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Zombie #2
Sadie Walker is Stranded
From the New York Times bestselling author of ASYLUM
MONTHS AGO THE WORLD ENDED�
…when an unknown virus spread throughout North America and then the world, killing millions of people. However, that is where the horror only started. The dead began to rise and when they rose they had an insatiable appetite for the living. A new hell had been unleashed on earth and the fight for survival had just begun.
Sadie Walker is one of the survivors in this new world. Living in north Seattle behind barrier that keep the living in and the dead out, she trying to get back to a normal life, while raising her eight-year-old nephew, if anyone even knows what "normal" is anymore. Then everything goes sideways when Shane is kidnapped by a group of black market thieves and they bring down a crucial barrier in the city while trying to escape, and flood the city with the walking dead. After rescuing her nephew, Sadie and Shane escape Seattle on the last remaining boat, along with other survivors. However, now they must face the complete chaos of a world filled with flesh eating zombies and humans who are playing with a whole new rule book when it comes to survival in their journey to find a new place that they can call home.
MONTHS AGO THE WORLD ENDED�
…when an unknown virus spread throughout North America and then the world, killing millions of people. However, that is where the horror only started. The dead began to rise and when they rose they had an insatiable appetite for the living. A new hell had been unleashed on earth and the fight for survival had just begun.
Sadie Walker is one of the survivors in this new world. Living in north Seattle behind barrier that keep the living in and the dead out, she trying to get back to a normal life, while raising her eight-year-old nephew, if anyone even knows what "normal" is anymore. Then everything goes sideways when Shane is kidnapped by a group of black market thieves and they bring down a crucial barrier in the city while trying to escape, and flood the city with the walking dead. After rescuing her nephew, Sadie and Shane escape Seattle on the last remaining boat, along with other survivors. However, now they must face the complete chaos of a world filled with flesh eating zombies and humans who are playing with a whole new rule book when it comes to survival in their journey to find a new place that they can call home.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2012
24 people are currently reading
1973 people want to read
About the author
Madeleine Roux
47Ìýbooks4,752ÌýfollowersNew York Times Bestselling Author of the ASYLUM series, Allison Hewitt Is Trapped, Sadie Walker Is Stranded and the upcoming House of Furies series.
MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.
Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.
Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
September 21, 2019
What a disappointing book.
I think it would've been disappointing in any case, but as a follow up to Allison Hewitt is Trapped, it feels even more so. The flaws in Roux's writing carry over from the first book—a poor sense of visual and spatial orientation that becomes especially confusing/egregious in the action scenes that are the byproduct of any zombie story—but they're added to by new storytelling and stylistic problems.
The first problem is largely one of POV. Both Allison Hewit and Sadie Walker are told from first person POV, which limits what we see and know, as the readers, to what our protagonist tells us that they see and know. It's always a balancing act for an author because, in real life, we are not generally narrating our own adventures to ourselves or consciously cataloguing what we see…but in a story being told to us, we definitely need that kind of narration to understand what's happening. Tell too little and your reader doesn't know what's going on. Tell too much and you lose that feeling of being inside the character, inside their story…and thus you lose the audience. Roux definitely errs on the side of not describing much at all. We only have the vaguest ideas of what characters look like. We only have the vaguest idea of what their environment looks like or what Allison or Sadie see as they move through that environment. This becomes most noticeable in scenes of zombie attacks, where it feels most like being in a remote HQ having events narrated over a microphone by an operator that's under fire. I can grasp outcomes, but I have no real sense of what's actually happening on the ground. And, since zombies don't really communicate through witty banter or other dialogue, this lack of a visual component becomes critical.
I feel like it was worse in Sadie Walker because Allison Hewitt took place in relatively familiar locales: a bookstore, a city apartment, a college gymnasium, while the majority of events in Sadie Walker take place on a remote island in the Pacific NW. When you think of deserted island stories, they're largely tropical in nature, but those visual referents don't work for Sadie's environment and the lack of in-story referents made it all very hard to picture.
Similarly, both books lack a concrete sense of time's passage. In Allison Hewitt, there were at least dates on her blog entries that could be tied to the narrative, but Sadie Walker, again, lacks any similar navigation marks, which contributes to the vague sense of I don't know what's going on.
And then, more—or maybe most—damning, the character of Sadie is so much more self-absorbed and internal than Allison that it places a still greater limitation on what the reader sees. Allison had so much more interaction with the other characters in her story and, as a result, those characters felt more fleshed out and real. Whereas Sadie is so focused on herself—and sometimes Shane—that everyone else felt flat and shallow and undeveloped, despite the fact that, by the end of the story, they've spent months together. Shane and Andrea, the only other characters besides Sadie who are present pretty much from the book's start, are no clearer or more developed at the end of the book than they were when they were introduced. The only things I really know about Nate is that he's Black and a good shot with a gun. We hear a lot about Whelan's dimple and killer smile, but not really anything about who Whelan is, why Whelan is.
Of course, another thing that made this book so much more inaccessible and so much less enjoyable is that I don't really know anything about who Sadie is, from front to back. With Allison, I didn't always necessarily agree with the decisions she made through the course of the story, but they felt realistic (which, by far, was my favorite aspect of the book), consistent and understandable. Sadie, on the other hand, seems to blow in a different direction from chapter to chapter, with no reliable through line to make her actions make sense, let alone understandable.
At least some small part of this I feel is a lack of history on Sadie's (or anyone's) part. Roux tries to handwave Sadie's (or anyone's) personal history with mental and social admonitions not to talk about or dwell on the past, an explanation that wants to make sense, but a) in-story: people think about their pasts whether they really want to or not, and with as much time as Sadie spends in her own head, it doesn't make sense that her past wouldn't come up with everything else and b) out-story: the lack of any kind of history or reference to people's previous lives makes it feel like they just didn't exist before Roux started telling this story.
With Allison, a big part of her story was her relationship with her mom, being trapped with her co-workers and how the fractiousness of those work relationships then translated when they were dependent on each other for survival, in Allison's internet and scholarly pursuits before the zombie apocalypse. Allison was a character who very much felt grounded in the real world and that made her an empathetic and realistic heroine.
