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This is Not a Test

by Courtney Summers (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 4,071 ratings · 1,184 reviews

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed...more

Paperback, 323 pages

Published June 19th 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin

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YA Novels of 2012

107th out of 1,173 books — 8,382 voters

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

2012 Young Adult Standalone Challenge

4th out of 232 books — 727 voters

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Jul 10, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thank-you-bea-or-ala, why-yes-i-ya, upstairs-neighbors

this isn't a zombie book so much as a zombie framing device to explore damage and the difficulties of making yourself vulnerable in front of someone - of communication's pitfalls and the numbing effects of trauma.

there are people who believe that trauma builds character. these people have probably never experienced trauma. trauma does not build character, but how someone responds to trauma is the true and most telling test of character.

more often than not, trauma leads to a retreat. nobody is a...more

112 likes · like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Reynje rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-egalley, books-that-linger, held-me-captive, face-punch-endings, read-2012, welcome-to-the-apocalypse, young-adult, favourites

[Edited, because ZOMBIE NAILS. See below]

4.5 stars

~~This is not a zombie book.~~

This book has zombies in it. But it’s not about zombies, as such.

It’s about so much more than that.

Call them a catalyst, a threat, an inciting event – the zombies are an ominous presence that set off a chain reaction of events and lurk unnervingly around the corners of the book. But this is not even so much a book about survival, although that’s certainly one of the themes threading through the story.

For me, deep at it...more

70 likes · like · see review

Jun 03, 2012 Giselle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, favorites, zombies

When someone sees a zombie book there are two reactions: 1) Oh zombies, scary and gory! AwesomeSAUCE! or 2) Ewww zombies! Icky! - pass. So this is a warning: As far as zombie books go, This Is Not A Test has to be one of the tamest. It's not gory, nor is it an adrenaline filled story. Yes there are zombies and it can get intense at times, but funnily enough, it is not about the zombies. It's about a girl who doesn't want to live in this world anymore. She can't keep going with a dad that beats h...more When someone sees a zombie book there are two reactions: 1) Oh zombies, scary and gory! AwesomeSAUCE! or 2) Ewww zombies! Icky! - pass. So this is a warning: As far as zombie books go, This Is Not A Test has to be one of the tamest. It's not gory, nor is it an adrenaline filled story. Yes there are zombies and it can get intense at times, but funnily enough, it is not about the zombies. It's about a girl who doesn't want to live in this world anymore. She can't keep going with a dad that beats her, and a sister that left her. This book is about finding the will to live in all this melancholy. Surviving in a school with others who only want to make it through this zombocalypse, when all Sloane wants to do is leave. To let the zombies take her away from this unforgiving world.

Even though the zombies almost never make an appearance. It doesn't mean it's not frightening. Courtney weaves them in the always present background; leaving them to our imagination makes them scary in a way no one else can. We don't know what's happening on the outside and with a constant fear of breach, the tension in the story is unmistakable. The unknown is a terrifying illusion. This is the angle Courtney takes to make this book absolutely unnerving.

With half a dozen teenagers in a life or death situation, there is no absence of angst. However, it's not aggravating, it's realism. It was written with such authenticity that you never feel annoyance, only distress. These are not just surface characters, either. This is a gang of teenagers who are experiencing the end of the world; who have lost everyone they ever knew and loved; who just want to make it through to the next day without killing each other - or dying at the hands of the zombies. We get to know these characters to the core, exposed. We see them at their most vulnerable. It's all so raw that you get to care deeply for these people. Even when you're not reading, you're constantly worrying about them; it's mentally exhausting, but truly captivating. These personalities who often clash have to learn to work together if they want to come out of this alive. It's sad, it's heartbreaking, and there's a constant sense of doom in the air. One positive vibe throughout, though, is the hope. These kids make the best of what they have, and you always feel like somehow, things will work out.

This story is one that sticks with you, with an ending that leaves you in a bittersweet mess where you're not sure if you should cry, or simply exhale and let it go. This was my first novel by Courtney Summers, but if this is an example of her writing, I can say she has exceptional talent that I will seek out again with immense anticipation.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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64 likes · like · see review

Feb 28, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, arc, z-2012-reads, cover-lover, favs

This has been said a few times, but it's certainly worth repeating. This is not really a zombie book. Although it has zombies in it, they are just the constant threat in the book, and they are minimally shown. The gore is quite minimal, too. This is just a warning for others, like myself, who aren't really into gory books, because I wouldn't want anyone to not read this book just because of that. Of course that can go both ways, however, and a zombie fan looking for an all out gore-fest may be d...more This has been said a few times, but it's certainly worth repeating. This is not really a zombie book. Although it has zombies in it, they are just the constant threat in the book, and they are minimally shown. The gore is quite minimal, too. This is just a warning for others, like myself, who aren't really into gory books, because I wouldn't want anyone to not read this book just because of that. Of course that can go both ways, however, and a zombie fan looking for an all out gore-fest may be disappointed.

