Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeline Roux

Book Details
Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeline Roux
Paperback, 352 Pages
2011, St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 0312658907
Series: Book 1 of Zombie


Synopsis
One woman's story as she blogs - and fights back - the zombie apocalypse

Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military's emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison’s blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans.


Review
When the zombie apocalypse first begins, Allison Hewitt is at work. Trapped with a couple of coworkers and shoppers in a bookstore, she starts a blog. Many years later, when the heroes of the outbreak and it's aftermath are being studied, Allison and her blog are looked at for their possible inclusion in the history books. Allison Hewitt is Trapped is the the blog and comments in their entirety.

The thing I loved most about Allison Hewitt is trapped is the tiny, but realistic details. What do you do when trapped in a room without bathrooms? What happens when you finally get access to bathrooms, but without electricity you can't flush the toilet? Zombie stories always focus on the carnage and chaos, which Allison Hewitt is Trapped does well, but often forget about the small inconveniences along the way.

Allison is a great character, strong and able to think on her feet, but still possessing the capacity to make truly stupid decisions based on emotion. Stranded, safe but surrounded by zombies, she does what most of us raised on the internet would do - she tries to reach out to others online through a blog.

The premise of being able to access the military's wireless internet is farfetched (like that thing isn't going to be password protected), but it's necessary for the plot to work and doesn't distract from the story at all. In most instances, Allison blogs like a blogger. This seems like an unnecessary statement, but most books written claiming to be blogs are written like a novel and just formatted to look blog-like. She responds to comments, mentions her readers, and gives real-time advice, making the experience feel more authentic.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped is quite the adventure. It's thrilling, yet emotional. It's not extreme in its gore and manages to keep an air of humor throughout the experience. Allison Hewitt is trapped is a not to be missed zombie novel.

Rating

Links

Madeline Roux's
Website