Sadie, on the other hand, references her sister, Shane's mom, and her previous career as an illustrator, but it feels like character stats on a page, rather than a living, breathing life that Sadie once had. We don't really know anything about Sadie & Kat's relationship, whether they were fractious sisters or best friends; I don't think Kat's husband even ever gets a name, let alone how Sadie related to him. We don't hear or know of Sadie having any friends or lovers from before the Outbreak. And from the way she relates to and talks about Shane, it doesn't really give the impression that she'd ever even met Shane before Kat & her husband died and Sadie inherited him. And while I can handwave some of this with the fact that Sadie is incredibly awkward with people and may have always been, part of being able to buy in to a fictional character is in believing in the character, in believing in the way they fit into their world. But there's no sense of that in Sadie and even less so in the less developed secondary characters.
Another big problem for me was just the plot itself.
Ultimately, I think Sadie Walker is a book that tries to do too many things at once and doesn't really succeed with any of them. The story of an aunt presented with unwilling custody coming to terms with custody of her nephew, the rom-com love story (with zombies!) between Sadie and Whelan, the stranded on a desert island (with zombies!) story, the locked room murder mystery story, trapped at sea without a captain story, Cassandra the Zombie Queen…any one of these stories feels like it could have been big enough to expand into its own novel, but crammed all together, none of them has the space or time to expand to fullness, and so they feel more like outlines, tired tropes and wasted potential than anything else.
I think it would've been disappointing in any case, but as a follow up to Allison Hewitt is Trapped, it feels even more so. The flaws in Roux's writing carry over from the first book—a poor sense of visual and spatial orientation that becomes especially confusing/egregious in the action scenes that are the byproduct of any zombie story—but they're added to by new storytelling and stylistic problems.
The first problem is largely one of POV. Both Allison Hewit and Sadie Walker are told from first person POV, which limits what we see and know, as the readers, to what our protagonist tells us that they see and know. It's always a balancing act for an author because, in real life, we are not generally narrating our own adventures to ourselves or consciously cataloguing what we see…but in a story being told to us, we definitely need that kind of narration to understand what's happening. Tell too little and your reader doesn't know what's going on. Tell too much and you lose that feeling of being inside the character, inside their story…and thus you lose the audience. Roux definitely errs on the side of not describing much at all. We only have the vaguest ideas of what characters look like. We only have the vaguest idea of what their environment looks like or what Allison or Sadie see as they move through that environment. This becomes most noticeable in scenes of zombie attacks, where it feels most like being in a remote HQ having events narrated over a microphone by an operator that's under fire. I can grasp outcomes, but I have no real sense of what's actually happening on the ground. And, since zombies don't really communicate through witty banter or other dialogue, this lack of a visual component becomes critical.
I feel like it was worse in Sadie Walker because Allison Hewitt took place in relatively familiar locales: a bookstore, a city apartment, a college gymnasium, while the majority of events in Sadie Walker take place on a remote island in the Pacific NW. When you think of deserted island stories, they're largely tropical in nature, but those visual referents don't work for Sadie's environment and the lack of in-story referents made it all very hard to picture.
Similarly, both books lack a concrete sense of time's passage. In Allison Hewitt, there were at least dates on her blog entries that could be tied to the narrative, but Sadie Walker, again, lacks any similar navigation marks, which contributes to the vague sense of I don't know what's going on.
And then, more—or maybe most—damning, the character of Sadie is so much more self-absorbed and internal than Allison that it places a still greater limitation on what the reader sees. Allison had so much more interaction with the other characters in her story and, as a result, those characters felt more fleshed out and real. Whereas Sadie is so focused on herself—and sometimes Shane—that everyone else felt flat and shallow and undeveloped, despite the fact that, by the end of the story, they've spent months together. Shane and Andrea, the only other characters besides Sadie who are present pretty much from the book's start, are no clearer or more developed at the end of the book than they were when they were introduced. The only things I really know about Nate is that he's Black and a good shot with a gun. We hear a lot about Whelan's dimple and killer smile, but not really anything about who Whelan is, why Whelan is.
Of course, another thing that made this book so much more inaccessible and so much less enjoyable is that I don't really know anything about who Sadie is, from front to back. With Allison, I didn't always necessarily agree with the decisions she made through the course of the story, but they felt realistic (which, by far, was my favorite aspect of the book), consistent and understandable. Sadie, on the other hand, seems to blow in a different direction from chapter to chapter, with no reliable through line to make her actions make sense, let alone understandable.
At least some small part of this I feel is a lack of history on Sadie's (or anyone's) part. Roux tries to handwave Sadie's (or anyone's) personal history with mental and social admonitions not to talk about or dwell on the past, an explanation that wants to make sense, but a) in-story: people think about their pasts whether they really want to or not, and with as much time as Sadie spends in her own head, it doesn't make sense that her past wouldn't come up with everything else and b) out-story: the lack of any kind of history or reference to people's previous lives makes it feel like they just didn't exist before Roux started telling this story.
With Allison, a big part of her story was her relationship with her mom, being trapped with her co-workers and how the fractiousness of those work relationships then translated when they were dependent on each other for survival, in Allison's internet and scholarly pursuits before the zombie apocalypse. Allison was a character who very much felt grounded in the real world and that made her an empathetic and realistic heroine.
Sadie, on the other hand, references her sister, Shane's mom, and her previous career as an illustrator, but it feels like character stats on a page, rather than a living, breathing life that Sadie once had. We don't really know anything about Sadie & Kat's relationship, whether they were fractious sisters or best friends; I don't think Kat's husband even ever gets a name, let alone how Sadie related to him. We don't hear or know of Sadie having any friends or lovers from before the Outbreak. And from the way she relates to and talks about Shane, it doesn't really give the impression that she'd ever even met Shane before Kat & her husband died and Sadie inherited him. And while I can handwave some of this with the fact that Sadie is incredibly awkward with people and may have always been, part of being able to buy in to a fictional character is in believing in the character, in believing in the way they fit into their world. But there's no sense of that in Sadie and even less so in the less developed secondary characters.
Another big problem for me was just the plot itself.
