Showalter, Gena - Alice in Zombieland - Start Date October 22

[Lisarenee]

Stefani said, "Sorry to hear about the troubles Lisarenee! I would offer to do the questions for the last section, but I have a feeling they'd all be negative since I haven't liked it much at all lol."

I wished you liked it more too.

Sorry for not posting these yesterday.

Questions for Chapters 15 - 17

31) Okay, after finishing the book I have to agree with Stefani, these aren't zombies. I think Ms. Showalter should have come up with a new name for these guys and owned them. Zombies or not zombies? What did you think? If you didn't think they were zombies, would you have liked the story more if they had another name or did you like the story fine, but felt a little cheated you didn't get what you'd considered zombies?

32) Were you surprised by who was coming after Ally? I kind of suspected.

33) So Jaclyn, Justin's sister, was the spreader of the lies about Alice. What do you feel Alice should have done when she found out?

34) What did you think of the attack on Alice's grandfather? How did zombies get past the protection?

35) What did you think of the principal's deception?

36) Do you now think Amima Industries, the people Justin works for, were who Emma was warning Alice about?

37) This voice control seems like it would be fun. If I knew if I believed what I said it would become true, I'd be believing a lot of things and saying them, but saying the wrong thing would be extremely hard to prevent. What was your thoughts on this?

38) Did you like the ending? Were there to many unanswered questions?

39) Here's my big question--So do you remember how outside the night club at first Ally couldn't touch the zombies and they couldn't touch her? Why would any reasonable person go into spirit form just to do battle with them? Seemed like the main people being turned into zombies are the slayers. They did say at one point zombies are attracted to fear, but if a person doesn't step out of body, would the zombies be able to eat them? Is this some sort of 'if you believe then they're real' type of deal? Did they explain this and I missed it?

40) Things left unanswered:
a) Who wrote the journal?
b) Why did Alice's mom have it?
c) What have Justin's people achieved so far?
Anything else? Did I miss something?

[Stefani]

Questions for Chapters 15 - 17

31) Okay, after finishing the book I have to agree with Stefani, these aren't zombies. I think Ms. Showalter should have come up with a new name for these guys and owned them. Zombies or not zombies? What did you think? If you didn't think they were zombies, would you have liked the story more if they had another name or did you like the story fine, but felt a little cheated you didn't get what you'd considered zombies?

I felt a little cheated by the whole thing. I actually rather liked the last 150 pages or so, it was really interesting. But we'd spent so much time on the silly romance with no plot advancement, I couldn't really care anyway.

32) Were you surprised by who was coming after Ally? I kind of suspected.

I didn't suspect, and I think that would have been such a wonderful plot point. But it was mentioned, confirmed, and over so quickly that you blinked and missed it. Showalter should have played that up a lot more.

33) So Jaclyn, Justin's sister, was the spreader of the lies about Alice. What do you feel Alice should have done when she found out?

That was confusing, what was the point of her doing that exactly? Especially BEFORE the incident at the party with Justin and Cole. I was confused.

34) What did you think of the attack on Alice's grandfather? How did zombies get past the protection?

Didn't Cole say he knew it was her dad who was the zombie at that point since it was HIS house and so the Blood Line would have been useless? He didn't discuss with Ali at that moment, but later he told her that was when he suspected.

35) What did you think of the principal's deception?

Surprising, but since she was not really mentioned much in the book I don't think I had any strong feelings about it either way.

36) Do you now think Amima Industries, the people Justin works for, were who Emma was warning Alice about?

I think it was probably her dad that she was warning about. But it wasn't very clear so I can't be sure.

37) This voice control seems like it would be fun. If I knew if I believed what I said it would become true, I'd be believing a lot of things and saying them, but saying the wrong thing would be extremely hard to prevent. What was your thoughts on this?

I think I'd be so worried about screwing it up that I'd end up inadvertantly screwing it up anyway.

38) Did you like the ending? Were there to many unanswered questions?

Way too many. And the ending was ok, but it bugged me to have this big bad corporation being the bad guy and having this master plan when they were hardly mentioned the rest of the book. Then it all seemed to be resolved really quick. In general that was this book's main failing for me...too much time mooning over Cole and his violet eyes and less plot development.

39) Here's my big question--So do you remember how outside the night club at first Ally couldn't touch the zombies and they couldn't touch her? Why would any reasonable person go into spirit form just to do battle with them? Seemed like the main people being turned into zombies are the slayers. They did say at one point zombies are attracted to fear, but if a person doesn't step out of body, would the zombies be able to eat them? Is this some sort of 'if you believe then they're real' type of deal? Did they explain this and I missed it?

I believe they CAN eat people's souls while still in their body, but they prefer slayers because they are more visible to them than others. But Ali's dad was not in spirit form and they still ate his soul. But I agree that it wasn't explained that well.

