This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Title: This is Not a Test
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 3 stars

Ostensibly, This is Not a Test is a novel about a group of teenagers dealing with a zombie apocalypse, but in reality, the zombies are just a backdrop. This book is more about depression, suicide, and somehow finding a reason to survive against all odds. There’s not a whole lot of action, and we only meet the zombies face-to-face a couple of times – most of the novel is spent inside a fortified school, where the characters get to know each other and Sloane works through her many issues. 

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WWW Wednesdays #1

As hosted by Should Be Reading! 

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


I'm currently reading "This Is Not A Test" by Courtney Summers. I loved "Some Girls Are" by the same author, so I'm expecting to write another positive review! I decided to start on this book not only because it has been on my to-read list for ages, but because I just finished the game The Last Of Us, so I'm really in the mood for some post-apocalyptic survival stuff. Such a good game.



I recently finished reading "Truly, Madly, Deadly" by Hannah Jayne, which I reviewed here. Unfortunately, I wasn't a very big fan of the novel. I had hoped for so much more and was kind of let down in every way. Oh, and I'm really not a fan of the one GLBT+ character being evil. I absolutely hate the Evil Lesbian trope and find it very offensive.



So, I'm one of the only YA lovers who hasn't read the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. With so many reviewers adoring it and even my friends on Tumblr enjoying it, I figured, hey, might as well finally start on it. Especially with the movie coming out -- but wasn't one of the main characters whitewashed? Oh, and that's another reason I'm looking forward to starting it! I heard there was a diverse cast! Yay!

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

Title: Truly, Madly, Deadly
Author: Hannah Jayne
Publication Date: July 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN: 1402281218
Rating: 2 stars

After Sawyer’s football-playing boyfriend dies, she receives a note in her locker, suggesting that it wasn’t an accident. Someone may have discovered his abuse, which she kept hidden from the world. But as Sawyer attempts to remain a normal high school student, more people end up dead, and it seems to be that she has a vengeful stalker, snapping pictures of her from afar and killing those who harm her. 

I read this book in one setting over the course of a couple of hours. Not because I needed to know what was going to happen next, but because I kind of wanted to just get to the next book. It’s a shame, because I had heard many good things about this book, but I just didn’t like it at all. The mystery wasn’t compelling, the characters were one-dimensional, the romance was boring, and the villain was, quite frankly, insulting. With that said, the prose is one of the few things I didn’t have a problem with, so if my criticisms do not seem to be a big deal to you, I would say to give the novel a try. 

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