Ultimately, I think Sadie Walker is a book that tries to do too many things at once and doesn't really succeed with any of them. The story of an aunt presented with unwilling custody coming to terms with custody of her nephew, the rom-com love story (with zombies!) between Sadie and Whelan, the stranded on a desert island (with zombies!) story, the locked room murder mystery story, trapped at sea without a captain story, Cassandra the Zombie Queen…any one of these stories feels like it could have been big enough to expand into its own novel, but crammed all together, none of them has the space or time to expand to fullness, and so they feel more like outlines, tired tropes and wasted potential than anything else.
April 25, 2012
Zombies in the water? Holy crap on a cracker. I am sufficiently creeped out and thoroughly impressed at Sadie Walker is Stranded. It's, dare I say it, the best zombie book I've read so far and I have read quite a lot of really good zombie books already. It's engaging, it's entertaining and most of all it's not predictable AT ALL.
I was hooked from the first sentence up to the last. The fact that it ties in perfectly with Allison Hewitt is Trapped is a great bonus. However, Sadie's story does not have the feel of a sequel. It stands alone so perfectly on its own.
From the moment Sadie was running back to her apartment to check on Shane, to the time she was pulling open the vault door, she remained true to her character. She had a driven, singular intent to keep her nephew safe and spared from further trauma. Everything else, hinged on that one paramount goal.
And oh boy, talk about left-field zingers... I did NOT see that twist coming.
Definitely a must read for every zombie literature aficionado.
I was hooked from the first sentence up to the last. The fact that it ties in perfectly with Allison Hewitt is Trapped is a great bonus. However, Sadie's story does not have the feel of a sequel. It stands alone so perfectly on its own.
From the moment Sadie was running back to her apartment to check on Shane, to the time she was pulling open the vault door, she remained true to her character. She had a driven, singular intent to keep her nephew safe and spared from further trauma. Everything else, hinged on that one paramount goal.
And oh boy, talk about left-field zingers... I did NOT see that twist coming.
Definitely a must read for every zombie literature aficionado.
August 17, 2012
This is not really a sequel to Allison Hewitt is Trapped, more of a book set in the same world, a bit later. Nor is it quite as good as the first book, it sort of falls into all the trappings that the original managed to escape, particularly and most annoyingly it often reads like a chick lit and dedicates a bit too much time to romance considering the circumstances. Allison is Sadie's heroine and she tries to act accordingly, but often gets sidetracked by feelings, emotions and plain lack of logic. She's not as strong or kickass as Allison, but she tries and overall the book works on some of the same levels as the original...good pacing, interesting engaging characters ans fairly realistic portrail of real human beings (not archetypes and cliches) trying to survive the zombies, there is even a bit of mystery going on. Quick read. Recommended.
August 20, 2015
3.5 Stars
SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED is the second book in Madeleine Roux’s Zombie series, and as with Allison Hewitt is Trapped I was drawn into the story from pretty much the first chapter. There’s a fair amount of action, emotional and romantic elements, and of course zombies.
However, it did take a while for it to feel like a zombie book. There isn’t much zombie action until at least 100 pages in and even then it is only small pockets of zombie action. I wish there was more. Allison Hewitt is Trapped is full to the brim with zombieness, and combined with the human aspect, was perfectly balanced. Unfortunately SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED isn’t quite so balanced, and therefore didn’t rock my socks off. However, it was still a really good read.
Sadie is looking after her nephew, Shane, since her sister, Kat and her husband were killed. He’s everything she’s got and she feels the weight of this on her shoulders and takes bringing him up seriously. In a world full of zombies, you’d think that the united fear and loathing of these creatures would pull everyone together, but you’d be wrong. There are still evil people doing evil things and unfortunately she finds out she’s dating one of them. He kidnaps her nephew for cash and tries to sell him to another couple while their town’s borders are breached with thousands of zombies. Luckily Sadie and her friend manage to find her nephew, where upon they all board a small boat to escape the ever growing zombie horde and head out to sea.
Sadie’s worry at being a good ‘parent� plays on her mind a lot, which I found endearing at first. But she constantly proclaims how bad she is at it and keeps apologising to her nephew for being such a failure. This got irritating after a while. As well as not being good for her nephew to hear, she doesn’t do anything particularly wrong and so I couldn’t really understand where she was coming from, and I found myself just getting annoyed at all her self declarations of bad parenting.
Shane is very quiet and hardly speaks. I thought it was down to losing his parents, the zombies etc and that we would see his character grow as the story moved along, but it didn’t. He doesn’t engage in much conversation, with Sadie or the others in the group, although he does enjoy looking at the drawings Sadie’s does for him. However, he doesn’t really act like a young boy and most of the time sits about staring. The descriptions of his actions, facial expressions and mannerisms made me feel that maybe he is slightly autistic.
Sadie wasn’t as strong a character as Allison Hewitt. She isn’t very consistent and is all over the place. One minute a frightened women who relies on others to protect her and her nephew, and the next minute acting like Lara Croft, brandishing a bow and arrow and heading off into unknown forests to look for food only to, predictably, come upon a few zombies.
There is also a bit too much repetition too. There was a lot of Sadie goes to sleep only to be woken by something bad. I think I counted four times this technique was used and for me this is too much.
There is a lot right with this book too. There are a few really good stand out characters, and the romantic element, although not as moving and poignant as Allison Hewitt, is nice. The action scenes that are present are fast-paced and exciting.
There is one particular scene that is really chilling. Sadie is taking a much needed bath in the Sea, she is enjoying it until the inevitable happens:
²¹²Ô»åâ€�
After a while at sea, and a few scary moments, the survivors find themselves an island. They are not alone� Things move along at a much better pace from this moment and there is even an interesting mystery element that I actually couldn’t work out, which was refreshing. New characters are introduced, and so is Sadie’s love interest. There’s a couple of predictable, stereotypical characters too, including the bitch from hell, a glamour puss, and the weak one. But there are also rivalries and jealousies, as well as tender moments, so all in all an interesting bunch.
VERDICT:
Although I had a few issues with SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED and didn’t find it as compelling and emotional as Allison Hewitt is Trapped, overall I really enjoyed it. I hope there will be more to come from Madeleine Roux and her Zombie series.
SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED is the second book in Madeleine Roux’s Zombie series, and as with Allison Hewitt is Trapped I was drawn into the story from pretty much the first chapter. There’s a fair amount of action, emotional and romantic elements, and of course zombies.
However, it did take a while for it to feel like a zombie book. There isn’t much zombie action until at least 100 pages in and even then it is only small pockets of zombie action. I wish there was more. Allison Hewitt is Trapped is full to the brim with zombieness, and combined with the human aspect, was perfectly balanced. Unfortunately SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED isn’t quite so balanced, and therefore didn’t rock my socks off. However, it was still a really good read.
Sadie is looking after her nephew, Shane, since her sister, Kat and her husband were killed. He’s everything she’s got and she feels the weight of this on her shoulders and takes bringing him up seriously. In a world full of zombies, you’d think that the united fear and loathing of these creatures would pull everyone together, but you’d be wrong. There are still evil people doing evil things and unfortunately she finds out she’s dating one of them. He kidnaps her nephew for cash and tries to sell him to another couple while their town’s borders are breached with thousands of zombies. Luckily Sadie and her friend manage to find her nephew, where upon they all board a small boat to escape the ever growing zombie horde and head out to sea.
Sadie’s worry at being a good ‘parent� plays on her mind a lot, which I found endearing at first. But she constantly proclaims how bad she is at it and keeps apologising to her nephew for being such a failure. This got irritating after a while. As well as not being good for her nephew to hear, she doesn’t do anything particularly wrong and so I couldn’t really understand where she was coming from, and I found myself just getting annoyed at all her self declarations of bad parenting.
Shane is very quiet and hardly speaks. I thought it was down to losing his parents, the zombies etc and that we would see his character grow as the story moved along, but it didn’t. He doesn’t engage in much conversation, with Sadie or the others in the group, although he does enjoy looking at the drawings Sadie’s does for him. However, he doesn’t really act like a young boy and most of the time sits about staring. The descriptions of his actions, facial expressions and mannerisms made me feel that maybe he is slightly autistic.
Sadie wasn’t as strong a character as Allison Hewitt. She isn’t very consistent and is all over the place. One minute a frightened women who relies on others to protect her and her nephew, and the next minute acting like Lara Croft, brandishing a bow and arrow and heading off into unknown forests to look for food only to, predictably, come upon a few zombies.
There is also a bit too much repetition too. There was a lot of Sadie goes to sleep only to be woken by something bad. I think I counted four times this technique was used and for me this is too much.
There is a lot right with this book too. There are a few really good stand out characters, and the romantic element, although not as moving and poignant as Allison Hewitt, is nice. The action scenes that are present are fast-paced and exciting.
There is one particular scene that is really chilling. Sadie is taking a much needed bath in the Sea, she is enjoying it until the inevitable happens:
“Okay,� I said after less than a minute of splashing around, “I need to get out�. preferably now, before the blood freezes in my veins.�
The railing above me was awfully quiet. I glanced up. Andrea was gone, nowhere to be found. She had taken Shane with her. “Son of a bitch,� I shouted. “This isn’t funny! Andrea! Andrea? Shane?�
There was a commotion on the other side of the boat, shrieking and screaming and the sound of arms beating the water. My heart sank like a lead ball to my numb little toes.
Something was in the water.
²¹²Ô»åâ€�
Here’s one thing I’m now damn certain of: being chased by water zombies around a boat can turn a landlubber like me into Michael fucking Phelps on steroids. I didn’t look back, knowing I might catch a glimpse of one of the undead coming for me�
Each of my clumsy strokes was punctuated with a girlish squeak of hysteria. A thin rope ladder swung back and forth, just a few yards ahead. Moritz, bless his heart, was already over the edge of the ladder, waiting for me to get close. He was just in time. Something unnaturally strong tugged on my ankle, hard, nearly pulling me under.
After a while at sea, and a few scary moments, the survivors find themselves an island. They are not alone� Things move along at a much better pace from this moment and there is even an interesting mystery element that I actually couldn’t work out, which was refreshing. New characters are introduced, and so is Sadie’s love interest. There’s a couple of predictable, stereotypical characters too, including the bitch from hell, a glamour puss, and the weak one. But there are also rivalries and jealousies, as well as tender moments, so all in all an interesting bunch.
VERDICT:
Although I had a few issues with SADIE WALKER IS STRANDED and didn’t find it as compelling and emotional as Allison Hewitt is Trapped, overall I really enjoyed it. I hope there will be more to come from Madeleine Roux and her Zombie series.
August 5, 2017
This time Allison isn't around, we have a new girl in town and her name is Sadie!
This book wasn't as good as Allison's, but it definitely picked up near the middle/end, and had some really great parts.
The previous book was from Allison POV and in this book that is Sadie Walker. The book still takes place in the same world as Allison's. In fact, Sadie is a big fan of Allison. I know that throughout the book I was hoping that these two would meet. But after a while I just didn't have the hope any more. With the way the story goes... But thankfully there is another event that does happen, that made me really happy.
Before I start with the good I have to mention the blurb. I was really excited about the blurb. Sadie goes to find her nephew who has been kidnapped (apparently there is a crazy market for orphaned kids), and I found myself eager to read the book to see her traverse this dangerous world full of zombies and crazies to find her nephew. Sadly, and I don't consider this a spoiler (since it happens so early on), the whole kidnapping thing is done with a wheeze or a sneeze. The book starts off calmly (well as calm as one can get), then the action starts, and at page 25.... the kidnapping is over. Yep, page 25 of 343-ish pages! Isn't that absolutely fucking amazing? So I am removing -0.5 stars from the total because of this. Can't people just write a good blurb for once?
Because the rest of the book is about her fleeing, landing on a creep-fest of an island, some romance (because why the heck not), a lot of creepiness, of course our friends the zombies are also there (did you know they can swim? NOPENOPENOPENOPE!). I loved how the normal days got sliced in pieces by death, by zombies, by something far more evil than zombies lurking in the darkness. This may sound weird, but I loved how there were normal days, just filled with eating, foraging, some happy things, something to counter all the death normally so prevalent in this world.
