I've always been adamant that there aren't enough zombie novels, and while this isn't TECHNICALLY a book about zombies it's close enough that I'm going to count it, and overall it a decent addition to the collection. The idea of a mutated strain of rabies isn't a new one, but Marie manages to make it her own, and has created an interesting world with pulse-pounding stakes. I also really enjoyed the fact that our heroine has OCD, because it makes for an interesting juxtaposition to a world where danger literally lurks around every corner. The cast of side characters was also great. I think reason this wasn't a full 5 star read for me was three-fold. 1) the conflict at the end was rather cliche, but it also kind of came out of nowhere? I also feel like it would have worked better had we been given more notice, because that tension would have been able to build for the entirety of the story. 2) The end-end frustrated me. Without spoiling things I feel like we had managed to get past Flora's overly self-destructive/martyr tendencies and then they just...came back? 3) The flashback chapters didn't really move the narrative forward in any way, and seeing as they were at least a third of the book they seemed completely unnecessary. I guess they did show some of Flora's OCD tendencies, and they did tie in eventually, but overall they were fairly meaningless. There were also some smaller things, mainly the inclusion of the whole cutting-off-the-infected-bite-saves-you-from-infection thing, and the fact that Flora's family didn't bother getting her help for her OCD despite the fact that they were all very aware of it, that factored in, I still think this was a solid "zombie" story with a nice twist. I would also be interested to see an epilogue or perhaps a novella/sequel detailing what happens after the end, because I feel like it's open-ended enough that I would love to see what happens down the road. I certainly won't hesitate to recommend this to those looking for a good zombie story, and I'll be curious to see if Marie writes anything else in this world/genre again, because as a pivot into it she did a good job.

@coloredpagesbt Tour Presents IF WE SURVIVE THIS BY RACQUEL MARIE
PUB DATE JUNE 17, 2025
336 Pages
YA

Stated as "The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse."

If you are a fan of graphic, bloody, rabid zombie-like people who's bite will turn you all while trying to survive, this one's for you. Teenage Flora ends up pushing herself to limits she didn't think she could go in this dark tale of apocalyptic battles. Flora suffers from OCD which was represented so well for the times. But one must do what they have to do in order to get by. This character driven story captivated me from the beginning to the end. The rekindled friendsships and doubts will have you up and down emotional but it was well worth the ride.

Thanks again to @netgalley @coloredpagesbt @fiercereads @blonde_with_a_book for having me on this Readalong and for the gifted copy of the book and eArc for my honest opinion and review.
#ifwesurvivethis #coloredpagesbooktour #fiercereads #blondewithabook #bookreviewer #teemariereads

First I would like to thank the publishers for the advanced copy.

When a book is pitched as "Yellowjackets" meets "The Walking Dead" how could my interest not be peaked! While it definitely gave walking dead vibes, I'm not so sure it gave Yellowjackets other than the LGBT characters. Overall I really enjoyed this book though, it was little rough for the first few chapters and I had to remind myself it was a YA story but after that it really picks up. I think it was great to showcase a character with OCD as I never see that properly represented. Its pretty gory at times and genuinely gave me anxiety at times as well.

I loved reading this book so much, I literally can't think of any words to describe it. Each of the characters, broken in their own ways, coming together for the sweetest found family. The portrayal of OCD, grief, and the many other character struggles was incorporated fantastically with the zombie apocalypse setting. The book was pretty well paced. Overall an enjoyable read.

YA horror isn’t generally my cup of tea, but I honestly trust Racquel Marie with my life so I still gave this a shot and I’m so glad I did.
The anxiety representation in this book made me feel so seen. Flora is a character that I feel like I just GET, which is such a special feeling and ultimately why I love reading so much.
This very much reminded me of the walking dead, but less straight and I loved that.
Zombies/rabids aren’t my favorite thing to read about, but they were handled well and interesting.
I enjoyed this despite the fact that I don’t think I would have ever picked it up if it weren’t written by an author I know and love.

I listened to this book and had an existential crisis. I thought that Flora's OCD was true to my experience with it and was really well-done. It does for sure feel like Yellowjackets, and the complicated relationships introduced with Winnie highlights that, as well as Flora's still present but slipping grasp on what it. means to be humane. Very diverse representation, and as mixed white/latina, the cultural cues and Spanglish seemed very natural. I do think this would stand to be better marketed as coming of age and thriller rather than horror. Daisy deserves all the fancy dog treats. Also, the line about Flora's mom giving her a rock because it's immortal and that will make her love live on made me emotional.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book very much gave off “The Walking Dead” vibes, which I loved! If you love the show you will absolutely love this!

I didn’t really see how it was like “Yellowjackets” though, which isn’t a huge deal, I was just expecting more of that show’s vibe.

