I apologize for not posting this review sooner. I wanted to like this book and when reading it considered it for the high school library. Unfortunately, Scattered Screams was not as engaging as I had hoped and will not be added to the collection. Thank you for letting me review it.

Every so often I come across books I cannot "get into." Unfortunately, this was one of them so I stopped reading. I'm sorry about that but I had to move on.

I only got 28% through this book before I decided to DNF. I did not like the writing. There was almost zero world building. Once the story starts picking up it's just constant action with very little explanation. Why the heck was there a freezer on the roof that they could just conveniently move in front of the roof access door? I couldn't justify finishing this and wasting valuable reading time.

***I was provided this book by Netgalley and Captain of My Ship Publishing in exchange for an honest review***

The concept of this book really pulled me when I read the blurb and the cover was pretty intruding as well. That was about all I really looked about this book. I cannot make myself read books that are poorly crafted. Sentences. Should. Be. More. Than. One. Word. For. A. Vast. Majority. Of. The. Book. See. Even. You. Didn’t. Like. Reading. This. Statement. And. It. Was. Brief. Scattered Screams was named thusly because you scream in frustration through scattered scenes and annoying prose. I couldn’t enjoy the storyline because of the weird writing style so honestly, I gave up trying.
I hope others can overlook this annoying trope and press on. I will not completely slaughter the rating of the book because I know how hard it is to write and craft your own worlds and characters. I am sorry this book was not for me. I wish the author good luck and devoted readers.

An exciting take on a teenage version of World War Z, Scattered Screams is enticing enough to stand on its own without unnecessary gusto or extravagant world-building. Although the writing style (for those concerned about repetition, voice, and character development) is focused for its targeted audience, I feel that there is no overall need to excessively add a lot of narrative descriptions. With the given ingredients Huggins has at her disposal, Scattered Screams sets the stage for a thorough zombie trilogy anyone would enjoy.

Scattered Screams by C A Higgins.
Their cross-country college visit was supposed to be a bonding experience between Marcus and son, Ali.
Then, the Disruption triggered.
Marcus, Ali, and Vic (Ali’s best friend) would have never imagined the sunny summer afternoon on campus would turn into the fight for their lives.
Now the world is split into two parts: before and after the Disruption.
The new world is akin to a war zone. But a war zone with no clear sides. Allies and foes might be one in the same as everyone attempts to survive.
Marcus’s quest to return home to New York City with Ali and Vic before the new disrupted world chips away at their humanity. They attempt to make it across 3,000 miles of terrain that is covered with mutants, enemies and otherworldly threats.
Lines of communication are disabled. The home they strive to return to may not exist anymore.
Fantastic read with brilliant characters. Loved zombies reads. I do hope there is more to come. 5*. Netgalley and weaponry co-op.

If you’re into post-apocalyptic, zombie type books then this might be up your alley and worth a look particularly since it’s the first in a series so there’s more to come.

The plot starts off with a bang and keeps exploding out as the world and characters have to adjust rapidly to keep up with all the sudden changes. It reminded me a lot of some of the action movies I’ve seen because it has that same style where there is a lot of focus on the big scenes but not much exploration of the smaller details. Such as there never seemed to be a decent reason for the big cataclysmic event, you’re just supposed to accept it’s happened and move on.

The character work wasn’t too bad particularly the development of the familial relationships; the author did a good job of creating realistic interactions and examining how people might react when everything is going to hell. The characters didn’t start off that great but definitely got better as you push deeper into the story so you just have to start off accepting things as they are.

The zombies seemed to follow all the prototypical behavior we’ve seen before, sometimes you have to just go with it when it seems implausible.

It has a few problems so I can see this being one of those books people are either going to love or hate.

I’m holding out my final opinion until I read more of the series because I’m hoping a lot of the holes in the storyline will be answered in a later book.

Captain of My Ship Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Scattered Screams. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Marcus Nelson decided to combine a business trip to California with college visits for his son Ali and his friend Vic. When a visit to Stanford goes horribly wrong, will Marcus and the boys be able to make it back home to New York City in time?

Scattered Screams was a good name for this book, as the plot was all over the place. I had issues with the writing style as well, with abrupt and awkward transitions leaving me scratching my head in confusion. I am a fan of a good zombie story, but the lack of cohesiveness in regards to plot and the flatness of the characters make Scattered Screams a big miss. The last few pages of the book make almost no sense, as the author pulled a plot twist out of thin air without any background or prior reference. For these reasons, I would not recommend Scattered Screams in its present format.