Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

9 reviews

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Violence, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and War

nannahnannah's review

4.5

I opened this book not knowing anything about it, and I really do mean anything, so the the fact that holy goodness, this is a zombie book! caught my by surprise. But then again, it's not really your typical zombie book, either; it's more about the characters dealing with their difficult situation than relying on action-packed, overused zombie gimmicks to pull readers through the pages.

This book works in the same way that The Walking Dead does, in that the greatest danger might not be the zombies but the people who are trying to survive. It also asks the question: what about the people who, even before the apocalypse, didn't want to live in the first place? Aaaand, meet our protag, Sloane, one of those people.

And since she's been introduced, I'm going to talk about my biggest gripe with this novel. I completely, utterly, 100% thought that Sloane was queer. The tension between her and Grace was a thick, heavy thing. Finally, a protagonist whose queerness doesn't define the book's plot OR her character! I was cheering, I was dancing! Until . . . I continued reading and discovered that . . . she wasn't? She was simply awkward? I'm still not entirely sure what happened with this.

But moving past this, these characters were wonderfully fleshed out, real people who all reacted to the same event in very different ways. They even reacted to each other's reaction in different ways. It's what made this book shine, and what made it impossible to put down. It wasn't just drama, either. People died, and there were genuine consequences for actions. It had me on edge, even without the constant threat of zombies breaking through the school, where these characters holed up in.

I can't wait to get my hands on the second installment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Suicide

ghostlyprince's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Car accident and Ableism

peachpuff's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, and Bullying

lauraeerika's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

WHAT THE FUCK COURTNEY WHAT?? 🤨🤨🤨🤨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Medical content, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Grief

paulinalq's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Suicide

meri's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

This is a zombie apocalypse book but it’s not about the zombie apocalypse. It’s about grief and depression. Surviving vs wanting to live. It is a heavy book but a good one with a lot of emotional grown from the mc and how she deals with multiple traumas, the dead, and choices that aren’t always good. Even when you are safe you aren’t always safe from the monsters that live inside your head.

ghost_cat99's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse

mahtzahgay's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers is one of the few zombie apocalypse novels I've read that is well-written and gives the subject its due respect. Often, fiction involving zombies is action-packed, fast-paced, and popcorn for the brain; Summers' novel is the antithesis of all that. This is Not a Test is a frank look at how people, particularly teenagers, would truly react to such an event. The toils on the mind, relationships, and society are very explicitly covered, but not in a crass or overdramatic way. Sloane, our protagonist, is not a particularly lovable character, though as reader's we cannot help but empathise. Gone are the over the top dramatics of The Walking Dead, Day Z, or Resident Evil - there are no heroes here, only traumatised children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide