This is Not a Test (This is Not a Test, #1)

When the sirens signal the end of the world, Sloane Price is already hollowed out by her father’s years of systematic physical abuse. As a zombie outbreak decimates the population, Sloane joins five other teenagers barricading themselves inside their local high school. While her peers struggle to fortify the building against the undead, Sloane remains indifferent to her survival, viewing the apocalypse as a secondary threat to the trauma she already carries. The story focuses on the friction between those desperate to live and a girl who finds the chaos outside less frightening than her home life.

Readers who value psychological realism over traditional action sequences will find this narrative focuses on the internal weight of depression during a crisis. It is for those who want to see how pre-existing mental health struggles dictate a person’s response to a disaster. Instead of a typical survival guide, the book provides a stark look at how the desire to stay alive is not a universal instinct. You walk away with a grim understanding of how the scars of domestic violence can make a global catastrophe feel like an afterthought.

Inward-looking; an easy read.

Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?