Book Review: Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleine Roux

I was really excited for Madeleine Roux's second book, Sadie Walker is Stranded. I thought it was going to be very similar to Allison Hewitt is Trapped which I had found to be funny, witty and fast-paced. Roux kept a lot coming at the reader in that book and that is probably because it was originally a daily blog so she wrote it differently. 

I was disappointed with Sadie Walker is Stranded. It was still funny and witty in parts, but I felt like there was something missing that the first novel had. There were large expanses where I just felt bored and like she was rushing through it entirely, but dragging me along with her as she went. 

She had a lot of good ideas for the novel, but I didn't feel very immersed in them nor did I feel like she really went into any great detail about them. I kept waiting for the big moment where she went into the big scenes with the villain of the story, but all I got was a little less than a chapter after an entire novel built up to it. It was a total let down. 

I was also interested in seeing how she would incorporate the Allison Hewitt blog into the story since so many of the people in her zombie-verse read that blog. I was disappointed in that it was mentioned, but never really explored beyond the friendship that one of Sadie's co-survivors once had with Allison and her now husband, Collin. 

Overall, I think she could have done more with the book then she did, there were so many great ideas that she had that she could have ran with. 

Score: 2 out of 5

Book Information: Sadie Walker is Stranded  by Madeleine Roux is available for purchase through amazon with ISBN 0312658915. It was originally published on Jabuary 31, 2012 through St. Martin's Griffin.

Book Review: Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good zombie book, movie or blog. I even write a fiction blog about a teacher trying to survive the zombie apocalypse (msburtonsclass.com).

So, I was pretty excited for when I found Allison Hewitt is Trapped. The book actually started out as a blog (there's hope for me yet!) that was eventually published. I didn't catch it in it's blog form, but it supposedly was a big deal because the way that she wrote it made it more of an interactive zombie experience.

There are some massive plot holes in the book, like the lap-top that will not die and the military internet (I went that route too :/) that never seems to go down, but overall that's easy to overlook.

Roux makes the zombie apocalypse funny because the heroine she creates is sarcastic and witty. We watch her work from the bookstore, across town battling the Undead and horrible people, into an encampment where she has to face ultimate crazies and the long-lost wife of the guy she falls for in the midst of survival. It's all fast-paced and quickly read, but enjoyable the whole way through.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped is a must-read for any zombie fan. Just you know, beware the zombified squirrels!

Score: 5 out of 5

Book Information: Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux is available for purchase through amazon with ISBN 0312658907 from St. Martin's Griffin. It was originally published on January 18, 2011.