Review: This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

                                      Book: This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
                                      Pages: 322
                                      Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Paranormal
                                      Source: Sent from St. Martin's Griffin 

Short Synopsis: It's the end of the world. The world is now run by zombies, and Sloane and a few selected humans left on the planet have taken shelter at their high school.

My Thoughts: I loved the story line for this novel, and couldn't wait to read what happened next with Sloane and the rest of the gang.

Sloane Price is devastated that her sister has left her to face the horrible situation with her father alone. Then, one day, while at the school, Sloane and the rest of the world discover that infected citizens, otherwise known as zombies, has taken over the world.
Sloane, and the classmates that have been left alive take shelter at the local high school. They seek advice from a local radio displaying a message saying, "This is not a test. Once you have found a secure location, stay there, and help will come." Sloane finds the whole situation surreal, as if she's stuck in an awful dream.
But for now, the remaining humans have shelter, enough food to survive for awhile, and running water.  Sloane and the rest of the group make sure that there are no openings for the zombies to get in. But a couple days in, the group discover that Mr. Baxter, one of their old teachers, have snuck into the school boundaries. The group becomes suspicious of Mr. Baxter and don't know if he can be trusted. But how much longer can the group survive, being holed up in one place, when help seems to clearly not be coming? 

Wow! What can I say about this novel? Summers blew me away! I'm usually not one for zombie novels, but this was a must read. Sloane is not your average, normal, happy go lucky main character, but is facing real life problems, which as a reader, makes it feel all the more real.

It was rather interesting to read who was left in the group, and how all their feelings and view points differed from everyone else. This novel was a pure, survival of the fittest, and I loved reading how everyone got on everyone else's nerves. The Mr. Baxter situation was very interesting, as it gave readers insight on who was willing to help out, and who was willing to go with their gut instinct. 

The main character Sloane, is a very complicated person. She has a lot of issues concerning suicide, dealing with abandonment, as well as violence from her father. And on top of it all, trying to deal with a zombie apocalypse. I was hooked and wanted to find out more about Sloane and what she was going to do next. 

There were a couple things that I wasn't too fond of though. The pace was a little slow for me, and there didn't seem to be much of a build up to the climax. I also felt that the relationship between Rhys and Sloane seemed a bit forced, as Sloane appeared to be jealous of the relationship between Grace and Cary. The ending was incredible, and I can't wait to read what happens next in Sloan's adventures with this very unique dystopian novel.

Would I recommend this book: Yes!

Rating: I give this book a 4/5.