After I read the opening chapter of this book I was blown away. It was quite intense. We are introduced to our main character, Sloane, who has just been and frequently is physically abused by her father. Suddenly there is a woman pounding on their door, and she's covered in blood. Her father finds out that their street is full of screaming and chaos, and then quickly the scene switches to Sloane in the High School with 5 other students. Six survivors after the zombie apocalypse. They have barricaded the windows and doors. They have food,water, and a radio to listen for emergency broadcasts. All they can do now is wait for help to arrive.

This story has a lot going on for how short it is, but it never feels cluttered. We know that Sloane was abandoned by her sister, Lily, but the details of what was supposed to happen and how that has affected her come out slowly throughout the book. The main focus of this book is each person's will to live. Lily was all Sloane had left so once she left her she has none. Sloane wants desperately to just die. I thought the author wrote this very well. We can feel Sloane's desperation and hopelessness, but she never seems emo.

Each of the students has a very different personality, and they need to learn to work together, despite their disagreements, if they want to survive. With a book about six teens I often find myself getting really annoyed with about half of them, because of their attitudes. This didn't happen with this book, luckily. At one point I was starting to get annoyed with Trace and his bossiness, but that was just his personality and it wasn't overdone. These kids all lost everything and almost everyone they loved. I felt bad for them, yet hopeful they would survive.

The last chapter was just as intense as the first. I was feverishly turning the pages wanting to know what was going to happen next. This chapter was action packed and seemed to fly by so quickly my head was spinning at the end. I am so happy about Sloane's personal ending (view spoiler)

I absolutely loved this book. I read it in one sitting, and only had one complaint. I wish we would have seen a little more of the intensity like the first and last chapters throughout the book. I knew that at any point zombies could get into the building, but I never really felt scared for the characters while they were in the school. I also knew that at any point Sloane could be simply bitten once to end her life, but again I never felt like that would happen. Those are just my feelings, though, and I could easily see this book being a solid 5-star book for many other readers.

This was my first book by Courtney Summers, but I will definitely be checking out more of her books. I was really impressed with this one.

4.5/5 stars.
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Isabella This sounds like a good one!
Apr 01, 2012 07:10pm

Danie Jorgenson The first book that ushered in the cultural 'ZOMBIE' era that we now recognize as the modern 'zombie' was very much like how you describe this. It was...more The first book that ushered in the cultural 'ZOMBIE' era that we now recognize as the modern 'zombie' was very much like how you describe this. It was called "I AM LEGEND" BY JAMES MATHESON--If you liked this book I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT ONE--IT'S A CLASSIC, WRITTEN IN THE 1950'S set in what was then the 'futuristic 1970s'. Forget ANY movie you have seen,(YES, especially the most recent Will Smith one that shares the title and the name of the main character--that's were the similarities END!) they have all GROSSLY missed the point of ONE person trying to find the will to survive alone. Because there was no "ZOMBIE" as we know them...the author back then often calls them "Vampires" though there is a mixture of consciousness between the flesheaters. But really its all about the main characters struggle to survive BY HIMSELF, as he talks to himself and you see things through his point of view. This book sounds a great deal like that. And that means I need I to read this! Because I Am Legend is one of my favorite books ever written because the horror comes from the psychological terror and horror than the scenes of gruesome horror. In truth when you read the psychological sort of terror to me seems most readily ripe to transfer as PURE terror than imaginative descriptive scenes of disgusting horror. I believe as a READER and a WRITER myself that we all can identify with the possible psychological torment rather then possibly the blood and guts that could be everywhere as other people turned monsterous shades of their former selves try to bite and consume us to death! Trying to process that realistically is probably not going to happen. But we can relate to the emotional hell that one could probably and possibly go through in a self world ending situation where we as an individual must adapt our hope to move on or face our self destruction. We all individually have on smaller scales faced this situation and will face it--as our lives move on. We must always adjust and adapt our hope to survive as we have to adapt any OTHER skill in tool box. And hope is one of those uniquely human skills that has gotten our race through so much!(less)
Jul 26, 2012 02:23pm

Apr 26, 2012 Catie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, read-in-2012, ya, paranormal

4 1/2 stars

Because I’m a fancy creative post writer, I thought I’d start this off with a quote from someone whose opinion I really trust:

“Can you imagine what she's going to do with zombie survival?!! I bet it's going to be gruesome. :D”

You know what? I really do love the sound of my own voice. You are so, so right, me of approximately five months ago.

