Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Series: The White Rabbit Chronicles #1
Author: Gena Showalter

Release Date: 1st October 2012

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb: 

She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

In A Nutshell:
I loved Alice in Zombieland and was drawn into the story right from the beginning. I couldn't put it down and would love to fall into the metaphorical rabbit-hole with Cole any day, and maybe kick some zombie butt in the process!

My Review:

I admit I was slightly apprehensive before starting Alice in Zombieland as I had heard mixed reviews from other bloggers. But, I was drawn into the story right from the beginning and couldn't put it down.

Alice is a very likeable character who takes everything in her stride and wants to fight and stand up for herself, no matter who she is facing, whether it be someone at school or something that goes bump in the night. After her family is killed suddenly one evening, Alice moves in with her grandparents and starts at a new school. There she finds a loyal and sassy friend in Kat and unlikely shadows as the roughestest boys at school pay her extra attention. Too bad she seems to be having waking dreams about their 'leader' Cole.

The whole novel is filled with punchy language and attitude, but it doesn't over do it, and was thoroughly enjoyable. Showalter has created an amazing world that pulls you in and holds tight as Alice becomes immersed in a whole new life she never believed existed. What Alice soon finds out is that Cole and his motley crew are just as involved in what goes on after dark as she is. As she learns to harness the skills her father taught her before he died, Alice falls deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole to a world that threatens to show her what her father feared the most.

Cole is the kind of bad boy that girls drool over. He's dangerous but protective, damaged but worthy with looks that leave a girl speechless and the ability to demand control. The chemistry between him and Alice sizzles and you will completely fall for him. I also love the background issues that go on with Kat and Frosty :)

For Alice, living with her grandparents is tough at the beginning but they are very sweet people who just want the best for her. It's funny reading their parts because they try to talk to Alice using what they think is cool and hip 'teen-speak'. They are adorable.

Many of the reviews I have read seem disappointed that the novel doesn't seem to be a reworking of Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure if maybe it was marketed this way or if people just assumed but I didn't expect it to be a retelling. I can find ways it reflects Alice in Wonderland symbolically, but I don't think it was ever meant to be a literal reworking of it. Anyway, I loved it and I hope you do too.

I read this just before I disappeared on a month-long holiday to Europe and now that I am back and have written this, all I want to do is read Alice in Zombieland again!