We follow in this book a young girl surviving in a zombie apocallypse triying to keep her brother alive and safe so go see their father and this is book is told in the present and the past with a shocking plot twist. I really like this book, the pacing was very fast and easy to read and i could feel all the things the protagonist was feeling. I also really love the audiobook narrator.

The narration made the book for me. Kudos to the author for expressing the character and the climate so well. This is a YA dystopian novel with diversity representation. If you're acquainted with zombie narratives, there isn't much new here (well, the main baddies at the end of the book where kind of hilarious ... my little bit of dark comedy). I felt that the plot was floating through the backstory of the lead character. The main romance fell flat for me. But this is a solid dread-laden thriller for younger audiences.

The real horror in this book is how close to reality it gets. As a young adult trying to navigate a post-apocalyptic world, this seems pretty close to how it would go. It is also scary because zombies coming from a strain of rabies is something I fear regularly.

This is not a lighthearted or humorous read. I would describe this book as almost poetic. It is written in first-person and almost like a diary. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the beauty of discovering yourself in a world that has fallen apart. Trying to navigate friendships and family while fighting for your life…

I loved how this book was written. There are flashbacks with their family, which are so wonderfully placed to uncover little bits about the main character.

I received this ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. Also, I got this as an audiobook, and it was narrated by the author. Her voice is so perfect for the story itself. Wonderfully done.

4.25⭐️

This is one of my favorite apocalyptic stories I’ve read! It was fast paced, had lots of action and sad scenes. Literally teared up! Had realistic characters in a terrible situation. Highly recommend

4 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

So good!!!
This dystopian zombie apocalypse story was so incredibly well done. It can absolutely be hard to make a dystopian book feel real and atmospheric. And Racquel Marie did such a beautiful job of telling this story and portraying mental health specifically, OCD. All the characters were so full of personality and all their dynamics felt real and effortless.

Having Racquel Marie, herself narrate the audiobook was so satisfying because everything about the novel was delivered as intended.

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.

A Walking dead-esque, young queer story. A rabies mutation that has taken over has Flora and her brother searching for their missing dad and hoping he is at the cabin they remember from when they were kids. Along the way, they find some familiar faces, new allies, and harsh challenges.
The characters were all really likeable and as someone who never got into the Walking Dead as a television series, I loved the way this story was told. Flora was a character you wanted to root for and there were still moments where you remembered that she is just a teenager trying to figure out the world around her. There is a queer awakening that I won’t spoil but was a moment of normalcy in a world that is anything but.
I really appreciated the way the author addressed Flora and her OCD, which has her constantly picturing the worst outcome for the people she loves. While this would be an anticipated consequence of her world view, this is to the next level.
The narrator was great, and brought a diverse cast to the reading.
Overall, this was a very solid YA apocalyptic read.
I received an audio arc of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Yes!!!!! I absolutely love it!! I’m going to be recommending this book and the audiobook for spooky fall reads.

Okay so I loved this book, but that was in spite of the narration. The book itself is wonderful. LGBTQ, post-apocalyptic, adventure. It was great and engaging, and I obviously think highly of the author because of the book, however I think she is a much better author than a narrator (I am so sorry). The narration itself was flat, and monotone, and incredibly boring. If the writing itself wasn't so good, I probably would have DNF'd.

This book is heartbreaking, I wouldn't particularly say it's horror, but rather a dystopian novel with some horror vibes. Which actually works great for this story.

This is a character-driven story, we follow siblings, Flora and Cain. They were both great, I loved their dynamics, banter and the characters growth.
What I liked most is the portrayal of OCD and intrusive thoughts. This was really well written and it felt read and true to the character of Flora.

The novel is very action-packed and it has a good amount of gruesome cool scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and RBMedia, for the ALC.l All reviews are my own thoughts!

If you are a fan of The Walking Dead or any other kind of zombie movie, you are going to love this book!

The story follows Flora, who is not the girl who survives. She is a creative who loves creating things, but she spends so much time fearing death and inside her own head. She tries to hide this fear from the people around her because she doesn’t want to be seen as weak. Now, they are half a year into a global outbreak of a rabies mutation that turns people into zombies, or as Flora calls them, ‘rabids.’ Flora’s mom is dead, and they aren’t able to find her father, so all she has is her brother Cain. Their father left, but Cain and Flora have to create a new plan to venture to the cabin in the woods they used to go to growing up, in hopes of finding their father. As they try to find their dad, they must also deal with both people and rabids alike.

I liked that we got to see both the past and the present and how they melted together. I liked Flora as a character, and while she claims that she’s not a survivor, she is. She cares so much about the people around her, she will do anything to keep them safe. Flora has OCD, which can consume her thoughts and thoughts of her dying. Flora hides this from everyone that she loves because she doesn’t want the people around her to worry. I thought that the author did a nice job of showing the hard sides of both OCD and anxiety. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for Flora to deal with daily.

This story will have you gripping the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. There is such strong imagery when they are fighting the zombies that it feels like you are there with Flora, killing the zombies. I liked the writing and felt like the writing flowed well throughout the story. I also liked the found family aspect of the people they meet along their journey. I was always so shocked at how trusting they were, because when I watch shows like TWD, they never trusted anyone, and Flora trusted these people they just met. It’s a nice change seeing that while the world is ending, they are still able to find people to care about who are worth fighting for.

Overall, this was a good book, and I highly recommend it if you love thriller/zombie books! 4/5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

If We Survive This is a fascinating sapphic story, combining zombie apocalypse, first love, family love and mental health. I enjoyed that the MC Flora wasn't a typical survivor, and her brain was actually an adventage in the new world of the book. Sometimes I found the plot all over the place, but the read was engaging, and I loved the narrator!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends and Racquel Marie for the eArc of If We Survive This.