Of course, this is Courtney Summers so the “gruesome” part of this book doesn’t arrive with the zombie apocalypse; it takes place within the grasp...more

59 likes · like · see review

Jan 30, 2012 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, 2012, creepycreepy, for-review, just-been-cutting-onions, my-favourites, of-epic-proportions, paranormal-hold-the-vamp, ya, soul-sister-heroine, things-are-rotten-in-the-state-of-d, e

"…I think it isn’t enough to survive for the sake of surviving…. Surviving should mean something like it means something to them. And if it doesn’t-
If it doesn’t."

~~Initial Final Page Thoughts.~~

An Exchange of E-Mails between a friend and I.
[Censored for spoilery badtimes]

Last night.
10.49 pm.
OMG THIS BOOK.
THIS IS A BOOK THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

[blank] and then [blank] and omg [blank] !!!

OMG CATIE. WHAT.... WHAT.... *head implodes*

11.06pm.
[A reply from Catie, aka, Preside...more

56 likes · like · see review

Feb 25, 2012 Lisa O. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-or-post-apocalyptic, ebook, paranormal-ya, ya-lit

What an outstanding.... odd book.
To be honest, I'm not even sure how to rate it.
On the one hand, I just want to praise it, recommend it, tell you it's amazing and give it 5 stars.
On the other hand, the aspect I didn't like is so macroscopic that I can't give it what it theoretically deserves.

This is the first book by Courtney Summers that I have read but rest assured I will soon get my hands on her other ones - one I actually already own, Cracked up to be. There's something really powerful in...more What an outstanding.... odd book.
To be honest, I'm not even sure how to rate it.
On the one hand, I just want to praise it, recommend it, tell you it's amazing and give it 5 stars.
On the other hand, the aspect I didn't like is so macroscopic that I can't give it what it theoretically deserves.

This is the first book by Courtney Summers that I have read but rest assured I will soon get my hands on her other ones - one I actually already own, Cracked up to be. There's something really powerful in Summers' writing style that will suck you in the story and make you feel just like she wants you to feel.
This is not a test is basically a story about a profoundly damaged girl, victim of domestic abuse, who gets stuck inside a school with a bunch of other guys, struggling for their survival.
The story per se, what led them there, the circumstances, are secondary and relatively important, as the real focus is on Sloane's internal turmoil, on the ghosts that haunt her from the past and on the tenuous and casual balance among the people who are stuck inside the school.
A sense of desperation, of oppression and of uneasiness bleeds from the pages of this book in a way I really can't help but admire. Summers is a masterful story-teller and the way she lets us, gradually, into the characters' psyche is something you don't often encounter in even skilled writers nowadays. Each single character of This is not a test steps out of the pages and comes alive in front of your eyes, 100% believable and true, stripped of false moralism or clichéd genre taboo, painfully authentic.
I could not, in all honesty, condemn or praise a character at any given moment in the story, their actions being far from predictable and absolutely not meant to make me either cheer or despise them.

So why are there zombies in it, you might ask?
Good question, I'm still wondering too.
The zombies are the reason I can't give this book 5 stars. I'm not sure if they were meant to give a gory, dark edge to the story - which truly is dark enough in itself - or if they were the excuse to justify the isolation of these kids in a confined space, waiting for the world to end or for someone to come save them, but they felt as a mere plot device to me. We just know that, at a given time in history, zombies appeared, no background. True, zombie invasion was not the fulcrum of the story, but the fact that I kept wondering what had happened and what the heck was going on with the outside world left me partly unsatisfied.

Still, an amazingly well-written story you certainly do not want to miss, whether you're a zombie lover or not.

For this review and more, drop by at The Nocturnal Library
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35 likes · like · see review

Mar 14, 2012 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, dystopia-or-pa-favourites, dystopia-or-post-apocalyptic, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, 2012-favourites

4.5 stars

This Is Not a Test is not your standard zombie book. There is little blood, gore and action. Instead, Courtney Summers takes a different approach as she delivers a story of survival and hopelessness in a very much character-driven book. The plot unravels at a carefully controlled pace as our main character, Sloane Price, takes refuge in a barricaded school with five other students while silently awaiting the moment she can be put out of her misery. It’s not often we are presented with a...more

41 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-na, zombies, 2012, arc, fave-ya

4.5

I owe a huge thanks to Courtney Summers for giving me a second chance to read and review this after my netgalley rejection. It made my day and I'm so glad This Is Not a Test was all that I'd hoped it would be.

I'm going to say what I said at the start of my reviews or before I started reading: Feed, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Other Life and even the one I was sure would be the exception to the rule - The Reapers Are the Angels, and that is that zombie novels have never been my thing....more

40 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Maggie by: Literally everybody

Shelves: 2012, notable-asian-character

I get the hype.

This Is Not a Test reminded me of Lord of the Flies meets The Walking Dead -- the first season when you're actually cheering for the humans and not the zombies -- with a dash of The Breakfast Club. Not only was this my first Courtney Summers book, this was also my first zombie book. Verdict? I'd like more of both please.

