foremost, though I do love zombies in general. I think that's why The Walking Dead resonates with me so much. And if this book is anything like TWD, as you say it is, well, I think we have a winner! YAY!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. When society and everything is stripped back, all you're left with are human relationships and emotions. I never thought about it that way before. I love TWD too, I think you'd really like this book!
DeleteI love the zombie books that don't focus so much on the zombies, but more on the people trying to survive. Although just once I'd like to see one with a "Hell yeah! Zombies!" kind of character, because you just know that somewhere there's some gamer or teenage boy who would totally be excited and not depressed about a zombie apocalypse, lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha good point! Zombieland is kind of like that, have you seen the movie? Although he's not that quite enthusiastic. But it's a fun movie.
DeleteI loved this book so much because of how not-zombie like it seemed. I don't tend to have much interest in zombies as a paranormal creature but I love great contemporaries that focus on characters and that's what this felt like.
ReplyDeleteThis did feel a lot like a contemporary. I'm really getting into zombies lately though :)
DeleteAnd now I feel like an idiot for letting this sit on my shelf for several months. Mostly because I've been so sick of all the apocalyptic/zombie/end-of-the-world crap pervading every type of media. But wow, a book with actual emotion? And not being centered around romance or a triangle?
ReplyDeleteWell I know what I'm reading next. Thank you very much for that! c:
It's definitely worth a read! SO MUCH EMOTION. There is romance but it's not the central plotline. Hope you like it!
Delete