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 at any genre she puts her pen to.
This Is Not A Test
This Is Not A Test opens not with a whimper, but with a bang. Sloane is eating breakfast with her dad, who is a real piece of work FYI, when there is pandemonium in the streets. YUP, A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Y’ALL. Eventually, Sloane ends up barricaded in the school with five other teens. However, Sloan has lost the will to live, you see, her sister ran away earlier and Sloane feels life isn’t worth living without  her sister.
Sigh. Sloane. I felt for her throughout the whole entire book. I mean, girl just can’t seem to catch a break. First she has like the worst childhood ever, as you learn from her flashbacks. THEN she’s had to deal with the abandonment of the person she trusted the most. It’s like no wonder Sloane is aching so badly and doesn’t seem to care whether she lives or dies. I couldn’t help but root for her and wish she would eventually find some sort of hope, or shake my head when she does something, errr, foolish, I suppose is the word. I’d mention the other characters here, Cary, Trace, Grace, Harrison, and Rhys, BUT I think they are best met in their own time as you read the book yourself, so you can form your own conclusions about them.
Holy wow you guys. I felt SO ON EDGE while reading This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers. First, there is my deep seated fear of zombies and they are a constant undercurrent. THEN there’s the fact that Summer’s characterizations usually hold a vice grip on my heart because I become so invested in them and get so worried about the characters and nervous. Combine both of those anxieties and it is a wonder that I’m not in the hospital for a heart attack. Seriously, when I wasn’t worried about Sloane’s mental health and if she was going to do something dumb, I got scared about the zombies. Reading This Is Not A Test was like doing cardio for me. No joke.
Look, if you’ve read a Courtney Summers book before, you should already know that you are in great hands. If you’re uninitiated, maybe you should let This Is Not A Test be your first – it’s dramatic, pulse pounding, exciting and you’ll come to really care about the characters in different ways. It’s got all the trappings of her contemporary novels, just dressed in a zombie suit, so don’t let the zombies put you off, k?
Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley.
Other reviews of This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers:
Presenting Lenore
Chick Loves Lit
The Reading Housewives Of Indiana
This Is Not A Test releases June 19th. You can preorder by clicking the button below:
Other Courtney Summers Books Reviewed:
Some Girls Are
Fall For Anything
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I loved it, too!
That’s awesome to hear! I will have to link your review 🙂
Sloane sounds just as well-characterized as Summer’s other protagonists, which means, ooh, I can’t wait! Thanks for the review.
She is. I thought her layers went deep and her motivations actually made sense.
Okay, April, you’ve convinced me. I’m going to make this my first Courtney Summers. I’m so disappointed I missed the one day this was on NetGalley.
-Maggie
YAY! I hope you love it, Maggie! She’s really, really good.
Ohhhh zombie book… I’ve been wanting to delve more into this genre. I think I’ll check this one out.
This Is Not A Test is actually a good one for the genre — being more about the characters than the zombies.
I saw this book a while ago and then promptly forgot about it, as you do.
But now I’m suddenly DESPERATE to read it again! It just sounds so perfect – a zombie novel, but with deeper characters and a creepy atmosphere! I can’t WAIT until it’s released 🙂
That happens to me ALL the time. I think though, with This Is Not A Test, the reviews will trickle straight until release and after release. Courtney Summers books just have that sort of well-deserved buzz around them.
Super well written review April! Seriously.
Thank you so much! 🙂
I definitely fall into the not yet initiated category, and this one sounds AMAZING!! I have such a fear of Zombies, and oddly? I think I’d love this one.
AHHHH! Gotta get initiated, seriously This Is Not A Test is great and so are the rest of Courtney Summers’ books.
Wants! I just missed out on get the e-galley. The publisher turned me down but when I requested another book from them the next day, the set me on auto-approve. D’oh! I guess it worked out for the best since I need to catch up on my NG reviews anyway. Butttt………it looks so good! *cries*
I’ve never read any Courtney Summers, but I love me some zombies (despite the fact that they scare me to death.) I’m glad to hear this one’s great too.I haven’t read a super awesome zombie book since The Forest of Hands and Teeth series.
She just never disappoints, huh? I LOVED Cracked Up To Be but I didn’t give Some Girls Are or Fall For Anything much of a chance when I picked them up. Going to be reading this one soon!
Oh my goodness I adore Courtney Summers! Everything she writes I devour! I can’t wait to read this one! Awesome review!
I hurt for Sloane too. I kind of am all over again reading your review. This book was just plain awesome!
And thanks for the love!