Sloane, a physically and emotionally abused girl, finds herself barricaded inside her high school along with five other students. While they know each other, they...more

24 likes · like · see review

Jul 14, 2011 Courtney added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: aahiwrotethis, 2011, ya-fiction, 2012

(view spoiler)

68 likes · like · see review

Jul 26, 2012 Trudi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, zombies, group-in-peril, survive-this, apocalyptic-types, 2012-reads, books-i-want-to-marry, in-her-own-words, oh-canada

I don't know how I'm going to do this, move through the hours like someone who wants to still be breathing when I had so firmly made up my mind to stop.

Wow. This little book has completely floored me. I was not expecting something so deep, so very melancholic yet shot through with the irrepressible human need to hope. Not just irrepressible, Summers shows us that hope is irreducible. Stripped to its basest core, hope just might be the evolutionary urge that has kept us going as a species for m...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jul 01, 2012 Marg K. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-star-rating

I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ve been looking forward to reading This Is Not a Test. I love post-apocalyptic fiction, especially when it involves zombies, and I had seen a lot of really positive reviews of the book. Truth be told, once I started reading, I wasn’t as entertained & enamored with it as I had hoped to be, but I did (for the most part) enjoy it.

Listen, Courtney Summers can most certainly write well. No question about it. Her prose is beautiful and gritty and emotive....more I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ve been looking forward to reading This Is Not a Test. I love post-apocalyptic fiction, especially when it involves zombies, and I had seen a lot of really positive reviews of the book. Truth be told, once I started reading, I wasn’t as entertained & enamored with it as I had hoped to be, but I did (for the most part) enjoy it.

Listen, Courtney Summers can most certainly write well. No question about it. Her prose is beautiful and gritty and emotive. And it’s poetic in just the right amounts & places—never over-the-top; never weighing down the story; never appearing pretentious.

Another positive aspect of This Is Not a Test is its thought-provoking storytelling. There are some heavy, dark topics that are touched upon in this book, and they’re presented in a very honest, realistic way. Human beings can do some incredibly brave, heroic, and awe-inspiring things when forced to fight for survival, but they can also do some terribly selfish, cruel, and irrational things when faced with their own mortality. The book addresses this and forces its characters into dilemmas & situations that illustrate how doing the right thing and making the right choice is not always black & white, and how the very definition of what’s moral or ethical can change (sometimes in the blink of an eye).

I also really appreciated that the romance in this book wasn’t the least bit romantic. To be more precise, it wasn’t about falling madly in love at first sight or finding your predestined soulmate. It was about the need to experience something more than fear & pain—to feel alive and connected to someone else; to lose yourself in a moment of pleasure & happiness and forget (even if just for an instant) the horror waiting outside the door.

Regrettably, the book did hit a few sour notes with me. First off, I never really connected with or came to care about any of the characters. I know that the story was told from Sloane’s perspective and that the group of survivals she joined up with were practically strangers to her; nonetheless, there was plenty of opportunity to flesh them out through their interactions with each other, and I felt that opportunity was wasted. Almost all of the characters aside from Sloane were underdeveloped with one-note, static personalities. They did not change or grow as the story unfolded, which was very disappointing. And in all honesty, I couldn’t even begin to picture any of them in my mind.

As for Sloane, well I didn’t hate her, but I also can’t say that I liked her. I get that Sloane had a harsh, tragic life. I get that she was depressed & lonely. I get that she had learned to keep everyone at arm’s length and that the abuse she lived through left her damaged & hardened. However, I unfortunately thought that Sloan’s characterization veered way too often into Woe Is Me territory with frequent pits stops over in Angstville. Furthermore, her introspection would at times sound a bit too whiney, too self-absorbed, and too much like she was throwing herself a pity part. On top of that, Sloane would more than occasionally come off as a cold-hearted bitch. On the plus side, though, she did develop & evolve as the story progressed.

Lastly, I do have to warn you that This Is Not a Test is not an action-packed, zombie-killing adventure. It’s not meant to be. There is nevertheless a good amount of tension & suspense. And despite the story lagging here & there, I was engrossed and eager to continue reading all the way through to the last page.
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Sep 05, 2012 Ceridwen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: america-and-environs, daddy-drinks-because-you-cry, omg-were-all-going-to-die, young-adult, zombies, reviewed

I read this in a sitting, absolutely bolting it down to get to the end. Which is funny, in a way, because while the pacing fairly rips along, not a whole hell of a lot actually happens. The story more or less starts in medias res once our surviving principles have made it to the high school* during a zombie apocalypse. Six teenagers have blockaded the doors and worked out how they will live on a day to day basis. Phew! We're safe-ish! The narrative keeps peeking back to the week it took to get t...more I read this in a sitting, absolutely bolting it down to get to the end. Which is funny, in a way, because while the pacing fairly rips along, not a whole hell of a lot actually happens. The story more or less starts in medias res once our surviving principles have made it to the high school* during a zombie apocalypse. Six teenagers have blockaded the doors and worked out how they will live on a day to day basis. Phew! We're safe-ish! The narrative keeps peeking back to the week it took to get there, the loss of two of the party, but much of the story recounts their boredom and bickering, six kids passing time while they consider their own imminent deaths and the deaths of everyone around them. They find booze in the teachers' lounge; they enact dubiously considered make-outs; they play basketball.