40) Things left unanswered:
a) Who wrote the journal?
b) Why did Alice's mom have it?
c) What have Justin's people achieved so far?
Anything else? Did I miss something?

How did Justin's people get Ali's dad? Why did Ali's dad being a zombie make all the other zombies more intent on getting to Ali? How did Ali's dad have so much awareness?

[Lisarenee]

The question, "Do you now think Anima Industries, the people Justin works for, were who Emma was warning Alice about?"

Stefani's reply, "I think it was probably her dad that she was warning about. But it wasn't very clear so I can't be sure."

I think at one point she said 'they' want you. I should of clarified. I sure the 'he' is coming for you was his dad.

@ Stefani #40 I may need to reread this book again. Were the hazmat suit people at the scene of the accident after her father died? I wondered if the Anima group somehow found a way to control the zombies? If Ali can poison zombies with her blood(or is it her soul) it is even more strange that they would be after her unless it was to kill her, thereby, removing a huge threat?

[Lisarenee]

@ Stephani

#34 "Didn't Cole say he knew it was her dad who was the zombie at that point since it was HIS house and so the Blood Line would have been useless? He didn't discuss with Ali at that moment, but later he told her that was when he suspected."

I think I need to go back and read this part again. I guess that might have been when he asked if she was sure her father was dead before they attacked.

[Jex]

Still behind but still plugging away at this book:

Questions and Comments for Chapters 11 - 12

31) I truly love Alice's grandparents. I had to laugh at the questions. Granted, they were good ones, but I'd be utterly mortified if my parents or grandparents did that to my first date. Did you have a favorite response or question?
It was all pretty funny. I would be mortified if it were me.

32) Stefani brought up a good point about the zombie redefinition that Gena did here--When you redefine an established paranormal/supernatural creature/being, is there such a thing straying too far away from the original version? Did Ms. Showalter do that with her zombies? Do you feel they're more like flesh eating ghosts than zombies or are you liking the freshness of them(I can't believe I used the word freshness in relation to zombies. lol)?
I think it strayed too far for her to simply call them zombies. I like the idea of them and think I would like them more if they had a different name. I'm too much of a zombie fanatic for me to like this version as a zombie.

33) So we get a fairly good look at how this story is a bit like Alice in Wonderland. Do you like how Gena did this?
I saw a lot of similarities at first, but now that we're deeper into the book I'm not getting the Alice in Wonderland feel at all (except for a few chapter titles). I like the use of the white rabbit cloud and I'm fairly certain Emma is the Cheshire cat giving Alice just the slightest hint of what to do next.

34) So we finally find out about the guys in the hazmat suits and Justin is working for them. What did you think about the research? Would you believe what Cole is saying about what Justin and his group do or would you do some investigating on your own?
I would want to investigate a little, but Cole hasn't really steered Ali wrong so far, so why not trust what he says? I don't see why someone would want to attempt to put zombies inside humans (yet another phrase that totally doesn't work with zombies...). I could understand wanting to do research to see what causes them or better ways to stop them, but not for immortality. Who wants immortality like that anyway?

35) If you could see the zombies could you just ignore them and pretend they didn't exist?
I don't think it would be possible. Best you could do is end up like Ali's dad, always staying inside and not doing anything with your life out of fear. Although, it does seem that Ali and most likely her dad are hunted a lot more then the typical slayer.

36) So it seems that Ali has some unusual powers among zombie hunters. Did you like that? This time it didn't look like they disliked her taste, was that just a fluke last time?
I wonder if the dislike of her taste is her poisoning them? My guess is that she has all of the abilities that were listed in the journal, it's just a matter of proving the last one.

[Jex]

Questions and Comments for Chapters 13 -14

37) Originally I thought the journal belonged to Ali's mom, now I think it was somebody else's. Any ideas? I'm guessing it's not her father's either.
I kind of hope it turns out to be her father's, but I doubt it will. The guy knew he had to die for whatever to happen to make the war right and her father was too cowardly. My guess is that it belonged to the guy they said also had the power to see the bloodlines. The one that had died before Ali came into the mix. He must have been friends with Ali's father.

38) "That's how I know what needs to be done. I need to die." Die? That does not sound good. Who is this journal writer?
same answer as above. I wonder why his death was so important? Probably has something to do with this guy that will be coming for Ali (the one Emma warns about at the end of the section)

39) Well now we know about the bunny. What did you think of it?
I want to know more about what a witness is!

40) So what do you think of the zombies wanting Alice? Why would they want her specifically or was Emma just saying that as a general statement about everyone living?
Her powers must make her special. Or maybe she has that ability to poison the zombies that bite her and therefore she is a bigger threat?

