I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother, Cain, are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their Los Angeles suburb left desolate, they form a new plan: venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up—their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.

The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, hidden truths, new allies, and painful memories of the whole family’s final time making this trip the previous year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.

Short and Sweet Review

Almost a year ago there was an outbreak of the rabies mutation that turned people into zombies. Flora and her older brother Cain are still alive, their mother is dead and their father is missing. Flora and Cain decide that they may have a better chance of survival if they leave their home and travel to Northern California to a cabin they used to stay in as kids. Along the way they meet old friends and make new allies and learn that the world has changed more than they were expecting it to.

If you’ve ever watched the movie Zombieland and enjoyed it, then this book is for you! Our main character is Flora and before this outbreak she was creative and she feared death but since the outbreak she’s become a more hardened version and will do whatever it takes to survive. Her older brother Cain is currently injured and without glasses so Flora does a majority of the work. When Cain says he heard a message from their father saying he’s still out there, Flora and Cain decide to set out in search of him in the direction of the cabin they used to stay at as kids. On their way they run into a childhood friend Crisanta and another ally Adan and they all end up sticking together. This book was so good and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved the scenes with the zombies because you just root for our characters and hope they make it out alive and we get to see how skilled they are when it comes to dealing with Rabids. My favorite thing about this book was seeing this group travel together and deal with different situations but even through all of the hardships they’re facing they become closer and they begin making their own family in a sense. I thought the sibling relationship between Flora and Cain was good too, Cain is older but for a while he wasn’t able to be the protector and Flora took over and we see how this dynamic plays out in the book and how it starts to shift. There were some moments that were sad and a revelation at the end that I wasn’t expecting but there’s also a very cute dog that’s along for the ride so that makes up for a lot of things in my book.

Overall, I don’t think there’s a lot of books specifically YA books about zombies so if you’re interested in that genre check this book out, its one that’ll have you hooked from the first page and reading it all the way through in one sitting.