Which, put that way, sounds like something horrible to read. But two things make it compelling for me. First, the main character, Sloane, is suicidal. Which is an interesting thing to be in a world where walking cannibal corpses are hungering for your flesh. Not long ago I watched Lars von Trier's "Meloncholia" which has a similar set-up: a depressive managing the last days before the complete end of the world. Von Trier wrote this movie after he had a depressive episode, and in his reading about his state, found that the depressed do better in crisis situations - they don't panic, because they expected this all along. They move coolly through trauma, because trauma is what they know on a minute-by-minute basis. It's a dark way to think about it, but Sloane's lack of affect and emotional deadness were a compelling lens on the usual panic, boredom, panic, speech about life's preciousness, panic sometimes found in zombie stories. Like, I want to punch that little butterfly tattoo and all of its obnoxious symbolism at the end of Will Smith's "I Am Legend." Don't you dare go all Christ-symbolism on the corpses of everyone I know. That dime store redemption cheapens everything that came before, even if what came before was tedious and boring and juvenile and dumb.

Second, I'm just into Lifeboat-ish situations where people sit around bickering, and in that bickering gesture towards the ways we think society and government should be structured. That's why I was hook-line-and-sinker for the first two seasons of Lost, the way those characters embodied world-views which are necessarily in conflict: the nihilist, the Lockeian (I mean, it's right there in John Locke's name), the Rousseauian, the followers and the would-be heroes. The governmental stuff is dampened a bit here, but there are echoes of Lord of the Flies, with the lone freshman in This is Not a Test standing in for the chorus of unnamed younger boys who shift their allegiances according to who has the political power in Lord of the Flies. In a sequence with an interloping teacher, the concept of "good" society intrudes, putting the kids' détente into crisis. That was awesome.

And third, even though I realize now I didn't mention a third thing, I liked how Sloane has her own arc with her abuse by her father and abandonment by her sister, a person arc in all of the societal. I'm not exactly easy with the conclusion, especially with the sister, but I respect Sloane's first person conclusion. Here is as good as any to complain about one thing: I found it hard to differentiate some of these boys, which led to some weird reading from me where I was like, what? She's doing what with whom? That can't be right, but then it wasn't right because I'd mixed them up. As good as Sloane's characterization is, the others' sometimes lacks. Which makes a weird sense in a way, but is still confounding as a reader.

So. I enjoyed this greatly. I'm not sure how to wrap up, other than to say that this is a perfect example of why I loves me some zombie stories: the personal wending with the societal in a locked room with bloody hands on the glass. It even made me forgive the fact that these zombies can run, because that, my friends, is not right.

*And, a goofy thing I enjoyed about their school: it is exactly like mine. South High in Minneapolis was built in the 70s, this almost military bunker style building with few windows and lots of concrete - a perfect place to ride out the zombie apocalypse. Of course, it was built that way because all of the paranoia about student protests of the era - keep us in or keep us out. South's lack of windows also served to drive us completely mad come February; the few, wan sunlit hours of Midwestern winter spend in a pedagogical bunker. I remember when we'd get our class assignments, my friends and I would compare how many classes we had with windows. Score! I got three!(less)

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view all 20 comments

Tim Martin Thanks for explaining your views there. I see so much thoughthless negativitiy on the internet, I enjoy your comments that have the weight of logic, e...more
Sep 10, 2012 02:54pm

Ceridwen Thanks, man.

I think you can pull off some nice JC imagery if you're slick about it. It's all over Silence of the Lambs - the movie anyway - cut with...more
updated Sep 10, 2012 03:11pm

Sep 01, 2012 Blythe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Blythe by: So many friends of mine. Thank you!

Shelves: highly-anticipating-2012, i-want-it-right-now, i-need-this-book, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, will-sell-my-soul-for-this, 2012-reads, hand-me-some-tissues, favorites, i-e-i-will-always-love-you, i-totally-saw-that-coming, cried-my-eyes-out, read-reviewed, exceeded-my-expectations, 2012-favorites, deserves-the-hype

I’m bringing nothing new to the table in writing this review, because everything I could possibly say about this book and more has already been said, but it’s worth a try from me.

