Good god, this book is brutal and unrelenting and bleak and other words that might make you say, "hey, why would I do that to myself on purpose by reading a book?"

WELL. The reason is that also this book is wonderful.

I complain a lot about this strange notion of books about dystopian futures, the end of our world as we know it, where, well, gosh, it works out OK! Sure your sad neighbor dies but you and your family are relatively unscathed. Sure, people DIE and all but not people you care all that much about. Or they did, OK, but that was before the book even started! You as a reader don't have much of an emotional attachment to them.

I hate that bullshit. Because it isn't real, it isn't fair, and then it's like, what, is zombie apocalypse just an elaborate setup for a meet-cute?

Maybe Summers agrees with me or maybe she's just a really skilled writer (OR BOTH?) but there's no guilt of any of that here. No one is safe in This Is Not a Test, and even knowing that doesn't make any of it easier.

I related to so much about Sloane, in ways that made plenty of sense and in ways that were harder emotionally to think about. I mean, what would YOU do in this scenario? I don't even know but - I don't know about you - I'm no hero.

I admit I got a little FREAKED OUT when Summers announced this book because, dammit, I love contemporary YA and she's one of my favorites who writes it, but if writers that talented want to go out and write about zombies I promise not to stop them.

(AS IF I COULD.)

Please have a kitten nearby to pet when you read this book.

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