This was such a find and exciting read! The whole story was thrilling throughout and I was hooked!

I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book!

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

This was really interesting, but I don't know how to rate it? It's hard to pinpoint how I feel about this one!

There was a lot going on in this story, but with so many moment-to-moment happenings I lost track of the big picture. I couldn't see the purpose or where the story was going, but definitely keeps you reading! It was also interesting to read in the second half of 2021 compared to when it was originally published, so much has happened and it was a little unsettling how real it all read. There was a lot of bickering that made me want to yell at my book, but it was also kind of nice to read about teenagers acting how teenagers would in this sort of situation. All in all, an interesting take on a dystopian read, though I probably won't pick up the second book.

I loved this book! I had started to avoid dystopian stories as a general rule because I felt they all started to become too similar, but this had more thriller/ adventure vibes. The characters were likable and had great chemistry. The twists kept me engaged and the way the story evolved was unexpected. I finished this book in 2 days and enjoyed the ride. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian/ adventure/ post apocalyptic type stories.

Day Zero by Kelly deVos is one of those review copies I never quite got around to reading last year. However, one of the benefits of not reading a book promptly is not having to wait for the sequel. Instead, you can read both the original and the sequel back to back. This was my approach to Day Zero and its sequel, Day One.

A funny thing happened when I finished one and started the other, however. It quickly became apparent that the version of Day Zero I read had some major changes made to it before final publication. My version of Day Zero revolved around Jinx and her stepsiblings, Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson, who just happened to be Black and from Atlanta. Let me tell you that when reading a political thriller, the entire context of the story changes a lot when two of the main characters are Black and from the south. As 2020 showed the world, their experiences dealing with the police are completely different than a white person's experiences.

While not perfect and definitely in need of some sensitivity reader feedback, I liked the version of Day Zero I read. Ms. deVos uses Tyrell and Makeeba to address police brutality and systemic racism before the world acknowledged it. Even better, she acknowledges that the Anderson siblings come from wealth but that wealth does not protect them from racial prejudice. The story has a completely different feel when Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson from Atlanta become Toby and MacKenna Novak from Denver. Suddenly, the politics of the story, which is the entire plot, are much less inclusive and incomplete.

The thing is, I rather liked the politics in my version of Day Zero. It is all too easy to envision 45 doing something as extreme as declaring a national emergency and calling the military to step into police roles. Even better, the opposition addresses what could happen if we fully adopted socialism while addressing racial barriers and cultural roadblocks long established by the founders of the country. It makes for a prescient story, a year ahead of the rest of the world. Except, that is not the route Ms. deVos and her editors ultimately chose.

As I did not read the final version of Day Zero, I can't say whether I liked it. I can extrapolate, however, based on my reaction to Day One, which is not favorable. The story itself loses a lot of timeliness and gravitas when Makeeba goes from being a strong, politically aware Black young woman to MacKenna, a rather selfish, impetuous white girl of privilege.

Plus, Jinx is not nearly as commanding and forceful in the sequel as she was in the first book. In Day One, she lets others dictate her actions rather than taking the initiative. This is not the Jinx we get to know in the first book, and there again, the story suffers as a result.

As a result, much of Day One becomes an exercise in suspension of disbelief as the story takes one outlandish turn after another. By the time someone we thought dead in the first novel makes an appearance, the whole thing has become so ridiculous as to be disappointing.

Again, I have no idea if I would feel similarly about Day Zero in its end form, but I do imagine my feelings would be less positive than they were simply because having key characters to help draw attention to systemic racism in a political thriller is a massive gamechanger to the story. I have never had a review copy change SO much from the published novel, and the changes made are, in my opinion, a poor choice.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

I received the arc for this book over a year ago and I never got around to reading it, so I'm declaring this ship having left the harbor. I'm still interested in reading it eventually, and thank you for your acceptance of the arc back in 2019!

tw: bombings, graphic depictions of death, death (including child death)

I’m really quite disappointed by this book. I truly thought it was going to be something different than what it was. I expected some truly thrilling dystopia or at the very least, some action/adventure but I didn’t get that at all. I had to go back and read the synopsis of this book because I write out my reviews and then type them out later. I couldn’t remember what this book was about. That’s how unremarkable this book was. I am not trying to be mean at all but when I don’t remember what a book is about and have to look it up, that is not a good sign.

One of my problems with this book was that I didn’t quite care of any of the characters. The main character, Jinx, was okay but I didn’t have any particular feelings for her. I didn’t bond with her even though she shared similar interests with me, such as being a gamer and interest in martial arts. She was just alright. *shrugs shoulders*

As for the other characters, they were meh. They were just there. They didn’t push the story forward. I couldn’t stand Mackenna, Jinx’s stepsister, for most of the book. She was whiny, nossy and very demanding along with being incredibly demeaning. She never listened to Jinx when it came to survival, even though Jinx clearly knew what she was talking about when it came to that. I was frustrated with her. The only positive about her was she was interested in politics, which you don’t see a lot of in young adults, especially for girls.