I don’t want to write this review. I simply want to scream, “I love this book!” off a rooftop (or, you know, write it in my review space) and hope it encourages you to pick it up and hopefully love it as well. But I don’t know… I feel like I need to write a review for this book, but I know it will never come close to p...more I’m bringing nothing new to the table in writing this review, because everything I could possibly say about this book and more has already been said, but it’s worth a try from me.

I don’t want to write this review. I simply want to scream, “I love this book!” off a rooftop (or, you know, write it in my review space) and hope it encourages you to pick it up and hopefully love it as well. But I don’t know… I feel like I need to write a review for this book, but I know it will never come close to portraying how thoroughly amazing this book is, so please, just bear with me if you’re reading this review.

This is Not a Test was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year, and when glowing reviews from friends of my had started to roll in, my anticipation for this book only grew. Sadly, This is Not a Test was removed from NetGalley shortly before I started using NetGalley, so I was forced to wait a few months to read This is Not a Test. When it finally appeared on my Kindle the day of its release, I was extremely anxious to read it, but also nervous, not wanting my months of waiting and anticipation to only lead to disappointment. I can say—and very happily, might I add—that it did not.

I really, really love this book. I finished it not very long ago, and I had to pry myself from the seat in which I was sitting when I finished this book to write my review. As I turned the last page in This is Not a Test, I wasn’t sure whether I should sigh, or cry my eyes out. Ultimately, I ended up doing both.

This is Not a Test is the story of six teenagers, finding refuge in their high school in the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse. Having been beaten by her father and abandoned by her sister, Sloane—the main character—no longer feels the need or want to continue living. As friendships—and hatred—are formed among the six refugees, how far will one go to ensure their fellow refugees are safe?

It takes a very skilled author to have a reader go through and experience the grief and sorrow their characters are going through, and Courtney Summers does just that. All of the characters are real, they’re flawed, they’re emotional, and you’re praying they’re all just going to make it out of the apocalypse alive along with them. Summers has created such amazing and believable characters that you’ll find yourself caring very much for each and every one of them, even the ones you don’t want to care much for. She’s able to make you cry for a character you never really liked; make you cry for everything the characters have gone through, and Courtney Summers' talent as an author is immeasurable in that skill, and many others. This was my first book by Courtney Summers, but I can assure you that it won't be my last.

This is Not a Test is a book I will be thinking about long after I turn the last page, and it will likely be the same for you as well. I can only hope that everyone I recommend this book to feels the same way I do about it, if not more, because This is Not a Test is amazing, heartfelt, and special, and it’s so much more than just another zombie book.

(UPDATE: It's been months since I've finished it, yet I still get emotional just by thinking of this book.)(less)

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 05, 2012 Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-packed, big-fat-tears, crushing-on-the-cover, dark-and-gritty, fast-paced-and-engrossing, favourites, i-ache-for-you, you-inspire-me, boys-that-make-me-swoon, digging-the-premise, oh-how-the-heart-flutters, quoted-the-hell-out-of-this, twists-and-turns

I go back to sleep until a slow roll of thunder wakes me up.
By the time my eyes are open, a loud clap of it sounds overhead.
And then the rain, tapping against the skylights.
I am so sad.
I am so sad it makes me heavier than the sum of my
parts. I shift, restless, but it doesn’t help. It’s like— time.
All this time in here is on me, has its hooks in me. Maybe
if I sleep more, I’ll wake up and I’ll feel different, but I
can’t. The storm is really happening now and it makes the
room feel emptier. Makes me...more

19 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2012 Bonnie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, zombies-like-brains, ya, arcs-read, seriously-disappointing, netgalley

2.5 stars

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

'The radio crackles the prerecorded voice of that woman at us over and over...
'This is not a test. Listen closely. This is not a test.'
But I think she's wrong. I think this is a test.
It has to be.'

The Storyline
'This is not a Test' includes a group of sorrowful teenagers trying to survive (some of them at least) and a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies.

Sloane Price has survived the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. She's joined up wi...more 2.5 stars

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

'The radio crackles the prerecorded voice of that woman at us over and over...
'This is not a test. Listen closely. This is not a test.'
But I think she's wrong. I think this is a test.
It has to be.'

The Storyline
'This is not a Test' includes a group of sorrowful teenagers trying to survive (some of them at least) and a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies.

Sloane Price has survived the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. She's joined up with 5 other kids she went to school with and they are all hiding out in their old high school, trying to survive. Except Sloane never intended on being alive for very much longer. Ever since her sister Lily abandoned her she hasn't been the same and lacks any sort of will to live.. She escaped from the beatings their father inflicted on them both, and didn't take Sloane with her. Being surrounded by kids who want more than anything to live makes her feel like an outcast as she continues to search for her way out so that she's finally 'free'.

