The Nitty Gritty: This is a mighty big hole Alice has tumbled into. After a horrible crash that claims the life of her entire family, little Ali realizes that her crazy alcoholic father, may not have been as crazy as she thought.
Those monters he raged about, are real and they are coming for her.
If Alice has any hope of surviving the new reality she finds herself in she has to learn to trust Cole Holland. The bruised and battered sex god that glowers at her from across the hallway. Not only does Alice had to learn how to navigate a new high school she finds herself in the crosshairs of high drama. High school. steamy kisses, and zombies oh my.
Opening Line: "Please, Alice. Please."
What's the 411: I was sort of dreading reading this book. The title and the book cover caught my eye. Usually I'm not moved by ditzy looking white girls sitting in a field of black, but couple that with Zomebieland and I'm hooked. I'm a sucker for a good zombie read.
The first few pages started off sort of slow. I was in danger of getting bored and shelving the book to come back when I needed to be distracted from an impending root canal or mammogram. Sure Emma was more entertaining than Alice and that keep me coming back for me. However the action slapped me in the face pretty quickly and I have to admit I find violence kinda hot. No seriously I like for the action to get going pretty quickly. I mean I don't have all day to invest in a bad book. So I like to know right off if I am going to like a book or not, and I usually figure that out within the first couple of pages. I know some people give a bad book 100 pages, but honestly life is too short to waste on bad literature.
The action when it happened moved at a fast clip, but the scenes between the action slowed down the pace of the book instead of enhancing it. A zombie book that promises zombies in the title should have at least 60% zombies and 40% filler fluff. Now I know this is the first novel in a series and Showalter needs to lay a foundation for the characters and the plotlines to come, but I just wished there had been a bit more zombie carnage and battles.
I do believe that this book title was a misnomer. Wonderland was an unforgettable place filled with some of the most fantastic and beloved characters in literature. To invoke those feelings in readers with your title and then not deliver on that promise is a punch to the gut. The only thing that hinted at a Wonderland connection was the chapter titles, Alice's name and rabbit shaped clouds. I'm sorry but that just isn't enough for me. You can't reclaim one of my favorite books as inspiration and then dropped the ball.
The Good: Actually Alice was one of the more delightful teenage narrators that I've read in a good while. To be sure she wasn't an adult in a 17 year olds body doing and saying impossible things for a teenager. yes I am talking about Hermione Granger. Yes it was possible for her to be intelligent, but for an eleven year old she just had too much insight into human nature for me to like her, and I never did to be honest. *whew* There I said it. That is a load off my mind. Alice was happily still a teen but she was being thrust into a very adult world and she bucked when she could but she stepped up to the plate right and properly.
Thankfully Alice didn't suffer from low self esteem like all the recent teen heroines. I don't know when that became a trend and I'm not sure who started it but they should be tired to a stake and horsewhipped at high noon in front of a roaring crowd and a man selling hot meat and mulled wine.
The Bad: I pride myself on being a true Zombie connoisseur and like Twilight Alice sort of pissed me off. I have a fixed idea about what zombies should and shouldn't be, not that something new wouldn't pique my interest, but it just has to make sense for me. I'm not sure if I'm buying Alice's zombies. Just yet. Maybe Through the Zombie Glass will convince me that these zombies deserve mention in my Zombie Preparation Plan.
Dr. Wright. Her development just wasn't there. From where she was at the beginning to where she ended up just didn't make a lot of sense. There wasn't any bread crumbs leading up to her revel. It just sort of happened and we are left with Alice worthy questions and that just infuriates me. Just enough to get me to the next book to see if my questions are answered. Though if I'm strung along much further I might have to walk away. I don't like authors who without hold information for the sake of keeping me entertained for another book. Write a good story with awesome characters and you have my attention and my money.
My Final Say: Curl up with this book on Sunday night after the Talking Dead. It will help your work through your feelings for the Governor (the dirty rotten bastard) and if will keep your need for zombies sated till next Sunday night.
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