I received an ARC via netgalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked:
- the OCD rep (I know very little about OCD or the experience of living with it, and I enjoyed seeing that perspective)
- the characters (I found them all to be “likable characters” and I enjoyed the lesbian rep and the trans rep)
- the setting (this was the first time I consumed zombie-themed media in book form and it was an interesting experience)

What I struggled with:
- If I remember correctly, the back and forth timelines are common in Racquel Marie’s books, and I normally like it, but in this book, I found it a little harder to follow. I struggled to remember where they were, who was there etc. on the page I was reading).
- This book felt pretty slow moving. It didn’t pick up (to me) until around the 70% mark.

I will also say, for fellow Racquel Marie fans, this book does feel a bit different than her others in that the central romance has a lot less “page time”. It is mostly focused on the main character’s struggle with OCD during the apocalypse. Which is fine! But slightly different than what I was expecting so I just wanted to mention that.

All of this being said, I would recommend this particularly to someone who is looking for a beautifully written representation of OCD, or an apocalyptic-themed YA.

I needed some time to emotionally recover from reading this book.... For the Last of Us fans who were obsessed with Ellie and Dina storyline, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!!!! You get so emotionally attached to each character as you learn more about their history and what has made them the way they are! I was in TEARS at 2:00 a.m. because I couldn't put it down! I can't wait for it to officially release so I can have a physical copy as a trophy on my bookshelf! 10/10 I will recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the arc

Minor spoilers ahead

Intense, heartwarming, and exhilarating - I really enjoyed this book! I always love an apocalyptic setting (especially one with "zombie"-esque characters -- Rabids as they are called in the book), and Marie executes the age-old trope with a fresh style that makes it feel unique compared to every other zombie book I've read.

I was a little worried about the intensity going into this as it is YA, but I think the balance between scary and not horrifically violent is perfect. There were some descriptions where I was definitely squirming, so I was happy about that! Sometimes with YA books, the violence is sanitized too much that it loses its impact, but nope, definitely not the case here!

I also really enjoyed the OCD representation. It was an interesting idea- how would someone with OCD manage an apocalyptic situation where death and contamination are so prevalent? As someone with OCD - while mine manifests differently than Flora's - I found the depiction to be accurate and not sensationalized.

I liked Flora as a character a lot. She has to make tough decisions and cares deeply about the people around her. When her brother - Cain - is injured prior to the start of the book, she takes on the role of protector and provider. Their parents are gone- their mother is dead, and their father went to investigate the family's vacation rental cabin to see if it's safe for them to hide out there. When he's been gone for a month, Flora and Cain decide it's time to make their own way up to the cabin.

Cain is also a good character, funny and supportive of Flora. As the older brother, he sometimes struggles to allow Flora to take care of him, a role she has become accustomed to. On Flora's end, she worries immensely about Cain and feels the pressure of keeping him safe.

Loved Crisanta as well and Adán. Adán especially adds much-needed humor and levity. He is also trans, and that fact is treated with respect and care. And Biscuit. Oh, sweet Biscuit, I love you. I did shed a few tears at one specific scene, but in a bittersweet way!

Winnie is also a good addition. Being younger than all of them, her somewhat innocent view of the world contrasts nicely with the other characters. I really felt for her, and while I guessed where her story was going quite quickly, it still hit me hard. It was also nicely done the way Crisanta initially is skeptical of her, but you get to see the way their relationship warms up.

Loved the romance between Flora and Crisanta. They have history, but Flora is convinced Crisanta is straight, despite her obvious flirting with her throughout LOL. I love an oblivious lesbian! I also love "Never Have I Ever" as grounds for revealing group gossip and tensions, so I was squealing all the way through that scene! When they finally do kiss, I was cheering,finally! The build-up is just so good and worth it. Speaking of relationships, there was another one that was unexpected but that I really loved as well. No more spoilers, but I shipped!