Thoughts
I am a huge fan of zombie novels, and there's certainly no 'right' way to do them but with most zombie novels I've found that I particularly enjoy the world building aspect and finding out how the zombies came to be. If it's lacking in world building it better have a super fabulous story to focus on instead. The world-building aspect isn't explained in this story and it came off feeling like a normal teenage angst ridden story, just with zombies thrown in as secondary characters, rather them being an actual part of the story. It's almost like the author decided on two genres but forgot to mix them well enough so that they were good and blended.

I had a hard time liking the characters. These were all high school kids, hiding out in a high school, still playing high school games. I kept waiting for them to toughen up, to harden from what has happened to them, but it just didn't happen. Plus? The zombie action was quite minimal for my liking.

The ending was bleak, brutal, but unsatisfactory; more than likely just simply due to my personal preferences.. I can see how this story will be liked by many, it just wasn't overall exactly what I had anticipated. (less)

24 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2012 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, 2012

This book is insanely good. It was creepy, dark, terrifying, intense and just amazing.

Put simply this is about six teenagers who get stuck in a school after zombies take over the town. It is not clear where these zombies came from or even if the town was aware of them. Simple story not so simple characters. Each character has his/her own side story and not one of them is anywhere near happy. Sloane the main character has had a very hard life. Her father is abusive, her mother is gone, and her si...more This book is insanely good. It was creepy, dark, terrifying, intense and just amazing.

Put simply this is about six teenagers who get stuck in a school after zombies take over the town. It is not clear where these zombies came from or even if the town was aware of them. Simple story not so simple characters. Each character has his/her own side story and not one of them is anywhere near happy. Sloane the main character has had a very hard life. Her father is abusive, her mother is gone, and her sister has left her alone with their father. Sloane is about ready to take her own life when the unthinkable happens and zombies invade her town. Left with no other option than to run from the house she somehow gets caught up with 5 other teenagers on the run for their lives. They all end up in a school that they barricade up and are lucky enough to have food and running water inside. At one point I did have a flashback to The Breakfast Club but that quickly changed to a Lord of the Flies vibe after several plays for power are thrown out. This book takes place mostly inside the school but don’t let that fool you into thinking there is no action.. There is plenty of drama, action, and mystery woven into this story and I am so glad that it did take place inside somewhere safe because if I had to deal with several zombie attacks I would have seriously lost my mind. I was trembling and glued to the pages as it was.

So much of what happened in this book shocked the poo out of me. After reading so many books that is very hard to do, but I found myself open mouthed at more than just one point throughout the story. Do not go into this thinking you will get a hea or that there will be rainbows by the end. This is Not a Test is a very dark and disturbing book. Ms. Summers is fearless with her characters and takes no shortcuts when it comes to the hard stuff. I even had nightmares from this book *shudders* If you have read my other reviews you know that I am loving the scary creatures and this book brought back the terrifying zombie. I hope she writes more in this genre.

Look Arlene! I found a song!

Never Too Late by Three Days Grace
(less)

16 likes · like · see review

May 23, 2012 Phoebe added it

Shelves: intergalactic-academy-reviews, post-apocalyptic, disaster, literary

Full review at The Intergalactic Academy.

This is Not a Test is an interesting, literary subversion of your typical post-apocalyptic zombie novel. In it, Courtney Summers presents the story of Sloane, a girl suffering through the abuse of her father and her sister’s recent disappearance; she’s actually contemplating suicide when we first meet her. Summers does an effective job of communicating her mental state through her narration, which sometimes slips into a sort of stream of consciousness. Th...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Melannie :) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, beautiful-cover, stand-alone, read-2012

OhmiGod.

Are you serious?! This is about zombies?!
Courtney Summers is writing about zombies?!
She's going dystopian?!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I have LOVED all her past books, and now that she's writing about a thing she's so passionate about (zombies) I can only imagine how incredibly epic this will be!

Someone needs to build a countdown widget. I want to know EXACTLY how many seconds are left for its release.

Cover: *swoon* <3

I <3 Courtney Summers.

9 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Lenore Appelhans added it

Shelves: dystopian-feb-2012, 2012-awesome-reads

I make it my mission to read everything Courtney writes.

12 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Tanja (Tanychy) St. Delphi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-little-library, favorites, dystopia

Review also posted at Ja čitam, a ti?

It's not a big secret that I'm fan of dystopian stories. Somehow I enjoy them a lot and I always gladly read them, mostly cause they bring something new. This one really was something new. I've read few dystopian books but this one was creepy in a good way.

Zombies aren't something I often read about and even when I do that's nothing special. Somehow I always end up with description of zombies and reading only about them. Here the story is really different ca...more

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 Wigs rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is Not a Good Book.