If we survive this is a fantastic sapphic, zombie, survival novel ( try saying that when you're drunk!) Even though it took me a little bit to engage in the storyline, I enjoyed this very much. Our MC, Flora and her Brother, Cain battle across the city to make their way to a cabin to met their Dad. Battling Rabids ( our zombie friends who contacted a virus ) are sly creatures and Flora will do what she can do protect her Brother and further more other survivors.

Even though this is essentially a YA book, I loved it and I don't understand why some adult readers shy away from YA books ( each to their own I know ) Racquel has a beautiful writing style and her characters are wonderfully built. The plot is medium paced with a bit of everything, teen angst, being frightened of dying, frightened of living, self discovery, survival, all bundled up with zombies! I can't ask for any more.

I also loved that this book is set on a dual timeline, building in our characters past and how that's all relevant in the now narrative. I would definintly love to see more of our MC, flora and her found family.

Racquel Marie narrates her own book which I found both endearing and impactful. Her voice suits the narrative and throughout the book I could actually picture her writing at her desk as she's speaking.

4.5 for Storygraph. 4 stars for other review sites.

I loved the zombie apocalypse aspect of this book so much! 🤩 as a fan of the resident evil video games and the walking dead I knew I had to pick this audiobook up when I saw it! The characters were interesting and I loved all the action moments ! The narration was great to. The only reason I took off half a star is because I felt like there were a few parts where the story dragged but other than that I loved it !

If We Survive was an interesting read, I was a little nervous that it was read by the author but she did a great job! Flora is the narrator of this store and along with her brother she’s surviving an apocalypse. But your left thinking is Flora alright a lot of the time. It was sad because Floras headspace is a hard place to be. But the author did such a good job at portraying that. Mental illness doesn’t disappear just because an apocalypse comes around.

A zombie type book seemed right up my alley. But I just didn't vibe with the story. I didnt care for any of the characters and I didnt know if it was a positive outcome or not. Seeing the high ratings just shows me this is just a book thats not for me. But thats ok.


Thank You Netgalley for this audio arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I am OBSESSED with this book. The rabies strain that leads to what is essentially the zombie apocalypse (but much more interesting than traditional zombies), the interpersonal relationships, the narration (Racquel Marie is officially in my top two favorite narrators). If We Survive This is outside my usual genre so I was expecting to hopefully like it but probably not love it but this is one of my favorite books I've read in a long, long time. It is SO good!!!

I think this story was full of feelings and adventure. It's very slow, but I wouldn't consider it boring slow, if that makes sense? I will say I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't listened to the audio. The narrator is the author and while she's great, it just wasn't my favorite audiobook. I think teens will enjoy this one. Is it Yellowjackets meets Walking Dead like it says? Not in my opinion, but those are big expectations anyway. I think it was decent. More along the lines of Daybreak for those that saw that Netflix show.

Audiobook from NetGalley.

This was a super fun zombie apocalypse novel. It had a few things I really like and a few I didn’t. I enjoyed the found family aspect and it was fast-paced with surprises along the way. My main complaint here is that the author tried to do too much with this novel. There was a statement to be made about just about every modern issue which made it all feel like there was less impact. Overall, I would recommend this if you’re into YA horror novels and want a fun take on The Walking Dead with teenagers.

As a note, there is a lot of cursing in this book. Not a problem for me but might be for parents with young teens.

Reading Journal Details
Book: If We Survive This by Racquel Marie
Format Read: Audiobook (~9 hours, 5 minutes long)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5/5)

My Quick Take Review
Exceedingly character-driven and emotionally grounded, If We Survive This offers a unique take on the zombie genre—referred to as "rabids" in the story—with strong mental health representation. A slower middle and a desire for more survivor-on-survivor conflict holds it back slightly, but it's still a very worthy read for fans of introspective survival stories.

Some Key Features
🧟 Rabies mutation zombies
🌈 LGBT representation
🧠 Highly introspective
🐕 Biscuit the dog
🧬 Sibling dynamics
🩸 Zombie killing

My Full Review
If We Survive This really shines by focusing more on the depth of its characters rather than just outer chaos, making it stand out nicely in the world of zombies. The story switches between two timelines, before and after the rabies mutation turns everything upside down for the human population, thereby giving a great perspective on how things changed.

Mainly, it's Flora's story, and I think the author did an admirable job showcasing her struggles in a way that is both genuine and respectful. Flora's OCD, internal battles, and overall emotional journey are all handled with care and insight, making her a relatable and lovable character. I also really appreciated how thoughtfully the book weaves in biracial and LGBT themes, treating them with the same grace and authenticity.

That said, there was a bit of a slow patch in the middle where things felt sluggish, and I found it harder to stay fully engaged at times. Luckily, the story picks up again in the final third, and that renewed momentum kept me hooked all the way to the end.

If I could wish for one thing, it would be a little more external conflict. More interaction or tension with other survivors. The internal struggles were really rich and deeply meaningful, but the story's focus on survival alone kept it feeling a bit more like a "wait and see" rather than a full on "end of the world" chaos that I love in apocalyptic stories.

I always enjoy when the author themselves narrates their own audiobook. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of amazing narrators whose voices I purposefully seek out all the time, but there's something extra special about hearing the author bringing their own story to life. You can truly feel the heart and soul of the book in Racquel Marie's narration.

Huge thank you to Recorded Books (RBmedia) and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced listener's copy (ALC) of this truly wholesome and emotional novel in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own.