Yep, our group has bigger problems this time. Not only are there zombies, and they can swim (thus an island isn't safe any more), but we have something eviler. It is a typical trope in zombie books. You shouldn't always fear the zombies, humans are generally worse. Trust is something you don't give to everyone. I am glad that the author added a big villain, it gave the book even more creepiness. Who the villain was? Mm, I have to say I kept guessing until the end. I had some suspicions, but with the world being as it is... anyone could have suffered a too big of a trauma and ended up craycray.
The reveal was done really well, and I was oooohhiinng and screaming at our crew to just effing run away. And fast.
The romance? Eh, I wasn't that happy at times. But then again, I am not a big fan of love triangles. And we do have one in this book. Moritz > Sadie < Whelan. Of course you could quickly see who would be the true couple, and I was happy with who that turned out to be. They are the best match with Sadie! Though I didn't like how they first attracted the attention of Sadie (really, that was just stupid).
Sadie... mm, it took me a while to like her. She has a big attitude and an even bigger mouth. Makes some stupid horror cliche decisions, judges people very harsh (for just having big breasts and juicy on their ass for example). But she is also a great aunt (at least she tries), she can draw (I wish we could have seen some pictures), and she won't give up even when faced with some pretty shitty things.
Sadie's best friend, and also Whelan's best friend? I loved both of them. They were just too awesome. I wouldn't mind a book from their POV.
Also, like any zombie book, don't get too attached to characters.
All in all, definitely still a book that I enjoyed, and that I hope to read again one day (maybe in combination of a re-read of Allison's book). And I hope that we will have another book in this series one day.
Review first posted at
This book wasn't as good as Allison's, but it definitely picked up near the middle/end, and had some really great parts.
The previous book was from Allison POV and in this book that is Sadie Walker. The book still takes place in the same world as Allison's. In fact, Sadie is a big fan of Allison. I know that throughout the book I was hoping that these two would meet. But after a while I just didn't have the hope any more. With the way the story goes... But thankfully there is another event that does happen, that made me really happy.
Before I start with the good I have to mention the blurb. I was really excited about the blurb. Sadie goes to find her nephew who has been kidnapped (apparently there is a crazy market for orphaned kids), and I found myself eager to read the book to see her traverse this dangerous world full of zombies and crazies to find her nephew. Sadly, and I don't consider this a spoiler (since it happens so early on), the whole kidnapping thing is done with a wheeze or a sneeze. The book starts off calmly (well as calm as one can get), then the action starts, and at page 25.... the kidnapping is over. Yep, page 25 of 343-ish pages! Isn't that absolutely fucking amazing? So I am removing -0.5 stars from the total because of this. Can't people just write a good blurb for once?
Because the rest of the book is about her fleeing, landing on a creep-fest of an island, some romance (because why the heck not), a lot of creepiness, of course our friends the zombies are also there (did you know they can swim? NOPENOPENOPENOPE!). I loved how the normal days got sliced in pieces by death, by zombies, by something far more evil than zombies lurking in the darkness. This may sound weird, but I loved how there were normal days, just filled with eating, foraging, some happy things, something to counter all the death normally so prevalent in this world.
Yep, our group has bigger problems this time. Not only are there zombies, and they can swim (thus an island isn't safe any more), but we have something eviler. It is a typical trope in zombie books. You shouldn't always fear the zombies, humans are generally worse. Trust is something you don't give to everyone. I am glad that the author added a big villain, it gave the book even more creepiness. Who the villain was? Mm, I have to say I kept guessing until the end. I had some suspicions, but with the world being as it is... anyone could have suffered a too big of a trauma and ended up craycray.
The reveal was done really well, and I was oooohhiinng and screaming at our crew to just effing run away. And fast.
The romance? Eh, I wasn't that happy at times. But then again, I am not a big fan of love triangles. And we do have one in this book. Moritz > Sadie < Whelan. Of course you could quickly see who would be the true couple, and I was happy with who that turned out to be. They are the best match with Sadie! Though I didn't like how they first attracted the attention of Sadie (really, that was just stupid).
Sadie... mm, it took me a while to like her. She has a big attitude and an even bigger mouth. Makes some stupid horror cliche decisions, judges people very harsh (for just having big breasts and juicy on their ass for example). But she is also a great aunt (at least she tries), she can draw (I wish we could have seen some pictures), and she won't give up even when faced with some pretty shitty things.
Sadie's best friend, and also Whelan's best friend? I loved both of them. They were just too awesome. I wouldn't mind a book from their POV.
Also, like any zombie book, don't get too attached to characters.
All in all, definitely still a book that I enjoyed, and that I hope to read again one day (maybe in combination of a re-read of Allison's book). And I hope that we will have another book in this series one day.
Review first posted at
January 19, 2012
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So, what do you do if your 8 year old nephew is kidnapped by your supposed boyfriend and his group of thugs, intent on selling him to the highest bidder? Oh wait, also, this group of idiots, intent on making their escape, brings down part of the wall around Seattle that’s keeping the walking dead out, flooding the city with moaning, groaning flesh eaters. If you’re Sadie Walker, you rescue your nephew and catch a ride on the last boat out of the harbor, intent on getting you and your nephew, to safety. Sadie, along with her nephew, Shane, and her good friend Andrea (one of the few people left that she trusts), know it’s going to be tough going, but they’re hopeful that they’ll find safety, maybe in the San Juan islands. It’s not the best plan, but it’s the only one they have. When zombies strike, and they run aground ahead of schedule, they’re forced to make camp and hope the area isn’t infested with zombies. Desperate to reestablish trust with Shane, Sadie is determined to make the best of a bad situation.
Bad situation doesn’t begin to cover it. Picking up 7 months after the outbreak that caused zombie hordes to decimate humankind, every day is a struggle, and artist Sadie is finding it hard to leave her old life behind. Her nephew depends on her, however, and that’s a big part of what keeps her going, even in the face of pretty crappy odds. Aside from the zombies, there are a few members of their little group that she’s not sure she can trust, and when they meet another group on the other side of the island, things really begin to get interesting. So, when the going gets tough, Sadie asks herself: What would Allison do?
