Alice in Zombieland (Audiobook Review) #Audiobook

Audiobook Review

By: Gena Showalter

Narrated by: Natalie Gold

Published by: Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. 10/2012

Warm

White Rabbit Chronicles Series # 1 
13 hrs and 6mins

Whispersync  for voice - ready

Sample

 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.

My Thoughts

With a new spin in the now so popular Zombie world, Gena Showalter takes a chance with her first YA paranormal novel, and with fantastic results she takes us into the world of Alice Bell, a teenage girl that has lost her parents and only sister in a nightmarish car accident.  And now, not only she has become an orphan, but she also knows that her father’s paranoia and what she thought "crazy behavior" was well founded. There are monsters out there.....flesh eating monsters!

In a blink of an eye, Alice’s world is transformed, now she lives with her grandparents in a new town, where she has to start a new life.

In her new school, she makes friends with other kids that share her knowledge about these monsters, and as she gets clued in the details, she is brought into a group of zombie killers that will give Alice (now Ali) a much needed purpose in her life.

What I loved the most about this book was the dynamics of the group, Ali is a great heroine, she’s loyal, strong and asserted, taking in consideration the natural insecurities of a teenage girl, she’s only sixteen, and inevitably her handling of a crush on a boy will be different from any mature adult, but if you haven’t lost your inner teen, you will find her perfect.

It's kind of hard to bring any romantic points about the story, yes there’s some,  but it’s not the strongest point in the plot, I enjoyed this novel more for the action, suspense and the mystery that Ms. Showalter beautifully conveys with this new kind of zombies. Yes!  They are different; this is an entirely fresh approach about their world. So forget all your preconceived notions about zombies, and let Ms. Showalter write in the details.

I enjoyed the entire cast of characters, besides really liking the heroine; I also enjoyed Cole’s character. Cole Holland is a great protagonist for YA novel; he’s strong, sexy, a good leader, and the little bit of mystery that surrounds him makes him more appealing. 

Kat, a good friend to Ali provides a lot of the sense of humor, and their interactions give the story a lighter side.

I also love how in her usual style Ms. Showalter weaved other mysteries opening the plot for future stories; I’m already looking forward to the next novel.

All in all, I really enjoyed it, the plot moves along at a good pace, and it’s captivating from page one.  This is a great introduction to the series.

If you are expecting a re-tailing of Alice in Wonderland you will be disappointed, but is you are open to a new take on the zombie world; you are in for a pleasant surprise.

  4.07  ·  rating details  ·  3,049 ratings  ·  821 reviewon Goodreads 

Narrator

Natalie Gold

Narration

This was my first audio book narrated by Natalie Gold, but I can certainly tell you, it won’t be my last.

Alice character is beautifully fleshed out by Ms. Gold’s depiction; she truly conveys all the characteristics that make her a great heroine, her assertiveness and self assurance are skillfully embedded in her performance.

The overall atmosphere of the world is nicely transmitted to the listener by Ms. Gold’s tone, the urgency of the fight scenes, as well as, Alice’s emotions will have you invested in the story.

She also does a great job with Kat’s character; her bubbly personality comes across in perfect form, and lights up every scene she’s in.

The remained cast is also well performed. The male character voices are natural and never sound over acted or forced.

Over all, this was a very good performance.

If you find the pace a little slow, change to 1.5 speed, it will be perfect.

The Author

Gena Showalter