This was written so well! I underlined so many lines! It was so descriptive. You could really picture everything Flora was seeing and felt the character’s fear or any emotions they may have had.

There were lines I laughed at, was grossed out at and was scared at. I was on edge the whole entire time while reading! In a good way.

I really liked all of the characters and thought they were super unique and they stood out to me!

It went back and forth between the past and present, and seeing Flora and Cain’s dynamics between their parents and them was so special. I love a good sibling story, and this provided. The bond they shared was so good to read about, even if they kept things from each other at times. I preferred the present chapters better, but the past chapters tied in perfectly to the story!

It had drama and angst as well between the characters in just the right amount! I loved the found family aspect of it all. It made my chest feel warm and fuzzy.

I loved Cain and Adán together! Adán was honestly my favorite character. I warmed to him the minute I met him and he just kept getting better and better the more we got to know him! It took a little too long for Crisanta and Flora to get together which made me sad. The pining was great at first don’t get me wrong, but by the end I just wanted them to be together. We didn’t see a lot of it, and I was hoping for more.

Flora had OCD, which I don’t see in books very often. I know it is around and I am probably just not reading ones where it is talked about, but it was a very prevalent part of the story and it blended in very well! It wasn’t forced and it tied into Flora’s character and her surroundings.

Wow! What an ending! My heart was pounding so hard! I teared up. I almost wanted JUST a little bit more because it can’t end like that!! But at the same time, it also wrapped up in such a good way for an apocalyptic novel that it made sense as an ending. Honestly I’d read a second book if there ever was one. I don’t want to leave these characters!

With the ending being a little rushed and it being open ended, and the fact that the plot was a little slow for me at times is why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, but otherwise I really enjoyed it!

Even the acknowledgments were really sweet and well written!

If We Survive This straddles the line between a post-apocalyptic story with zombies and dashes across countrysides with a contemporary story about OCD, family, and loss. For Flora and her OCD, she envisions her world ending everyday. Whether it be a loved one dying, an accident, or an infection, Flora sees the end of the world everywhere she goes. So when the world actually ends, when the Rabids transform in front of her eyes, she goes into overdrive. She becomes the person she has to be, hardens herself, and tries to manage her OCD at the end of the world as we know it.

acquel Marie, I pray you never stop writing. I’ll give you my soul, but please keep writing. Flora was a very relatable character, and that was definitely because we're both virgos and not because of morbid ideation. Anyway. I always love the dynamic that develops between the characters. Flora and her brother in particular, because even though she's the youngest, she finds herself in a position where she has to be responsible for his safety. Her worst fears have come true, and now she has to deal with the anxiety and stakes of surviving in a violent world.

Each character feels like a well rounded individual, even those we only meet for a few pages. Overall, the cast feels like a unit, each struggling with their own struggles—trust, uncertainty, past and present experiences—but also connected by a common goal and similar motivations. Plus, it's a mostly queer cast, and I love seeing depictions of queerness during the apocalypse; there's always something that gets to me.

This book is much darker than any of Racquel's other works, and we see this not only with the zombies and gore, but also with the themes it explores. If you've ever wondered about the moral implications of murder during the apocalypse, I assure you, you'll have a field day with this one. The horror element is present, and the atmosphere is perfect. It's dark, but ultimately, I think there's an underlying theme of hope that plays into the humanity of the characters and their stories. The book combines intense, emotional scenes with action-packed moments and a charming character dynamic.

In both timelines, we see Flora and company on their journey to the cabin, albeit under very different circumstances. We can see the rift between them and how everything intertwines to create a very intimate and complex story centered around family, friendship, and the fight for survival.

The ending is somewhat bittersweet. But I also think it was very well executed and perfectly summarized Flora's story arc. As always, I could say so much more about this, but it would be endless, and I'm trying to keep this short.

CW: mentions of death/dead loved ones/dead bodies, violence between humans, graphic violence, gore, stabbing, implied threats of sexual violence, weapon usage (guns, knives, axes), amputations on and off page, vomiting, general peril, starvation, OCD intrusive thoughts (especially related to contamination & harm), suicidal ideation.

Short and Sweet Review

Almost a year ago there was an outbreak of the rabies mutation that turned people into zombies. Flora and her older brother Cain are still alive, their mother is dead and their father is missing. Flora and Cain decide that they may have a better chance of survival if they leave their home and travel to Northern California to a cabin they used to stay in as kids. Along the way they meet old friends and make new allies and learn that the world has changed more than they were expecting it to.

