This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

by Mrs. Stanley's Bookshelf

Posted on November 30, 2012

This Is Not a Test is a zombie novel on the surface, but so much more than what it sounds.  Yes, this book has zombies in it, but no, they are not the main focus of this book. I know that sounds weird, but this book focuses more on the characters as they try to cope with their situation. The main character, Sloane, is caught up in the zombie apocalypse on the day she planned to commit suicide to escape her abusive father. Her father has physically abused Sloane and her sister Lilly from a young age, since their mother died.  Sloane and Lilly planned to escape him when Sloane turned 18, but since Lilly was older, she left Sloane behind.  She left Sloane a note telling her that she couldn't handle everything anymore, and she disappeared, even knowing that Sloane needed her desperately.  Sloane has been on a downhill spiral since her sister abandoned her, and she finally decided that the only way to truly escape the pain of the abuse and the pain of her sister's abandonment is to kill herself.  Then, everything changes.  Zombies start attacking people. Sloane has given up on living and she is more than happy to just lie down and die, but a group of survivors find her.  She, and five other students, take cover and barricade themselves into the high school.  Sloane still does not want to live, but the other do.  She doesn't want to put them at risk, because she doesn't want to be selfish like her sister.  She is not the typical survivor of an apocalypse, but just as everyone else is losing everything, she starts to find things that make life worth living.

I read this book in one day.  I could not put it down.  The character development is excellent, the action scenes are exciting and memorable, and the ending is not predictable.  I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.