The political parties, Spark and Opposition, confused me and they were a big part of the plot of this book. I think the Opposition was bad but I really have no idea. I just got this big paragraph about the history of the Spark and Opposition. I didn’t retain much of it so during the whole book, I was pretty confused. It’s unfortunate because it would have been such a cool thing but when you info dump things like that, the reader isn’t going to get the information they need for the story to make sense.

One last thing that bugged me about this book was the potential love interest. I won’t say who it was is as to not spoil it for anybody wanting to read the book. Although, when I went to look up the synopsis of this book to do this review, the author herself named the love interest so I guess you all can find it on the Goodreads page if you truly want to know. But wow, did it feel incredibly forced. Jinx and the love interest had no real chemistry and barely knew each other. Why can’t there be a young adult action/adventure/dystopia book without a love interest? It’s so very tiring.

Okay, so overall, this wasn’t the worst book I’ve read but as you all could tell, I had a lot of problems with it. However, this book piqued my interest just enough that I might (and that’s a big miiiiiight) read the second book. I’m curious to know how it all will end. As for recommendations, if the problems I listed don’t bother you or they actually appeal to you (I won’t judge you, pinky promise), then have at it. Maybe this book will be right for you. It just wasn’t right for me.

Pleasantly surprised! I don't know what I was thinking when I requested this book but it was not a book about hope and patience and chaos and political standing. Kelly DeVos does an excellent job of balancing the perfect about of thriller and politics (which I usually am not all for).

The characters are well-developed and the plot is fast-moving. All of which left me on the edge of my seat and it's been a while since I'd brought a book around with me and read it in between bus stops and in line at the grocery store. I was rooting for the characters the entire way through the book. Everything felt real as if I could be a part of the world. The writing was phenomenal.

This book sounds awesome, and I hope to read it eventually, but I've been having a hard time enjoying YA in recent months. Will not be reading in time to provide a timely review.

I love Jinx, I love how strong Kelly made her. Jinx sounds like me able to handle anything that comes her way. She is smart and always looking for the way to the top. This book is really well written. The plot is so unique and I love that. I cant wait for Kelly next book. I highly suggest you all check out her work

This book was so great and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
I really loved how twisty this book turned out to be and ended up reading it in one sitting!

Not the biggest fan of this genre, typically. But this book hits really close to home by including just enough of real-life tension to make it a great read. The story includes a character living with diabetes and siblings that take care of a each other.

I really wanted to love this book. I only liked it. It was a good story, but I often found it hard to get into. There were points where it was slow for me. However, I can definitely see other readers enjoying this book as taste is subjective, Based on the story itself, 4 stars!

I liked the MC, Jinx, and her stepsister, MacKenna, whose evolving relationship was for me the highlight of the book. (Though apparently, from earlier information about this book, that MacKenna and her older brother Toby, were whitewashed at some point during the pre-publication process, their names having been changed from Makeeba and Tyrell, respectively. WHY WHY WHY????? FFS...)

I liked the first half of this book, but got increasingly bored somewhere in the middle, when it started to slow down, became repetitive (the book is essentially one long chase scene), and didn't seem to be going anywhere new.

The setting, meant to be a future (mear? far? IDK) America, is not really explained or defined in any way, and its presentation technology is too inconsistent to provide any real hints. I also thought there would be more apocalyptic elements but there were none -- the world goes on, oblivious, as the main characters run from the baddies intent on taking it over -- and many aspects that initially attracted me (the politics, the references to doomsday prepping) were underdeveloped.

This book is an enjoyable enough read for those who like YA suspense/thrillers, but will disappoint readers who come to it looking for Dystopia or PA.

Doomsday book? Yes, please. This is a really good post-apocalyptic survival adventure story where the character realistically uses training that is useful and keeps them alive as they are being hunted down. It's going to be a popular one with my doomsday teens!

The clock was always ticking and Kelly DeVos takes us to Day Zero, once all the time has run out:

Jinx Marshall did not have a regular childhood. She spent all of her free doomsday prepping a drilling. Her Dad never let her have a days rest or a regular childhood it was all about being prepared. When her parents divorce and her mother remarries, Jinx thinks that she can take a break, have and easy normal life from now on. But all the training comes in handy when a building explodes right next to the one she, her brother and step sister are in, she is able to get them all out alive. However, this was not some random attack the world is about to go through a huge change, one that only a few saw coming, and Jinx just hopes that she has trained enough to help keep her family safe.