There were some cliffhangers and twists that had me gasping. Very well-executed and nicely done, with the seeds planted throughout that you don't see until the reveal. Some of the reveals were sad and had me tearing up, and others had my mouth hanging wide open. Some had me doing both at once. Sometimes it feels like a plot twist isn't earned, but I'm happy to report I didn't feel that way at all here.

I did feel like I found myself somewhat bored with some of the flashback chapters. The book is split between "Then" and "Now", with the "Then" following Flora, her family, and Crisanta as they travel to the cabin for a trip up there. While some of the flashback chapters gave good insight to the characters or revealed important storylines, others were less important, and I just wanted to get back to the present. In the end, I do think they contributed nicely, but the slower pacing was a bit too jarring from the drama of the current timeline.

I also didn't fully grasp why Flora was so mad at Crisanta for what had happened before they met up, but luckily that anger didn't last too long. Crisanta and Adán had an interesting backstory to their friendship that added a different type of tension to the storyline other than just the Rabids. Again, not fullyyy sure why Flora was mad other than maybe Crisanta not telling her (though I felt her not saying was justified), but maybe I misinterpreted something.

I liked that the ending was hopeful while still realistic. There's an intense scene with Flora at the end that is really just a culmination of everything she has been going through, and it was beautifully done.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and had a great time reading it!

4 stars

omg can everyone please read this please please PLEASE. even if zombie books aren't your thing, because despite being central to the plot, it's really so much more than that!! the OCD rep is incredible, the relationships the right mix of serious and lighthearted - despite circumstances, and the themes ough the themes!!! AND a perfectly executed dual timeline. which is so hard to do, but it's not only done in a way where neither story competes with the other, it also enhances the overall narrative because of the timings of the reveals. I don't want to say too much, but trust me, (as long as you can handle gore, that's important) this is definitely a book you want to read!!!

This story grabs you by the throat and heart and does not let go. This is a story about the end of the world and how hope is the last thing left standing.

I love love love post apocalyptic novels, and this one was not one to disappoint. I felt like I was really there fighting for my life alongside everyone else, and each twist and then was gasp worthy. You’d think a book about the end of humanity would only have the main focus of survival, but the intertwined romances was the perfect addition to the desperation the characters were feeling, and the need for one last shred of humanity. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Racquel Marie’s books have been favorites of mine since her debut, but her turn to horror might be the best thing I’ve read so far this year. I’m not usually that big on gore and get very freaked out by regular viruses, let alone a zombie-creating mutation of rabies, but the thing is, so is Flora! No matter how terrified I am, Flora is feeling about a thousand times worse! Despite the apocalypse setting, I feel like this book still follows a lot of Racquel’s other books’ themes—family, grief, friendship, survival—and that’s what makes me love them so much. Truly an excellent work. Maybe don’t read this before bed, though.

I loved this one. It’s written quite well and doesn’t come off as your typical YA horror book. The characters are likable and their interactions are believable.

I have read Racquel Marie’s other three books so I was so excited when I got approved for an E-ARC! My girl never misses! I LOVED this. It was very well paced, I immediately connected to Flora, the FMC, and her group in the apocalypse. I thought the structure was good and so many great and memorable moments! I can’t wait to get a physical copy when it’s out in June!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends (Imprint of MacMillan) for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC)*

I loved this book so much.

I've gone on and on about how much I adore Marie's writing, of its tenderness and the emotional punches that hit hard exactly when they need to, so I won't rattle on too much about it here, but the character work here is still a quality of her writing I am drawn to every time.

Flora is such an incredible antagonist. Someone who she, and everyone around her, thought of as weak until the apocalypse came and she comes to learn she can survive in it. Not for herself but for her brother, a person she would die for while harboring some resentments for. Her grief, OCD, and very possible PTSD hurt her a lot throughout the book, but she still fights like hell for those she loves despite her believing she doesn't deserve to survive, not after all she's been through. She tries to shove any perceived weakness down by acting cold and hardened, especially towards Crisanta, her childhood crush, but she cannot help but love those she's closest with. It eventually leads her to learning she does deserve to survive, to live and be with the people she loves and who love her. It damn nearly made me cry.

