From the Bookshelf of Obsessed With YA & NA…

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles, #1)

Gena Showalter

Start date: December 3, 2014

Finish date: December 30, 2014

Discussion: December BOTM

Why we're reading this: December BOTM
[close] December BOTM

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 9 topics — 37 comments total

December BOTM

Alice in Zombieland: Chap 10-14
By Nay · 3 posts · 7 views

last updated Jan 10, 2015 12:56PM

Alice in Zombieland: Chap 5-9
By Nay · 3 posts · 2 views

last updated Jan 09, 2015 02:11PM

showing 2 of 2 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 09, 2013 Brianna bribookish rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 0-physical, read-in-2015

THAT. WAS. AMAZING! *grabby hands* I NEED the 2nd book in my hands. now.

28 likes · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2012 Paige Bradish rated it it was amazing

I received Alice In Zombieland from Around The World ARC Tours for an honest review.

I haven't read many Zombie books but I'm so glad that I picked this one to read because it was phenomenal! This is about a girl named Alice "Ali" who lives at home with her parents and her little sister, but there family is different from anyone else because they don't go out at night, ever! The reason being Ali's father has this horrible fear that the "Monsters" come out at night and they will destroy his family ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2014 Amanda G. (Nellie and Co. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I think one of the most important things to consider with Alice in Zombieland is that I don't usually do zombies. There's something.. off-putting about them, the belief that with a few wrong turns in science, they could really exist - maybe not in the brain eating form, but exist none the less, the idea of them being human without their humanity is a frightening concept and is frankly, what makes me avoid zombie books, yet something about this particular series had me intrigued and while I still I think one of the most important things to consider with Alice in Zombieland is that I don't usually do zombies. There's something.. off-putting about them, the belief that with a few wrong turns in science, they could really exist - maybe not in the brain eating form, but exist none the less, the idea of them being human without their humanity is a frightening concept and is frankly, what makes me avoid zombie books, yet something about this particular series had me intrigued and while I still can't quite put my finger on it what it was, I can say that, on the whole, it's a book I would have been disappointed not to have tried.

Lets get one thing straight here though - this is not an Alice in Wonderland retelling. I may be less experienced in this field having only read the original, which I disliked quite a lot, and Splintered, which was good, but not amazing, but this is not a retelling. In fact, I can confidently say that there is very little in Alice in Zombieland that relates at all to the original, other than Alice - 'Ali's name, and a reoccurring white rabbit. If you were to ask me to describe this novel as bluntly as possible, it'd be something along the lines 'paranormal zombie ghosts eating peoples souls while one special girl not only loses her whole family and gets involved in A LOT of school drama, but gets the bad guy and turns him good, also happens to be insanely talented at what people train months and years for and happens to be one in two utterly amazing human beings.' It's got quite a few tropes you've probably seen, heard and read before and yes, I can't deny that these tropes were extremely frustrating - bad guy gone good, is willing to piss it all up a tree for the 'special blonde girl' - yeah, it's hard to be impressed by the same ol' story, however, there were features to this novel that did actually light up this novel, when you see the light anyway..

I am a sucker for friendships. I am. They can be the most beautiful and wonderful features in a novel, and it definitely was in this case. Seeing Ali and Kat interact and become as good a' friends as they became was really quite lovely to read about, their snark, their comments, their support, their girly advice, Kat is definitely the friend that's got your back and is not afraid to kick you into touch, and I like those friends, those friends are those who've got a backbone, and seeing how they each strengthened one another to become more confident with themselves, to find someone to be themselves for and around, it was really quite wonderful, as well as the friendships and loyalty between Cole and the other slayers, their dedication to one another and the cause was great to see, how they worked well as a team and created that support network through tough times was a nice light in comparison to a lot of shade in Alice in Zombieland, and it did help the novel along. I also liked the sense that, although the novel felt predictable in it's writing, possibly based one how long ago it was written and the popular 'themes' used at the time, there was an underlining story underneath about finding strength in your beliefs and passion in what you want to believe in. Granted, this novel does have faith and religion, and while you can feel it's feature in the novel, it doesn't overshadow the idea of finding something to fight for, and people to do it with, it really focused on how you can become someone or something better with time and dedication, it's a nice theme and a nice thought, and it really helped Ali's character development on the whole throughout the novel. I can't deny that she wasn't easily swayed by Cole and that their 'romance' wasn't frustrating, because it was, it was very demanding and ruling on his part, as well as Ali frequently throwing herself into battle and almost dying every time but on the whole, she wasn't a bad heroine, and if there were a lot of teen girls reading Alice in Zombieland, I can't say that she'd bad a terrible role model. I guess if you see something you like - in Ali's case, Cole - you should go and get it.

Alice in Zombieland wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would have been, yet through it's negatives which I really don't fancy going too deep into, I did find myself wanting to continue once we'd gotten past the first third stage. It's plot felt familiar, but it's premise was a refreshing change, ghost-like zombies, I can firmly confess to never seeing that anywhere else, it's a great idea that really takes it's place in the niche of the paranormal market. Was it a brilliant read? No. A good retelling? Nothing like it. But an enjoyable read with tasteful, well written action scenes, a beautiful sister relationship with friendships galore and a great, interesting premise. I think so. Just, don't go into this book wanting Alice in Wonderland, if so, you're looking down the wrong rabbit hole.

2.5 stars ...more

Like · see review

Feb 19, 2014 Yesenia rated it it was amazing

I'm so excited that I finally got to read this amazing book, I've wanted to read this for long. I'm happy that I did, I fell love with this series and characters .

the plot is amazing, and the twist is pretty Awesome I'm not going to lie. like zombies are spirits ...more

Like · see review