The summary sounded good. Six teens trapped in a school during a zombie crisis slowly go nuts on each other. The book did not deliver. What I was imagining from the summary was some sort of manhunt dog-eat-dog Lord of the Flies style breaking down of these trapped teenagers, where basic survival instincts would drive them into some crazy game of hide and seek trying to kill each other. In essence, the group of survivors themselves would be a more dangerous enemy to each o...more

20 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, netgalley, ya, ereader, zombies

Courtney Summers has magical powers. No, really, she does. When I read her books, I forget to breathe because I am so caught up and invested in the lives of her characters. This Is Not A Test taught me to not pigeon hole great authors. Because, you guys, Summers writes GREAT contemporary, so I was like, oh no, she’s doing zombies. BUT then I read This Is Not A Test and was like, magic flows out of her keyboard because I LOVED This Is Not A Test and truly believe that Courtney Summers will excel...more

7 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: zombie fans

Recommended to Carol by: Trudi

Shelves: apocalypse, zombies, young-adult, friend-recommended, female-lead

The gnashing of teeth. The desperate creation of McGyver implements and traps. The fighting to survive. It's been too long since I read a zombie novel and I've been missing the sense of butt-kicking hopefulness they can bring. Unfortunately, while Summers is stellar at character development, this isn't the book to assuage the craving for fighting the undead and affirming life. This is Holden Caufield meets Lord of the Flies. Nihlistic and dream-like--Summers has challenged us with a narrator cle...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 13, 2012 Lyn (The Heartless) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, kindle

Everyone should be proud of me. I did not make ONE reference to "Shaun of the Dead" for the entire book.

Okay. It is out of my system now.

Go to the bookstore. Look in the YA isle. Read the dust jackets. Vampires. Werewolves. Ghosts. Zombies. Mummies. Politicians. It is rows and rows of monsters and things that go bump in the night. So what makes this one stand out from all the others? Simple: It is a story of the human spirit that happens to feature zombies.
There have been numerous other reviews...more

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalypse-dystopia-keepers, zombies-aaah, best-of-2012

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

Listen closely. Do not draw attention to yourself. Once you have found a secure location, stay where you are and help will come soon.

This is not a test. Listen closely. This is not a test.

On the day that Sloane Price decides to kill herself, the world ends.

Wait. Let me start again, six months earlier --

One day, out of the blue, Sloane's 19 year old sister Lily runs away, leaving Sloane utterly on her own. In the months following, Sloane's life turns into...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 03, 2012 Kyle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anybody who reads this review dammit!!!!

Shelves: 2012-favorites, amazing-atmosphere, awesome-cover, awesome-writing-style, best-books-of-all-time, evil-cliffhanger, favorite-characters, favorites, got-all-misty-eyed, jun-jul-aug-quarterly-challenge, love-story-decent, made-me-sob-my-black-heart-out, mind-blowing, phenominal, post-apocalyptic, really-excited, what-did-i-just-read, will-definitely-re-read, zombies-eat-brains

Now that a few weeks have passed, I have finally come to the mental coherency to (try) express my thoughts into words and sentences worth reading ~~without sounding like a babbling idiot.~~ .

Sloane Price has nothing worth living for anymore. Her sister Lily is missing and her father abuses her. So, when the zombie apocalypse begins on the same day as Sloane's planned suicide, her natural reaction is to of course die. However, after one week of survival, she is now trapped in her high school with fi...more

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 26, 2012 Zemira Warner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies, horror, surprised-me, won

You can also read this review on my blog-YA Fanatic.

Oh,wow. I'm impressed with Courtney Summers' writing.

If you are planing to read this book don't expect any Resident Evil ass kicking. This Is Not a Test was so much more than a zombie book. It was a book about survival and overcoming your fear about the past/future.

I was conflicted about Sloan because she kept a lot of things to herself. She doesn't want anyone to know about the abuse she suffered because of her father and about her sister Li...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 5 of 5 stars

There comes a time in everyone's life when we finally "wake up" and figure out that we don't need to be a product of our screwed up past. For some, it takes months, for other's it takes years (I should know). If you don't come to this realization, there are consequences... for some drugs, for others..suicide, or other forms of escape.

Sloane wants to die. Not because of the zombies. Before there were zombies, there was a scarier monster in Sloane's life. She was being abused by her dad, and was...more

20 likes · like · see review

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About Courtney Summers

Courtney Summers can't wait for the zombie apocalypse. Also she is the author of CRACKED UP TO BE and SOME GIRLS ARE, FALL FOR ANYTHING and THIS IS NOT A TEST, four edgy young adult novels published by St. Martin's Press.

Visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

FYI: While I don't have time to share my thoughts on every book I've added to my GoodReads (I wish I did! I love book talk!), please be...more

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“I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared. I opened my eyes and I felt it go.” — 75 people liked it

“I wouldn't have left you like that. Not like she did to me." I swallow hard. "She always said I'd die without her and she left anyway."

"But you didn't die," He says.

"I did," I say. "I'm just waiting for the rest of me to catch up.” — 70 people liked it

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