The Allison in question is Allison Hewitt from Allison Hewitt is Trapped, the first zombie novel by Madeleine Roux. I loved Allison Hewitt, so I had high hopes for Sadie Walker, and wasn’t disappointed. In Sadie Walker, Allison is become a folk hero, and is an inspiration to Sadie when things are looking especially bleak. Ms. Roux’s writing is top notch, and she manages to take the zombie genre and keep it alive and kicking, so to speak. There’s plenty of zombie killin� action, and the author doesn’t shy away from throwing plenty of adversity at our heroine and her friends. Sadie is a tough cookie, but her vulnerability does shine through, especially when it comes to her nephew, and trusting others. When a rather hunky former cop tests the bounderies of that trust, Sadie finds her priorities shifting, and when a very human danger threatens her new “tribe�, she’ll have to dig deep and find the strength to save her friends. This is such a great series, and near impossible to put down. I really love how the author tackles the small details of survival and what the aftermath of such a horrendous event would be like, while creating tense scenarios among well rounded and rich characterizations. Horror and UF fans will find much to love with Sadie Walker. Just like Allison Hewitt, this one’s a keeper!
So, what do you do if your 8 year old nephew is kidnapped by your supposed boyfriend and his group of thugs, intent on selling him to the highest bidder? Oh wait, also, this group of idiots, intent on making their escape, brings down part of the wall around Seattle that’s keeping the walking dead out, flooding the city with moaning, groaning flesh eaters. If you’re Sadie Walker, you rescue your nephew and catch a ride on the last boat out of the harbor, intent on getting you and your nephew, to safety. Sadie, along with her nephew, Shane, and her good friend Andrea (one of the few people left that she trusts), know it’s going to be tough going, but they’re hopeful that they’ll find safety, maybe in the San Juan islands. It’s not the best plan, but it’s the only one they have. When zombies strike, and they run aground ahead of schedule, they’re forced to make camp and hope the area isn’t infested with zombies. Desperate to reestablish trust with Shane, Sadie is determined to make the best of a bad situation.
Bad situation doesn’t begin to cover it. Picking up 7 months after the outbreak that caused zombie hordes to decimate humankind, every day is a struggle, and artist Sadie is finding it hard to leave her old life behind. Her nephew depends on her, however, and that’s a big part of what keeps her going, even in the face of pretty crappy odds. Aside from the zombies, there are a few members of their little group that she’s not sure she can trust, and when they meet another group on the other side of the island, things really begin to get interesting. So, when the going gets tough, Sadie asks herself: What would Allison do?
The Allison in question is Allison Hewitt from Allison Hewitt is Trapped, the first zombie novel by Madeleine Roux. I loved Allison Hewitt, so I had high hopes for Sadie Walker, and wasn’t disappointed. In Sadie Walker, Allison is become a folk hero, and is an inspiration to Sadie when things are looking especially bleak. Ms. Roux’s writing is top notch, and she manages to take the zombie genre and keep it alive and kicking, so to speak. There’s plenty of zombie killin� action, and the author doesn’t shy away from throwing plenty of adversity at our heroine and her friends. Sadie is a tough cookie, but her vulnerability does shine through, especially when it comes to her nephew, and trusting others. When a rather hunky former cop tests the bounderies of that trust, Sadie finds her priorities shifting, and when a very human danger threatens her new “tribe�, she’ll have to dig deep and find the strength to save her friends. This is such a great series, and near impossible to put down. I really love how the author tackles the small details of survival and what the aftermath of such a horrendous event would be like, while creating tense scenarios among well rounded and rich characterizations. Horror and UF fans will find much to love with Sadie Walker. Just like Allison Hewitt, this one’s a keeper!
July 6, 2012
Sadie Walker is Stranded is not a direct sequel to Allison Hewitt is trapped, but is set in the same universe (without using the blog gimmick), and there are frequent references to Allison, who has become basically a folk hero because of the blog that was the first book.
Sadie is one of the people living behind the walls of the Citadel (aka Seattle, which was sealed off after the zombie uprising a number of months back, as detailed in the previous book). She's an artist and a surrogate mother to her young nephew, Shane, trying to get by, when her scumbag boyfriend sells her nephew to cultists. The cultists (much like the first book) open up the city to the zombies, and in the confusion, Sadie kills the boyfriend, teams up with a friend to rescue Shane, and make it to the docks where her friend's uncle has a boat. They make it away, but being on a boat on the sea isn't necessarily any safer than being on land.
And this all happens in the first thirty pages.
I'm glad the author dropped the blog format, although it made the first book stand out from the crowd of Zombie books. I actually like the protagonist (although having her being able to cobble together a working bow and arrow set on an island is streching credibility a little). The kid is actually believable in how a kid who has survived the months since his parents died in the zombie apocalypse might react.
The romances were a little on the cheesy side, with one started, dropped, and replaced after they reach the 'safety' of an island, where the stories turns into 'And Then There Were None.'
It's quite clear from the story that the author is very much into books (duh) and art, to the point of being almost intrusive. Still, it's a lot better than most zombie books that focus on gun nuts and survivalists. I'll certainly be checking out her next book.
Sadie is one of the people living behind the walls of the Citadel (aka Seattle, which was sealed off after the zombie uprising a number of months back, as detailed in the previous book). She's an artist and a surrogate mother to her young nephew, Shane, trying to get by, when her scumbag boyfriend sells her nephew to cultists. The cultists (much like the first book) open up the city to the zombies, and in the confusion, Sadie kills the boyfriend, teams up with a friend to rescue Shane, and make it to the docks where her friend's uncle has a boat. They make it away, but being on a boat on the sea isn't necessarily any safer than being on land.
And this all happens in the first thirty pages.
I'm glad the author dropped the blog format, although it made the first book stand out from the crowd of Zombie books. I actually like the protagonist (although having her being able to cobble together a working bow and arrow set on an island is streching credibility a little). The kid is actually believable in how a kid who has survived the months since his parents died in the zombie apocalypse might react.
The romances were a little on the cheesy side, with one started, dropped, and replaced after they reach the 'safety' of an island, where the stories turns into 'And Then There Were None.'
It's quite clear from the story that the author is very much into books (duh) and art, to the point of being almost intrusive. Still, it's a lot better than most zombie books that focus on gun nuts and survivalists. I'll certainly be checking out her next book.
