Zero Repeat Forever

Well, that was a whirlwind of a book. I solidly enjoyed this.
It’s basically The Walking Dead with aliens. I didn’t find out until after I finished it that it’s actually being pitched as The Fifth Wave meets Beauty and the Beast. I’ve never read T5W, but I got the Beauty and the Beast vibe immediately. The Beast romance aspect weirded me out a little, but it’s not a deal breaker, trust me.
Do not let the first few chapters deter you. Prendergast's style is very choppy and concise here, but for the story as a whole it works. The first chapter was hands-down confusing and almost impossible to follow, but now that I've finished the book, it makes perfect sense, as does the title and cover image.
The Canadian setting was a winner. As a Canadian myself, I was thrilled to get a chance to read about my fellow countrymen being bad-ass to the core. I'm a white middle class female, so this was my special representation novel.
As antagonists, the Nahx are a fantastic choice. I wish the details about them came a bit sooner as I had a very hard time picturing them, but in the slow reveal was highly satisfying.
Would definitely recommend, and look forward to the loose ends and questions being answered in book 2.

I am in love! With many things actually, but right now I am in love with this book. Not only is it well written, exciting, and full of little plot twists it also happens to take place in Canada. And not just anywhere in Canada, but in my hometown of Calgary and my beloved Rockies. Be still my red, white and maple syrup heart! Seriously though, this is one of the best dystopian YA novels I have read in a good long while, and this is one series I will be following to the end.

As the start to a new series, I have to say that this is an excellent foundation. There are so many plot lines that can be followed, all of the characters have been flushed out in ways that make them realistic and give them depth, and there are so many routes that will lead to some exciting future novels. And what about that ending?! I was floored. Absolutely floored! I wanted the next book right away, and the wait for it to come out is going to be absolutely painful.

Would I recommend this book, a hands down yes! It will come with the warning though that it might not be ideal for younger or more immature readers as it is rife with sex, drugs, and profanity (and I like it that way!). The important thing to note on this one is that these elements are all age appropriate for both the characters represented and the intended audience. For those looking for a fun read and series to get hyped up about, this is it. And for those looking to build out their YA collection AND get a little bit of Canadian content on the shelves, don’t shy away as this baby is worth it’s weight in gold.

Simon & Schuster Canada, the publisher of Zero Repeat Forever, the YA novel by author G.S. Prendergast describes the story as ‘The Fifth Wave meets Beauty and the Beast”. That’s a fair assessment, well, except that it’s sort of the Canadian version which means there’s a whole lot of apologizing in the story and the pace is a bit slower – okay, some stereotypes are true… sorry. But, all joking about Canadian content aside, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Zero Repeat Forever given the publisher’s description. It is fairly long and I did feel that it could have been tightened up a bit especially as Raven and Eighth spend time together while she heals from an attack by another Nahx. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story quite a bit – and that’s mainly down to Eighth who was the only character whether human or alien who seems not to have lost his humanity (can you say an alien displays humanity). The story does end on a rather large cliffhanger and I am already looking forward to where the story takes us.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

WARNING: Don't pick up this book if you're awake in the middle of the night wanting to read yourself to sleep. It will not work (don't ask me how I know). The fighting scenes will keep you wide awake, heart palpitating, willing your brain to read faster to the end. You'll find yourself smiling, laughing, crying, grieving, fuming. You will care surprisingly deeply for the characters. And the twist will have you wishing author G.S. Prendergast will write a sequel soon. Because life is unbearable without August or Raven, zero repeat forever.

This was a very enjoyable story. I haven't read a book so fast in so long, it captured my interest right from the start and never let go. This was a cunning story based in Canada about the aftermath of an alien invasion, from great character's points of view on both the human and alien sides. It was very enjoyable to read from a strong female character dealing with death and hopelessness. I love the use and depth of the aliens sign language, it added so much more to the story than if Eighth could talk. The realizations that all come to at the end were fascinating and Prendergast really fit everything together quite well. I can't wait to continue the series, I'm not done with Raven and Eighth yet.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2099546102

Thanks to Simon & Shuster, G.S, Prendergast and Netgalley for an advance copy of Zero Repeat Forever in exchange for an honest review.
An alien invasion is decimating all of humankind,We learn of the struggle of humankind as the Nahx relentlessly hunt them down to end all humans. Eighth is one of the aliens tasked with this objective but as the story progresses he seems to be struggling with following these orders. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Not so fast! The story is told from the perspective of it's two main characters. Raven, who at the time of the invasion is at a wilderness survival camp, and Eighth who is a Nahx from the invading alien army.The chapters alternate back and forth between Raven and Eighth until after a couple of chance encounters they finally meet. This is not your typical action filled alien invasion but more of a depiction of a possible friendship between two beings of different worlds and how it changes their emotional awareness of themselves and each other. Don't get me wrong there is still plenty of action to keep things moving even if at times it is slowly.
Throughout the book I kept getting this feeling of how very human Eighth seemed to come across as. His fragmented memories of events and feelings felt like someone waking up from a long sleep and relearning how the world feels and looks. He alludes to the darted humans as being collected and processed by the aliens. In the last chapters of the book we are giving a little taste of what that could really mean. Enough to make me shout in glee "Yes I knew there was something more to his story than being an alien from another civilisation" Needless to say I am dying to find out what happens next!!
Overall this is a beautifully written book with very real characters that you find yourself rallying behind in hopes that they can find a way to survive in this terrifying new world.