41) What did you think of Cole's answers to Alice's grandparent's questions?
He doesn't sound anything like a teenager. Very mature.

42) So Wren is interested in Justin. If the two start dating would that be because Justin wants to use her as a means of spying on Cole's slayers?
I don't think they would ever date because Wren is not part of the slayer world. She just thought Justin was a much better choice then Cole since he seems to be less of a social outcast. Plus Justin doesn't date. Everyone assumed he was gay because of it. He made an exception to get close to Ali.

43) Any ideas who spread the rumors about Ali? Do you still thing it's Mackenzie or do you think maybe someone else truly spread the rumors? Any suspicions?
I think it was Justin's sister. Honestly don't really care though. More zombie scenes please.

44) Sounds like Justin's "team" might prove as dangerous as the zombies. They seem very hostile toward Ali and Cole's group. What do you think?
Definitely dangerous if they want to experiment on other slayers. Just imagine if they knew everything Ali could do.

[Jex]

Questions for Chapters 15 - 17

31) Okay, after finishing the book I have to agree with Stefani, these aren't zombies. I think Ms. Showalter should have come up with a new name for these guys and owned them. Zombies or not zombies? What did you think? If you didn't think they were zombies, would you have liked the story more if they had another name or did you like the story fine, but felt a little cheated you didn't get what you'd considered zombies?
I definitely feel that they needed a new name. Toward the end I felt they had a bit more zombie like quality with the whole pops scene. I just don't like the whole diving into your spirit thing. Even most zombie movies have a name for the zombies so I would have liked to see a something a bit more original.

32) Were you surprised by who was coming after Ally? I kind of suspected.
I figured she would come across her father and have to kill him, I just didn't think that was the person coming after her.

33) So Jaclyn, Justin's sister, was the spreader of the lies about Alice. What do you feel Alice should have done when she found out?
Guessed it. I'm surprised Ali didn't figure it out sooner. Personally I don't think Ali needed to do anything about it. The rumors were such a back burner to the storyline that it really didn't matter.

34) What did you think of the attack on Alice's grandfather? How did zombies get past the protection?
Cole explained this. His house, his rules. Since he owned the house the bloodlines really had no effect on him.

35) What did you think of the principal's deception?
It didn't really surprise me.

36) Do you now think Amima Industries, the people Justin works for, were who Emma was warning Alice about?
Emma had stated that she was warning against her father and how much he wanted to get to Ali. Anima industries was just a side effect per se as they happened to have her father in custody.

37) This voice control seems like it would be fun. If I knew if I believed what I said it would become true, I'd be believing a lot of things and saying them, but saying the wrong thing would be extremely hard to prevent. What was your thoughts on this?
It's interesting, that's for sure. It could be a very powerful tool if used right.

38) Did you like the ending? Were there to many unanswered questions?
I expected a lot of unanswered questions because this is the first book in a series.

39) Here's my big question--So do you remember how outside the night club at first Ally couldn't touch the zombies and they couldn't touch her? Why would any reasonable person go into spirit form just to do battle with them? Seemed like the main people being turned into zombies are the slayers. They did say at one point zombies are attracted to fear, but if a person doesn't step out of body, would the zombies be able to eat them? Is this some sort of 'if you believe then they're real' type of deal? Did they explain this and I missed it?
They said they can feed on people's spirits no matter if they are in their body or not. They fed on Ali's parents, they fed on Pop's, they fed on Ali sitting in the chair before she left her body. They are just more attracted to slayers.

40) Things left unanswered:
a) Who wrote the journal?
b) Why did Alice's mom have it?
c) What have Justin's people achieved so far?
Anything else? Did I miss something?

I'm sure all of this will be answered in book #2

[Cathie]

Finished reading this yesterday. I gave it 3 stars because the dialogue had me rolling my eyes constantly! Also I think if the book had finished with the second last chapter it would have been better, then Alice's Ipod listing on the next page. The new book, due out next Oct. could have started with the last chapter.

The writing was well done when it came to the conflict and fighting scenes and the plot flowed nicely. Pops was a surprise for me. I think Nana's character was handled too lightly; I mean, really, just finding out your loved one was zombiefied and your grandaughter is a slayer and she handles like it's everyday normal bad news!!

I will read the 2nd book to see where the story goes. I'd like to see Kat's character flushed out more. And hopefully by then, they will all have grown up a bit more and the dialogue won't be so cheesy.

I loved the look of this book. Even without the cover the book is gorgeous, one of the best on my shelves. Kudos to Harper Harlequin Teen for the marketing. And kudos to Gena Showalter for not following the known, well beaten track in zombie novels. I liked that she gave them more history, a spirit world, and blending in other paranormal aspects into the zombie's psyche's. Thinking outside the box is good. I am very interested in discovering more about the other white realm too, and hope this is given more attention.