If you’ve ever watched the movie Zombieland and enjoyed it, then this book is for you! Our main character is Flora and before this outbreak she was creative and she feared death but since the outbreak she’s become a more hardened version and will do whatever it takes to survive. Her older brother Cain is currently injured and without glasses so Flora does a majority of the work. When Cain says he heard a message from their father saying he’s still out there, Flora and Cain decide to set out in search of him in the direction of the cabin they used to stay at as kids. On their way they run into a childhood friend Crisanta and another ally Adan and they all end up sticking together. This book was so good and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved the scenes with the zombies because you just root for our characters and hope they make it out alive and we get to see how skilled they are when it comes to dealing with Rabids. My favorite thing about this book was seeing this group travel together and deal with different situations but even through all of the hardships they’re facing they become closer and they begin making their own family in a sense. I thought the sibling relationship between Flora and Cain was good too, Cain is older but for a while he wasn’t able to be the protector and Flora took over and we see how this dynamic plays out in the book and how it starts to shift. There were some moments that were sad and a revelation at the end that I wasn’t expecting but there’s also a very cute dog that’s along for the ride so that makes up for a lot of things in my book.

Overall, I don’t think there’s a lot of books specifically YA books about zombies so if you’re interested in that genre check this book out, its one that’ll have you hooked from the first page and reading it all the way through in one sitting.

REVIEW: If We Survive This by Racquel Marie

“I am a girl who was not, in fact, built for this world, or maybe any.”

I adore Racquel Marie’s books and have long considered her one of my favorite YA contemporary writers, so I was so excited to see her venture into YA horror with IF WE SURVIVE THIS. Especially because there’s zombies AND disability rep, which just make sense together.

In IF WE SURVIVE THIS, Flora Braddock Paz is a teen with OCD who loves fashion and fears death. Now, her life is all death as she struggles to survive an apocalypse of zombie-like “rabids.” When her older brother, Cain, receives a message from their dad, the siblings head to their family’s old vacation cabin in hopes of reuniting.

This novel is character-driven, emotional, and riveting as readers learn more about Flora and the rifts within her family. It alternates between the past, when her family last hiked to their cabin, and the present, where the siblings and other ragtag teen survivors try to recreate the journey amid the apocalypse.

Flora is such a wonderful MC! I adored the nuanced OCD rep. I love characters who wrestle with feeling too weak and emotional, and this book excels in conveying Flora’s insecurities with her disability and perceived weaknesses, and what they mean for surviving an apocalypse. Flora derives worth from protecting her brother, and her struggles to also value her own life makes for a beautifully poignant arc.

The relationships are tenderly drawn, as typical in Racquel Marie’s novels. Succinct, compelling flashbacks illustrate Flora’s fears, grief, and love for her family. Flora and Cain’s sibling dynamic is also perfect. Their allies are complex, and platonic and romantic banter are top-notch. This sort-of found family trying to survive provides both levity and tension as secrets come to light.

IF WE SURVIVE THIS is stunningly crafted, with rich character depth and emotional stakes. Themes of humanity, grief, mental illness, who’s worthy of survival, and what it means to truly live make this YA horror a resounding success.

I love Racquel Marie's books, in any genre. Thanks to Feiwel and Friends for the ARC. IF WE SURVIVE THIS is out June 17

Rabids are running the planet as a zombie like outbreak hits those who were affected. There are survivors, but not many. So, they stuck together to try to find others and escapes the affected. Going back to how the world once was is the goal, but that’s a long way away with death always lurking.

If We Survive This is pitched as a zombie book, and technically it is. But really this is an emotional and surprisingly quiet YA coming of age novel about a queer girl with OCD and intrusive thoughts who survives a zombie apocalypse. It interweaves flashbacks and moments from the present (with zombies) and has themes of found family and a sapphic romance subplot. If you're looking for an action-packed zombie drama, you're not really going to find it here. But it does an excellent, if brutally realistic job of showing the experience of someone with OCD dealing with regular life and then contrasting that with surviving when the worst truly has happened. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for the ARC!

In her acknowledgements, Racquel Marie notes that because of her OCD, intrusive thoughts make her stay away from horror usually. As a reader who typically avoids all things apocalypse for the same reason, I have to say, this was one of the most affirming reads of my life. Not only for the OCD-specific rep, although I do love seeing a protagonist (a YA protagonist, even!) with a brain that works like mine, all of the little intricacies of OCD that I experience every day and never see people talk about—I think anyone with mental health struggles can relate to this book in some way.

That does make this book hard to read at times. These kids are literally fighting for their lives in half of the book, and even when they are not, even in the pre-apocalypse timeline, Flora cannot stop thinking of the ways they could die. It is suffocating, and it is overwhelming, and it constantly makes things harder for Flora.

Beyond the zombies and the mental health struggles, though, this is at its core an incredibly hopeful story. For all of the gore and the danger, for all of the grief and intrusive thoughts, I don’t actually think of this as a heavy book. Yes, they are trying to survive life-or-death circumstances with terrible odds, but this book never forgets about their humanity. There is a real sense of survival not only in a physical sense but also in a spiritual sense. I have talked a lot about the darker emotions of this book, but it is in fact quite funny, with delightful characters, a sweet romance, and so many charming friendships. In between the moments of peril, they find moments to swim in a lake, play silly sleepover games, get caught fooling around and tease each other like the teenagers they still are. And though it is easy to forget, they also remind each other that helping people, putting good out in the world when they can, still matters.

