If We Survive This / Racquel Marie / Book Review

IF WE SURVIVE THIS

Flora has always been prepared for the Worst Case Scenario. Her OCD has made sure of that. But she never expected to be faced with an actual zombie apocalypse.

Planning for and living through the end of the worst are two entirely different things, but it turns out Flora is a lot more resilient than she ever thought. But with her mom dead, her dad missing, and the Los Angeles suburb where she and her brother have been sheltering being slowly overrun by the "rabids," Flora knows the only way forward is to get up and get out. And change isn't easy, especially when she doesn't know what to prepare for.

The dangers of the world have changed. Nothing is as it used to be, and Flora doesn't even know what kind of dangers she and her brother might face. But with a cryptic radio signal, potentially from their father, guiding them out into the wilderness, Flora has to keep it together long enough to make it to safety. For once in her life, her life is very literally on the line.

THOUGHTS

For all intents and purposes, this is just your average, run-of-the-mill zombie book. It's nothing special. But I did enjoy reading it. It's told well, even if it is a tad too tried-and-true to stand out.

PROS

OCD Rep	I really appreciated following a main character with OCD, in general and especially in this apocalypse. Flora's OCD is both a boon and a hinderance to her survival, and I liked that--how well and how completely incorporated this very real condition is in this zombie apocalypse book. I liked that her OCD is more than an excessive-hand-washing stereotype, too. She's preparing for worst-case scenarios. She's wrestling with her compulsions. And she's making it through, day by day. I appreciate that.
Doggy Sidekick	There's just something so nice about having a dog by your side through the end of the world. Biscuit might not be the most useful of companions, but I just really loved having her there. She's a part of the group, and she's coming along no matter what.
Consequential	When you read enough YA, you get to the point where you just expect authors to pull their punches (though that really, really isn't necessary in the YA market). This book doesn't. It's got consequences. It's got tragedy. It's got missing limbs and hard choices, blood and guts and sacrifice. Limbs aren't precious when there's a life on the line, right? And it's the end of the world. You take what you can get. You do what you've got to do. And I appreciate that.

CONS

For being a zombie apocalypse, this book moves pretty slowly. It kind of shambles along, dragging characters here and there as they don't accomplish much. And that's fine. It's just not very high octane, and high octane is kind of what people pick up a zombie horror for, am I right?	Shambling
There are a lot of secrets in this book, and I'm not sure why. Sure, don't trust people right off the bat. Even if you grew up together, the apocalypse changes people. You don't know them anymore. But after this teenage crew falls in together and really starts to trust each other, we were still keeping secrets. Just for the sake of plot tension. And that, well, that doesn't make sense.	Why the Secrecy?
I've said it above, and it bears mentioning again here. This... is a zombie book. And I didn't hate reading it. But it doesn't really add much to the genre. It isn't special. It doesn't stand out. Was it a bad read? Not at all. But if you're looking for something novel, well, this just isn't it.	Been There, Done That

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10

Those who loved the found family of Andrew Joseph White's Hell Followed With Us will like these queer characters banding together to survive the apocalypse. Those who really liked Brooke Archer's Hearts Still Beating will love falling in love at the end of the world with this cast of characters.

Details Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Date: June 17, 2025 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.