January 22, 2012
Why read: Received for review
What impressed me: I loved Allison Hewitt is Trapped and was ecstatic to hear there was going to be a sequel. I really liked that Sadie Walker is Stranded didn't follow the aftermath of Allison's story, but rather was a wholly separate story of a survivor who had heard of Allison's fight against the zombies. I liked that when things got tough for Sadie, she asked herself "What would Allison Hewitt do?" It sort of solidified Allison as the source of hope for other survivors that she seemed through her blog in her own book. I also liked the will they or won't they vibe of the romance between Sadie and Whelan. There was an interesting mystery in Stranded, but I actually found the entire living situation leading up to the resolution to be completely fascinating.
What disappointed me: The two major settings, at sea and on a secluded island, didn't quite work for me. I tend to lean more towards zombies in civilization. And I didn't completely love the resolution of the mystery. It was surprising and sort of shocking, but I guess I had a hard time believing it was plausible.
Recommended: Definitely. Roux has a gift for writing the human experience during a zombie apocalypse.
Continue series: If there are more, I'll definitely be reading them.
What impressed me: I loved Allison Hewitt is Trapped and was ecstatic to hear there was going to be a sequel. I really liked that Sadie Walker is Stranded didn't follow the aftermath of Allison's story, but rather was a wholly separate story of a survivor who had heard of Allison's fight against the zombies. I liked that when things got tough for Sadie, she asked herself "What would Allison Hewitt do?" It sort of solidified Allison as the source of hope for other survivors that she seemed through her blog in her own book. I also liked the will they or won't they vibe of the romance between Sadie and Whelan. There was an interesting mystery in Stranded, but I actually found the entire living situation leading up to the resolution to be completely fascinating.
What disappointed me: The two major settings, at sea and on a secluded island, didn't quite work for me. I tend to lean more towards zombies in civilization. And I didn't completely love the resolution of the mystery. It was surprising and sort of shocking, but I guess I had a hard time believing it was plausible.
Recommended: Definitely. Roux has a gift for writing the human experience during a zombie apocalypse.
Continue series: If there are more, I'll definitely be reading them.
September 20, 2013
Oh, man. This book annoyed the crap out of me.
Whereas Allison Hewitt is Trapped was sort of charming in its epistolary/bloggy way, Sadie Walker was downright irksome.
The close first person telling was the same, making it feel like we were reading a journal or a blog, even though that was not the case with this book.
And…Sadie herself was kind of a dumbass. I actually wanted to slap the shit out of her on several occasions - few (if any) of her actions made sense.
I DO enjoy the water zombies, though, so there's that.
Oh, and the end was fucking ridiculous tacked on bullshit that just made me howl with frustration.
Blergh.
Whereas Allison Hewitt is Trapped was sort of charming in its epistolary/bloggy way, Sadie Walker was downright irksome.
The close first person telling was the same, making it feel like we were reading a journal or a blog, even though that was not the case with this book.
And…Sadie herself was kind of a dumbass. I actually wanted to slap the shit out of her on several occasions - few (if any) of her actions made sense.
I DO enjoy the water zombies, though, so there's that.
Oh, and the end was fucking ridiculous tacked on bullshit that just made me howl with frustration.
Blergh.
September 23, 2019
Months ago, Seattle fell to a zombie apocalypse but the city was cleared out and a protective barrier constructed around it. A grim life of handouts, hard work and black market operations are the new normal for survivors. Now religious cult members have breached that barrier to let the zombies back in and everyone has to flee. Sadie and her nephew Shane are lucky to get two places on a friend's uncle's boat and they get out of the city. But danger is all around them and they decide to try and settle on nearby islands to build a safer future.
I liked Allison's story because I liked her and her friends but I really didn't like Sadie. She is a pretty cold character who seems to have no relationship at all with Shane until she almost loses him and then she becomes obsessive about him. She isn't very pleasant to the other survivors on the boat, and because Carl stuffed her, she seems happy at the prospect of running over anyone who gets in the way of her plans if it comes to it, even her friend Andrea who saved her life by getting her and Shane out of the city. Sadie just isn't a nice person yet of course every man she meets after the apocalypse seems to fall for her. It made me roll my eyes frequently. It is also a pretty dull story as it just seems to meander on with Sadie obsessing over Shane's safety, Allison's story and her own drawings. The constant conversations about art and Allison's exploits with Moritz just left me realising that Sadie has no personality of her own and she is just boring to read about. With the exception of Arturo, the other characters are just dull and of little value. Having checked out a few reviews since, I can cheerfully say that Sadie becomes a grade A bitch so I'm glad I quit this book pretty early! This feels like the kind of book where the author was asked to do a sequel but had no real idea of what story she wanted to do, hence Allison gets a starring role even though she isn't there and Sadie is a non entity. I didn't enjoy this at all.
I liked Allison's story because I liked her and her friends but I really didn't like Sadie. She is a pretty cold character who seems to have no relationship at all with Shane until she almost loses him and then she becomes obsessive about him. She isn't very pleasant to the other survivors on the boat, and because Carl stuffed her, she seems happy at the prospect of running over anyone who gets in the way of her plans if it comes to it, even her friend Andrea who saved her life by getting her and Shane out of the city. Sadie just isn't a nice person yet of course every man she meets after the apocalypse seems to fall for her. It made me roll my eyes frequently. It is also a pretty dull story as it just seems to meander on with Sadie obsessing over Shane's safety, Allison's story and her own drawings. The constant conversations about art and Allison's exploits with Moritz just left me realising that Sadie has no personality of her own and she is just boring to read about. With the exception of Arturo, the other characters are just dull and of little value. Having checked out a few reviews since, I can cheerfully say that Sadie becomes a grade A bitch so I'm glad I quit this book pretty early! This feels like the kind of book where the author was asked to do a sequel but had no real idea of what story she wanted to do, hence Allison gets a starring role even though she isn't there and Sadie is a non entity. I didn't enjoy this at all.
November 11, 2019
Just like book 1 I was kept on edge 'til the very last page. I wish I could go back to before having read this book and read it all over again. Why aren't there more books in the series??? Before reading this book I was expecting it to be less interesting and great than AHIT. But oh boi. Was I wrong. If anything I even liked this book more than the first one. Sadie is one ass-kicking badass. It never comes the way you expect in this series. Loving it so so so much and will probably sit down to write a letter to Madeleine Roux, BEGGING her to write a third novel in the series!
