Thank you to Philomel, for giving me a digital galley of this book in exchange for my feedback.

I'm going to be completely honest with you, book review readers: I haven't watched "The Walking Dead." It sounded really good, I knew a lot of people whose opinions I respect loved it, but I watched one episode, got to the bit about the horse, and noped right out. So I'm pretty sure that there are levels of this book that whooshed right past me.

With that said... I really enjoyed "Girls Save the World in This One." It was exciting and funny and sweet.

June and her three best friends - or rather, June, her two best friends, and her former friend who is estranged after an unfortunate incident involving a guy who in my opinion isn't good enough for either of them - have saved up every penny to go to a huge zombie convention, with panels and merchandise and, best of all, appearances by the stars of their favorite zombie-related TV show.

I think my favorite bit was actually the next bit, at the beginning, when, amid the excitement and the interpersonal conflict, tiny signs appear that something has gone a little bit awry at the zombie convention. A few people whose cosplay is maybe just a little too good. A puddle of... something... on the floor. You know... obvious signs that the zombies are already here.

Which, of course, they are.

The rest of the book is a horror thriller, as June, her friends, and some of the cast of a popular zombie-related TV show use all their skills, all their wits, and all the weapons you could reasonably hope to find in a mid-sized convention venue to stay alive, save as many people as they can, and find a way to the exit, without unleashing the zombies on the rest of the city.

This book was a lot of fun to read. It made me laugh, made me care, and occasionally made me go, "ew!" And, at the ending, [ the girls save the world in this one. Maybe you already guessed that, since it's the title of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Two stars

I was super excited to read this based on the description and comparisons to both _Clueless_ and _Geekerella_, but this really did not work for me.

At the 40% mark, I still felt like everything was moving SO slowly. I didn't need these long passages of waiting in lines with the characters. Also, there is an unnecessary amount of detail at times. Do I need or want to know the first names and occupations of every character's parents, for example? No. This kind of detail doesn't bother me on its own, but I found the constant piling on of what felt like irrelevant details - in conjunction with the world's slowest plot development - painful. By the time the narrative shifts dramatically, I just could not find a way to care about what happened to these characters and their friendships. I was kind of ready to get bitten.

This is a five-star concept with so much unrealized potential. I'm disappointed but hopeful that I'll see something similar - but much more refined - in the future.