What a beautiful story.
This is a story about surviving even when you feel like you shouldn't.
It's gory and a story of sibling relationships and the burdens that come along with it.
If We Survive takes place during a post-apocalyptic when humanity is falling and you have to figure out what is worth fighting for through the eyes of one brave girl. Highly recommend this incredible story.

thank you so much netgalley. this book wasnt for me. it was good. but just not for me. again thank you netglley.

Let me preface this review by saying that I love Racquel Marie’s books, but I don’t love horror as a genre. I was scared to venture into this book because horror is often just too gory and gross for seemingly no reason. But Racquel, herself, assured me that I would be okay. And she did not lead me wrong. I really enjoyed this book, especially because it wasn’t just horror. It was family drama, coming of age, romance, and so much more. I really enjoyed how there were various chapters of flashbacks priors to the zombie-like rabies outbreak. The main characters were endearing (though sometimes irritatingly stubborn). Obviously, my favorite character was the dog!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

From the description of this book, I was expecting The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets... and we definitely got one of those! I wouldn't use Yellowjackets as a comparison for lesbians surviving; I think there is a lot more going on in that show than that.

The rabids were terrifying and it felt like any bit of spit or blood on the characters was going to make them turn into a rabid themselves! Scenes of Flora and company fighting made me want to keep reading and to see if they were going to be ok afterwards.

The sibling dynamic was sooooo real. I have two older brothers that would bother me to death in an apocalyptic situation but would totally have my back. I was a little surprised that they would keep that big of information from each other though. Hearing the radio from the dad was the reason they were leaving their house in the first place and Flora finding their rabid father was probably the worst thing to keep from your brother.

Overall, I thought the book was ok and made me terrified of rabies so that's pretty great. The ending was very abrupt but it gave the vibe that Flora and her friends were going to be fine, at least for awhile.

This book was so fast paced that I would’ve finished it in one sitting if I didn’t have to adult and go to work. Once I started, I was hooked. I loved the characters, I loved the found family aspect.

If We Survive This was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. This book felt like it was written specifically for me, the anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen. Flora is a character that I just GET.

Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. Quite similar to The Walking Dead. Flora and her brother are trying to get to her father, who they believe is at their mountain cabin. Along the way, they encounter their friend, Cris and her friend, Alan. This book chronicles their journey, which is filled with killing those who have the rabies and those who have not.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A hauntingly realistic portrayal of a neurodivergent protagonist in an apocalypse world of rabid-infected humans.
The whole book is grief and raw and real and betrayal.
Racquel Marie’s detailed writing of each rabid killed by Flora, the protagonist, were so startlingly in your face. It brought to life Flora’s new reality and her struggles of trying to cope with it.
The side characters that come into the story along the way build and break Flora’s perception of trust in more ways than one.
I gave this 4 stars only for the ending as it felt like I, the reader, wasn’t given any warnings or any foreshadowing regarding it.

I loved many of this novel’s elements in theory—the main character’s neurodivergence, her complex relationship with survival, the dual timelines—but in practice, they fell flat, especially when it came to Flora. While I respect the mutability of a teenager in turmoil, Flora’s interiority and character motivations were a mess. I never really believed her rage. The grief was well-done, but the horror, while offering a refreshingly practical take on zombies, felt rather toothless. And, while the present timeline did feel urgent, I was continually ripped out of the story by the “before” timeline which felt low stakes until the very end of the novel.

While I wouldn’t recommend this book to YA readers looking for a story of survival as raw and wrenching as Yellowjackets, I think the diverse cast of characters and the genuine attempt to tackle the ugliness of grief make it a good introduction to the genre for more squeamish readers. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book took a piece of my soul with it. It’s a raw, messy, gritty story with a deep and compelling cast of characters. It’s gruesome and gory in all the right ways. I’m screaming from the sidelines, cheering them on through their battles and hoping for the best outcome. I’m crying with them having to deal with the hard choices and losses along the way. I’m holding that axe beside them trying to find a way out of the corner they’re stuck in. This author didn’t shy away at all from showing the gritty, gruesome side of mental illness either. I felt very seen and heard in the struggles of living with a brain that doesn’t work like anyone else (including myself) wants it to. This book will live rent free in my head for the rest of my life.

This was a fairly interesting concept with some execution that just needed a little fine tuning! the pacing could have been improved but I loved the plot and the cast of characters.

“If We Survive This” follows Flora, a young girl living in the aftermath of a rabies outbreak which mutated and turned most of the population into zombie-like creatures known as “rabids”.
I absolutely loved this! Definitely my new favorite Racquel Marie book, even though it is pretty hard to top her other novels. The way Marie writes the main character Flora and her OCD was so realistic and I loved to see it! I also loved Crisanta and Flora’s relationship and how it developed throughout the story. I am really excited to see—and to read—any dystopian novels Marie may release in the future.

A book that promises to be like The Walking Dead drew my attention, and I'm glad to say it kept it.

Nobody wants to think about the end of the world as we know it. Sure, you can prep all you want, but it doesn't do much good when the world actually ends and you start to live a nomadic lifestyle. Flora, a girl that has dreaded everything in life because of her OCD seems to be made for this post-apocalyptic world. She's overly cautious and wary of everything and everyone. On their journey to find a family vacation spot in search of their father, Flora and her brother, Cain, run into a family friend, Crisanta. However, as they have grown older since they last time they saw each other, Flora realizes that time can change relationships. Through their misadventures and near misses with "rabids,"Flora learns more about what Crisanta and her friend, Adan, have done to survive. Will their group make it to the cabin they are searching for, or will they die trying?