I'm also really delighted that Marie's prose regarding the horrors, the gore and death descriptions, are so vividly gruesome and great. She admitted in the acknowledgements that she could never do horror because of how squeamish it made her, but I think her horror prose is amazing, and I loved that she pulled it off.

Another incredible Racquel Marie book to add to my shelf, and I cannot wait to see what she'll do next!

*3.5 stars*

I don’t normally gravitate towards zombie books but this one drew me in with its lgbtq representation & comparison to Yellowjackets. It’s beautifully written and has some really great quotes.

The main characters have interesting back stories which makes you grow attached to them and want to learn more. And there’s this unique added element of dealing with OCD/anxiety and navigating through your {already confusion and emotionally heightened} highschool/college years WHILE trying to survive a zombie apocalypse.

It smoothly jumps between the past and present to give us more information into Flora (our mc) and the deep emotions she has to tackle throughout the book. And of course there are some unexpected twists along the way.

It’s beautifully written and has some really great quotes

I did get frustrated with Flora because she has this hero complex but has to be saved multiple times. I do think that we’re supposed to feel this way though.

“It’s so much better to be feared than underestimated”

“No one makes it out of life, unscathed, or unscarred”

“The only blade I had in my possession is the confusion piercing my thoughts”

“Morbid curiosity is a bruise I’ve never been able to stop poking, a beast. I can’t stop feeding despite it’s insatiability”

Thank you to @NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"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."

Let me start by saying that I am not a regular reader of horror. But this one caught my attention because it references two very popular television series. So naturally I was curious to see if it's something that students at my high school would be interested in reading.

Flora and her brother, Cain, are trying to survive the apocalypse following the spread of a mutated rabies virus that turns people into zombies. Cain hears a radio message from his father that he's still alive, and the siblings decide to risk taking the trip up to the cabin where they vacationed with their parents before the virus. During their journey, they realize that sometimes it's other people they should fear more than the zombies.

This book features LGBTQ+ characters who struggle to come to terms with their identities as they do all that they can to stay alive. It also touches on mental health issues like obsessive compulsive disorder and PTSD.

I will definitely recommend this book to students who are horror fans!

I could not have cared any less about any of these characters. Upsetting because I was really looking foreword to more LGBTQ+ dystopian fiction to read and recommend other than Erik J. Brown's All That's Left in the World. Ugh.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for providing this book, with my honest review below.

If We Survive This is a heartbreaking story taking place in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and putting to the forefront mental health and what we live for. Flora is our protagonist and we alternate between then and now for her as she and her brother decide to make their journey through California to a family cabin to find their father and the means to survive. We don’t get to experience or get much information on the strange form of rabies that caused society to zombify nor do we see Flora’s perspective of the early days of the apocalypse setting in, which is a missed opportunity. What we do get is a look at a teen girl’s struggle to survive in the face of betrayal and when her motivation is her older brother and not herself. Truly this is ultimately a story of mental health and it’s done incredibly well, using the setting and circumstances to showcase the struggle to have belief in ourselves.

I don’t really see this YA as horror, even though it’s pitched as one. For me, it’s more of an apocalyptic story like All That’s Left in the World, with the horror feeling of The Honeys. It’s genre-bending because it’s also part contemporary with its dual timeline and way more introspective than those books above. 

The central theme in this story is fear. Flora has OCD even though she has hidden it all her life and might look like a girl who only cares about her appearance. But deep inside, she has locked up so much anxiety, and her biggest fear is death. But this was Flora.

Now Flora doesn’t care at all (even though her OCD still screams in her head). Nothing is the same anymore, and Flora fights. To stay alive. And most important of all, to keep her brother alive. But as her brother says, “You don't always have to be the hero.” 