Goodreads Synopsis:
He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.
Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.
His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.
Until a human kills her…
Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.
Shelter in place.
Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?
Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.
Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…

My Review:
I received an arc of this book from Netgalley after reading the description and deciding to request it. I'm pleasantly surprised with it. Set around Calgary, AB, my hometown and current living area, aliens have invaded. They're quickly taking over the planet and shooting darts into ever human in site. Eighth is empty and emotionless. His free will is dwindling. He has no past, only knows what he feels in the present, and all he can focus on is anger and obedience. Barely conscious of his own life and actions, fighting humans and following orders from his superior, Sixth, a mean girl who his life depends on but who treats him badly. The other main character Raven, or Rave as many of her friends call her, is a human lost among the apocalypse, trying to survive despite what the rest of the world thinks, and she changes everything for Eighth. The story switches between the two characters every chapter, and although I don't usually like viewpoint changes, I liked them a lot in this book. They have barely any internet use, no phones. Barely working satellites. The world is chaos, everyone fighting just to stay alive. Tucker, her boyfriend who has been through a lot with her, is the only thing keeping her going lately. Eighth is defective, or so Sixth likes to remind him. I love that the aliens use sign language to communicate. But Raven loses everything she holds close, and so does Eighth, and even though it's obviously very hard for them to stay alive, they do it. Things might have been different if Raven were a different person, not so full of rage and easier to control, but that just isn't the case, and I'm glad. The characters are just so realistic despite their surroundings, and despite their differences. They developed so much through the book and I was sad to finish it. I'm glad that there will be more to read because I can't even begin to imagine what's next. I absolutely loved every second of this book and it really was emotional at times for me. It's definitely one of my new favourites and you should check it out!
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

A very interesting book. The book does indeed move slowly at times, but that's only because the book isn't a fast-paced action novel. Instead, it's about the struggle of humanity against others that are just as fierce as themselves. I found the plot quite compelling, and I enjoyed that the book tackled some thorny issues and had the two main characters fight. It showed how complicated relationships of any kind can be.

I'm not sure where the next book will go, but I am looking forward to reading it.

I began reading this book with a little apprehension noting the category of Young reader. I have read excellent titles in this category and "Zero Repeat Forever" could certainly belong in regular Sci-Fy or Fiction.
The tale is somewhat familiar dealing with another World ending by Aliens attack but the way this book is structured and written makes this subject matter fresh and original.
The characters are well defined and their purposes and personnality becomes clear very quickly. I will not reveal the plot so that you can fully enjoy this book.

A great tale by G.S. Prendergast, full of original ideas with suspense, horror at time and a page-turner that is guaranteed to make you lose a bit of sleep while you convince yourself to turn just one more page before sleep, very hard to put down.
Number one of a proposed series I am already anxious to get book 2!! Go buy it and you will enjoy it!

First line: "<i>There is a light floating above me.</i>"

As always, I would like to thank Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel as well as Simon & Schuster Canada for approving my wish and granting me the chance to read this amazing novel.

Now, on to the review. Where to start?
I started reading this novel a bit warily, because in the first few pages it seemed really quite crazy with superhuman machine-alien-robot-creatures landing on Earth, in Canada no less, and "darting" humans, which essentially insta-kills them. Seems pretty out there no? Well, it was.... and it was GREAT! My wariness quickly died down and I was so far into this novel, I had trouble sleeping - it was just that good.

The plot of the story is mysterious and troubling, but you start to really get into it. You want to see the survival of this group of ruffians (teenagers) from a survival summer camp. You want to see the destruction of the Nahx creatures, because they are just too bad to be handled. But then you start to see a softer side of things and you really begin to learn about one particular Nahx creature, and he's really quite lovable. I really want to learn more about the Nahx, their "culture", so to speak, their goal for "darting" the humans, and how they came to be... just everything. I am hooked.

I love that this story is set in Western Canada, Alberta to be specific. It's so rare that you read a great book that is set in Canada... or maybe that's just been the types of books I typically read. Although I've never been to Alberta, I thought it was really fascinating to sort of learn about the landscape around there.

The characters were really well put-together. Although the story was told in two perspectives - Eighth's and Raven's - you learn all about Raven's group of friends as well. Even as we are reading about the end of the world as we know it, we see the daily drama that separates certain people from the rest of the group being brought up, and that makes you feel closer to Raven in a way that I may not have otherwise felt.

I loved reading Raven's perspective of the story because I felt I got to hold onto a greater part of the story and see what was going on, how they (Raven and her friends) were managing in the wilderness on their own.
Eighth's perspectives were typically short, but gave valued information nonetheless. I found as the story progressed, we got to read more and more about Eighth and what his thoughts, feelings, and goals were in regards to what is currently happening.

I don't want to give any of the story away by saying any more than I already have, so I will leave it at this: I am extremely happy to have read this novel, and I am definitely going to be keeping an eye out for the next instalment of the Nahx series!