I liked this book a lot. As a fan of the show, I was glad that it did have a Walking Dead vibe, along with trying to find a place in a community that is not as caring or as safe as it 0nce was.

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story follows Flora, a teen with OCD, as she and her friends try to survive in a terrifying, apocalyptic world. But what really stood out to me wasn’t just the survival aspect, it was the heart of the story.

The way she struggles with OCD feels so raw and real, and I appreciated how the book showed mental illness as part of her, but not all of who she was.

I read this ARC via Netgalley.

Ever since a virus turning people into "rabids" killed their parents, Flora has been taking care of things - things like her brother Cain, who broke his leg. But now that Cain is healed, they are both heading out into the devastated world to try to get to a cabin where Cain thinks their father may be. Along the way, they meet up with old family friend Crisanta and her companion Adan. Flora is less than thrilled to see Crisanta again, especially since she isn't sure she can trust her.

I tried to read this through the new Netgalley Reader but had some trouble, plus I got my library hold on <i>Onyx Storm</i>, which is why it took me so long to get through this when I was primed for a good zombie story - I had just started watching "Fear the Walking Dead," too, basically biding my time until the next season of "The Last of Us" comes out. Flora's fear of germs and hypervigilance about the dangers of the world was perfectly suited for this post-apocalyptic life, even though she's had these fears her whole life. The story was gritty and full of gore, but also had some soft and quiet moments, and the flashbacks revealed just enough so that the reveal of exactly why Flora didn't trust Crisanta was a big question until the right moment. A great addition to post-apocalyptic stories featuring LGBTQ characters.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Racquel Marie knows how to write a book that grips you, whether it’s a heartbreaking romance or a zombie apocalypse horror.

There was a lot of great representation in this book: OCD rep, lesbian rep, gay rep, trans rep, Colombian American main characters. All of the characters were great, and I loved getting Flora’s POV throughout the story.

Everyone has secrets, and no one is willing to share. It’s scary, confusing, and all Flora wants to do is protect her and her brother.

I think the only thing that kept this from being 5 stars for me was how quickly the pace picks up towards the end of the novel. It was just a lot different than the rest of the novel had been.

I don’t want to say too much, since this doesn’t come out until June. But I had a great time reading this, and honestly I think the last few pages were my favorite. So good.

Definitely put this on your TBR, friends!

CW: gore, blood, death, violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, child death, animal death

So, I will be honest, I struggled with this one. Mostly because I have OCD, and this was very clearly in an OCD person’s head, and it was so accurate it was genuinely kinda triggering! Yikes! But, beyond this, it’s honestly a super well done book that has a really interesting portrayal of family, responsibility, and life after the apocalypse. It really does feel like The Last of Us meets Yellowjackets, and the romantic moments are some of the more powerful ones. It’s high-stakes, high-tension with absolutely phenomenal writing.

Racquel Marie cannot be put in a corner– Marie’s foray into the apocalypse genre is a heart-racing, high-stakes adventure. If We Survive This is a book about learning how to live, not just survive.

If We Survive This is a gripping, violent, and intensely human book. Racquel Marie skillfully combines horror and unfiltered emotion to create a narrative that is about surviving oneself as much as surviving the end of the world.

Six months into a rabies-induced apocalypse, Flora Braddock Paz is still fighting her worries, her sadness, and the constant threat of the "rabids." She never thought she would survive this long. In addition to navigating the horrors of the outside world, Sarah and her elder brother Cain must also deal with the horrific memories and secrets that threaten to consume them from within as they set out on a desperate trip to their family's former cottage.

This book doesn't mince words. The characters are what keep you interested, even though the horror is visceral—the kind that makes your stomach turn and your heart race. Every choice Flora makes and every action she does feels considerably more risky because of her OCD issues. Additionally, the relationships are full of bite (sometimes literally)—particularly the slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers affair between Flora and Crisanta.

If We Survive This challenges you to consider what you would be prepared to do in order to survive through flashbacks, moral quandaries, and a pervasive sense of impending loss. More significantly, what kind of person would you end up becoming?
An unforgettable, nerve-wracking ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to make it super clear that normally when I rate books, it’s based on how much I enjoyed it.

That is not the case for this one.

This one made me scared and uncomfortable but also seen and not alone. I had to read it in small bursts (which is not my reading style) in order to get it done because it felt too real at times.

This book felt like an alternate version of myself in an apocalyptic setting and it was terrifying. Truly, Flora’s thought process made so much sense to my brain and I did not like seeing that.

Also, this book is horror, not horror comedy with some good laughs, so this genre isn’t really my style. I was genuinely scared during this book.

Because of this very incoherent review with all my feelings, I can’t give this book any less than 5 stars. Any book that can make me feel the way this one does, deserves it.

Racquel Marie is one of my favorite authors, but I was so shocked when I saw she’d written a zombie novel. That being said, she approached it with the same care and attention to detail that she does with her other books. Flora and Cain are lovable and realistic, and Crisanta and Adan won me over immediately. However, I really did not like that the plot twist (to us as the reader) was something that Flora knew all along. It cheapens the plot twist, even if it was very surprising. There were other twists, such as with the arrival of Trent, that did not feel well supported or expected either. Despite these things, this book was so fun and I’ll definitely be seeking it out for my classroom!

I think this book has changed my mind on whether or not I like horror books. I would have never said I do before, but this book was an immediate yes for me. The concept is fascinating. I loved the flashbacks and our main character. The drama of it kept me guessing without ever feeling like a twist was too unrealistic. This hit in every way for me. It's emotional, thrilling, and I think this is Racquel Marie's best yet (and I say that as someone who has adored everything so far). This is a great addition for any collection.