This is by far the most beautiful zombie story I have seen, and it is easily one of my favorite books of the year. If We Survive This brings hope and love to a bleak world, and I cannot recommend it enough. I loved everything about it.

TW: parental death, body horror, sexual harassment, OCD (intrusive thoughts)

Racquel Marie dips her toes in the horror genre with her latest YA novel, If We Survive This. In a post-apocalyptic zombified world, Flora is doing her best to keep her brother and herself alive, but supplies are dwindling and leaving their home for more has become riskier and riskier. Clinging to a final message from their father, they set out to reunite and find safe haven. If We Survive This shifts between the present and the past, adding context to why characters move about the world the way they do, how their perceptions of themselves have changed, and revealing how dynamics between characters have been impacted by a post-apocalyptic backdrop. Flora struggled with OCD and anxiety before rabids, humans who became zombie-like creatures thanks to a mutation of rabies, took over the world. She often felt that her mind was not made to exist in a world where she was always anticipating a problem when most people never had an issue existing in the present. In this new world Flora finds that her ever-racing thoughts have become an asset. She routinely cycles through worst-case scenarios and it makes her more ready to react. In the past it always felt like those close to her were constantly protecting her from herself, but in this danger-filled world, she has become her brother’s guardian. Cain feels like a liability in this world. He isn’t as hard as she is, is more open where she is cautious, and more hopeful when she is realistic. He needs Flora to survive and she needs him to keep going. She has put their survival on her own shoulders, but this journey forces him to see the danger she regularly puts herself in and this creates tension between the two. In a world where you don’t know who you can trust and where death can be just around the corner, letting other people in becomes almost impossible. This becomes more apparent when they happen upon a familiar face. Crisanta grew up with Cain and Flora, being the former’s best friend. But the world is different and everyone has become someone who has done their best to survive. For some this means doing things they never imagined themselves capable of. Flora knows she has changed as a person and can see the world has changed Crisanta as well. Crisanta also opens up a flood of emotion for Flora that she isn’t ready to sift through. The novel does a really good job showing how each character is trying to reconcile who they’ve become in this shattered world while also dealing with the loss of their loved ones and finding a way to still move forward. If We Survive This has a really strong second half, builds up intensity, and has a great core group of characters who you will be rooting for till the very end.

4.5 stars. A lot of the books I have read recently have felt like a hit or miss, but If We Survive This was an absolute HIT.

This book follows Flora and her brother Cain as they attempt to escape their rabid, cannibalistic neighborhood.

It was such a well-written thriller. And also the perfect book for pride month! The characters are so beautifully queer and resilient.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Racquel Marie for this incredible read in exchange for an honest review.

netgalley review**

This was honestly a very interesting read. I will say it took me a little while to get into the book but the ending really drew me in. I will say the flashback tended to make the book slag and it was hard to get through those parts. I also think they were not necessary for the book and we could have found out some of the important plot points through conversation in the present instead of going back every other chapter.
I definitely would say the sibling relationship was the strongest aspect of this story. It was a solid read and good for those leaning towards YA survival.

Sadly I DNFed this book. I just wasnt vibing with it. I think it was just too YA for me. It makes me sad because I love a good zombie book too.

A LGBT-filled post-apocalypse novel set in California, we follow Flora and her brother as they try to find their dad, who left for supplies ages ago and has sent out a radio message that he's still here. Along the way, Flora has to cope with her OCD (Author also has OCD, we love own voices), and they run into an old friend and her party. Lots of insanity happens as they try to get to the location they suspect their father is at, these add-ons in tow.

This novel was a wild ride, split between the normal days of the past and the chaos of the present. We watch Flora fight with her minds, and while OCD is a challenge, OCD with the end of the world sounds like hell, and fight with the rabid, literally rabid, remains of humanity. She also encounters both the good and bad of humans after society collapses.

The story deals with life and death in an interesting way too, Flora struggling with finding the will to keep going, wanting a death that is worthwhile, and trying to find kindness in a cruel world. It was a really good read and a great story, and I was so stressed, and hooked, til the last page.

There is also a dog. The dog survives. Important details here.

I picked this up based on the Yellowjackets comp, but the writing didn't work for me, unfortunately. I did absolutely love the OCD rep, especially as someone who struggles with OCD myself (I truly cannot imagine how I'd fare in the event of an apocalypse, nor do I want to ever be forced to find out). It certainly reads as YA, and I suppose I was looking for more of an upper YA in characterization.