I loved the sibling dynamics between and Flora and Cain, but the scene that touched me most was the one with Biscuit and Adán and June when tears sprang to our eyes.

Although there is a lot of action in this story (with bloodshed and gore), it’s mainly character-driven, and Flora's internal (sometimes spiraling) thoughts predominate. I skipped some parts because I'm not the best for so many graphic scenes with blood, but overall, I flew through the book. Racquel Marie’s writing always fascinates me, whether it is contemporary or something more gruesome.

We are experiencing the incredible rise of the disabled zombie girlie. I have loved the zombie genre since I was a kid, and consumed any content I could (whether good, bad, or outright offensive) and found joy in the pieces that resonated.

In the last year or so, I have come to see that I was not the only girl experiencing this, and now several zombie girlies have really stepped up and written the apocalypse survivors and societies that I didn't know I needed. Especially those layering the complexity of physical and mental disability, which this book does so well.

I loved it and it filled me with hope!

This is a story about survival of the most stubborn.

I’ve been wanting a solid zombie dystopian recently (blame the 28 years later teaser!), but not finding any recent entries… until this one! It’s also queer & features fantastic OCD/PTSD representations. I also loved the writing style- I can’t think of any other work I can compare it to, but it had a lyrical quality I’ve rarely seen from books not written in verse. It’s not out for a couple months, but I highly recommend you add it to your TBR!

Thank you so much @netgalley & Feiwel & Friends for the eArc!

The moment Racquel Marie even announced this book, I just knew I needed to read it. Then I saw the cover and fell in love. Then I got an ARC, so that made me happy. And then I read it and ahhhh this was so perfect. I adore any and everything Racquel Marie writes so obviously this was great!!

Honestly, Flora is the strongest character I've read about because HOW DOES ONE EVEN MAKE THEIR BRAIN FUNCTION IN THIS KIND OF SITUATION?!???!!? Like if it were me in a rabies induced zombie apocalypse, I'd be one of the first ones dead but because I'd hide away and not have sufficient amount of food 😭 props to Flora for knowing how to deal with all those rabids.

The characters are so important in this book and they all had depth and different personalities which made them distinguishable. It was interesting to read about Flora's ocd because I haven't read very many books with that kind of representation. Flora and her brother's dynamic was interesting especially given some event that take place before the book actually starts but I love them and reading about sibling dynamics is good. We also have two other side characters (I don't want to say too much in order to avoid spoilers) but they were really fleshed out and had some wild backstories. Flora and her love interest were messy, as anything during a zombie apocalypse would be, but I love them 🥺 and also the dynamic between Cain (Flora's brother) and one of the characters was good.

The last few chapters absolutely destroyed me, it made me so sad and cry. But this book also made me feel hopeful too idk quite how to describe it but If We Survive This will always have a little spot reserved in the back of my brain, I love it.
This book is the definition of perfection.

I love a good zombie novel. This one was original with the Rabids and how they age. I also thought it was pretty unique with having a younger girl trying to take care of her brother.

I didn't like the tired trope of having to leave their safety to travel to a cabin. Its worn out and every single apocalypse book is about traveling.

I did like that they were able to meet up with their friends/crushes. I though that was pretty interesting and gave a unique twist to the story.

When the action hit, there was a lot of confusion and I did not understand what all was happening. I was lost and confused as to what was happening at the end with the car.....did Flora Survive?
When the hordes came in the backyard near the cabin, why didn't they attack Flora and her loved ones?

There was a lot more positives to this book, but there was some big holes and chaos reigned when I desperately tried to understand all of the action.

Overall, a good story that needs a bit more clarity.

This was a fun take on the zombie/rabies trope. I don't always love when ya does this trope because they don't always take it as far or as hard as it should. This novel definitely wasn't taken as far as I personally would like but it was still really good. I feel like this is a really solid ya horror. It has some great dark bits and amazing family and friends ties. I think overall this was a solid horror and definitely one I would recommend and get a physical copy of.