Wow, i'm not quite sure where to start with this book, there are quite a few things that I liked about it, the pace (super fast and right from the start), dooms day, some pretty good action scenes that I was not expecting and the overall plot in the story but I struggled with the main character and some of the political avenues. I get that she is a teenager and I tried to forgive that as I read the story but there were a few things about her that just irked me especially as she is really the key to everything.

With that said I am unsure whether I am supposed to like the main character, Jinx, or not. She has some great qualities like taking care of her younger brother, Charles and there are times when she's great to have in a stressful situation, seems to have some fighting abilities but for most of the story I found her to be whiny, selfish (which I guess can be good when the apocalypse is happening) and not smart most of the time aka being distracted by boys. There are multiple times she forgets what her Dad taught her and I feel like if you ran doomsday preps for YEARS of you life you would not forget so many things so easily. I mean when she is taking it easy after her mom and dad split and no longer having to do drill every day she is planning video game campaigns, I feel like that is something that is directly related to her dooms day prepping training. I actually thought that MacKenna was a more likable character (which I did not think would happen at first as she comes off as the spoiled rich girl with entitlement kind of vibe) as at least she stayed true to herself and her ideas and beliefs and wasn't afraid to question everything.

I found the political setting of the book a little confusing, and I don't think the full history of how the USA got to this state is fully explained. I get everyone is for Everyone’s for Rosenthal, but why? And why is it so bad to have a change in government. I mean Ammon Carver does start to sound like a nut bar but it sounded like the people in the USA wanted to move back to a capitalistic market and away from a more socialist or communist one? I think? Honestly i'm not 100% sure at this point. I mean I like a political intrigue in a book but it needs to be well laid out and explained for me to get on board with it. I'm hoping maybe a bit more will be explained in book number 2. Maybe have Dr. Doomsday explain a few more things and what Carver was thinking as they used to be friends and why he had helped him before this point.

This was an interesting Doomsday, literally zero day, zero hour, type of book that basically start you running from the beginning and you are looking to catch up about what is going to happen next. I think this is where deVos lost me a bit as I struggled to understand the political landscape of this book and where the USA was before a new president took over. That said I think that deVos has something here and I would check out the next book in the series.

Enjoy!!!!

Day Zero is a YA Dystopian/apocalyptic novel in the truest sense. The opposing government parties are at the end of their ropes and starting to war with each other, and the main character Jinx Marshall and her father are at the very center of it all. It took me a few chapters to get into the story and really get a feel for the characters and what was going on, but once I did I couldn’t put the book down. I felt that Day Zero provided a very real picture to possible situations that could happen in our modern day world, and that in it’s own accord was terrifying!!

Some of the characters I found to be extremely annoying, but I believe they were written to be that way. Sisters are annoying, right?! I wouldn’t know because I only have an older brother. The plot line was fast paced, a little choppy and rushed at times, but it all added to the experience. The ending leaves you feeling thoroughly pummeled and full of emotion, but satisfied enough to wait for the sequel that you won’t feel like throwing the book across the room. All in all, this is definitely a must read for anyone who likes relatable dystopian stories.

The day should have been just like any other. Jinx is excited for the end of school so she can go home and tackle a campaign she's been planning in her favorite online game. The only hitch is that she needs snacks.

What Jinx didn't plan for, though, was an apocalypse-level political coup!

Luckily for Jinx, her father trained her and her brother for this. He even wrote the book about surviving it. But he's also accused of causing it. Now Jinx must navigate this new world while also facing complications that come from being the daughter of the man who may be responsible.

Holy cow this is a frightening book!

As you start into Zero Day, it seems like you're diving into a contemporary teen novel set in today's world. But, within just a few lines it becomes clear that deVos has created a world similar to but different from our own.

There are two political parties, like our own, but these are called The Spark and The Opposition. What's more, the political upheaval in Jinx's world has resulted in a New Depression. Which is why, as the book begins, people are worried about the latest election results. Just how worried becomes all too clear within these opening chapters.

As mentioned, though, Jinx is somewhat prepared. Her father, aka Dr. Doomsday, is the authority on survival. He's also, as we soon find out, responsible for a program that was supposed to reveal system weaknesses but ended up being used to tear down those systems!

I really enjoyed the pacing and Jinx's smarts. I did, however, find the political aspects terrifying! deVos has very aptly created a world that's close enough to our own that the scenario here feels all too possible!

Zero Day is the first in a duology and I can't wait to see what'll happen next!

I really tried to like this book but I could not get into it. i waited for the audio version to come out and I thought that might help but unfortunately I must be the wrong audience for this book. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.