November 1, 2017
Personal Response
I somewhat enjoyed reading Sadie Walker is Stranded. The book is about Sadie and a group of survivors stranded on an island off the coast of Seattle, Washington. I like how the author took her own twist on zombies by having under water zombies or Sadie would call aqua-zombies. I did not like how the book was so slow in the beginning when she is in seattle. But when she gets on the boat and gets stranded on the island I could not stop reading when people started disappearing left and right.
Plot
The book starts out with Sadie in Seattle living “normal� life after the outbreak. But when the one zombie finds away into the city mad panic break loose. Sadie’s boyfriend Carl tries to kidnap Shane but Sadie pushes Carl down stairs and kills him. Sadie gets on a boat that belongs to her friend's uncle, Uncle Arturo. Uncle Arturo gets taking over board by aqua zombies. During a storm they lose control of the boat and crash on a island. When they are on the island Sadie finds these survivors with food, water and weapons they meet up. But then strange things start happening with people disappearing
Characterization
The book is told in first person of Sadie Walker. She experiences a lot of emotions though at the book of have to protect Shane her nephew and to fall somewhat in love with a former police officer Whelan.
Setting
For most of the book it takes place on an island off the coast of Seattle, Washington. On that island are some fishing cabins and a little blue house in the middle of the island. The book time period is 2010 this is relevant because there is Uncle Arturo's boat is use to get out of seattle.
Thematic connection
The most evident theme is having courage and strength to keep on fighting and not giving up when everything around Sadie is failing. Sadie has the courage to not let her new friends get eaten alive by zombie and to turn back and save from getting eaten.
Recommandation
This book is not for everyone it has its ups and down on being very boring or having you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend this book to people who want a different take on a zombie apocalypse. I think every student in school will be suitable for this book because of the relation of Shane being eight and Noah being a teenager.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2013
This is the follow-up to Allison Hewitt is Trapped. It takes place after the initial zombie outbreak and it features a different cast of characters.
Nutshell blurb: The city of Seattle has been walled up to protect the inhabitants from the zombies that roam outside. The wall becomes breached, forcing Sadie, her nephew and her friend to flee.
I absolutely loved the first book but this one fell flat for me. I didn't like Sadie AT ALL and I found that there were far too many references to other books, films, tv shows and various aspects of popular culture. I understood most of them but the generations after me are unlikely to know what the heck she's talking about. It's pretty annoying and gets old after a while.
The action is fantastic and it's an exciting story but characterisation is everything to me. It's not good to wish for the main character to get eaten by zombies.
The main character continuously makes stupid decisions but tells herself that she'll never make the same mistakes again. But she does. She makes the stupidest decision at the very end (which I won't spoil for you) and nobody calls her on it. If I lived in a zombie-filled world and one of my camp-mates made this decision, I would consider killing him/her if I ever saw him/her again. But no one seems to care that she did what she did. It's incredibly frustrating to read things like this.
She's also very helpless and relies on others to continually save her.
The author has committed a cardinal sin in my eyes and I feel compelled to point it out.
Please repeat after me: We DO NOT talk trash about another author's writing in our own work.
Of what do you speak, you might ask?
Well, I'll tell you. There's an entire conversation where the characters discuss (and bash) Twilight.
Now, I know that it's super-cool to not like Twilight or anything by Stephanie Meyer and that there have been flame wars all over the internet as to whether or not it's "good". But does that really matter? Are we all not entitled to like or dislike a book according to our own personal tastes?
There's a pettiness and arrogance to immortalising your hatred of someone else's work in your own novel. You're pretty much letting the world know that you think that you're more talented and that your story is better than that of the person you're slating. That's not cool or edgy. It's just kind of mean.
I was really disappointed when I got to that section. I feel that Ms. Roux's writing is quirky and fun and that it can stand on its own without needing to bash another author's work.
Why did you do it, Madeleine? Why????
It completely coloured my perception of this book. From that point on I felt that I was reading the work of a bully; someone who tears others down to make herself look better. Is she really that kind of person? I don't know, but it really struck a chord with me. I'm not sure if I will read the next one when it comes out.
Nutshell blurb: The city of Seattle has been walled up to protect the inhabitants from the zombies that roam outside. The wall becomes breached, forcing Sadie, her nephew and her friend to flee.
I absolutely loved the first book but this one fell flat for me. I didn't like Sadie AT ALL and I found that there were far too many references to other books, films, tv shows and various aspects of popular culture. I understood most of them but the generations after me are unlikely to know what the heck she's talking about. It's pretty annoying and gets old after a while.
The action is fantastic and it's an exciting story but characterisation is everything to me. It's not good to wish for the main character to get eaten by zombies.
The main character continuously makes stupid decisions but tells herself that she'll never make the same mistakes again. But she does. She makes the stupidest decision at the very end (which I won't spoil for you) and nobody calls her on it. If I lived in a zombie-filled world and one of my camp-mates made this decision, I would consider killing him/her if I ever saw him/her again. But no one seems to care that she did what she did. It's incredibly frustrating to read things like this.
She's also very helpless and relies on others to continually save her.
The author has committed a cardinal sin in my eyes and I feel compelled to point it out.
Please repeat after me: We DO NOT talk trash about another author's writing in our own work.
Of what do you speak, you might ask?
Well, I'll tell you. There's an entire conversation where the characters discuss (and bash) Twilight.
Now, I know that it's super-cool to not like Twilight or anything by Stephanie Meyer and that there have been flame wars all over the internet as to whether or not it's "good". But does that really matter? Are we all not entitled to like or dislike a book according to our own personal tastes?
There's a pettiness and arrogance to immortalising your hatred of someone else's work in your own novel. You're pretty much letting the world know that you think that you're more talented and that your story is better than that of the person you're slating. That's not cool or edgy. It's just kind of mean.
I was really disappointed when I got to that section. I feel that Ms. Roux's writing is quirky and fun and that it can stand on its own without needing to bash another author's work.
Why did you do it, Madeleine? Why????
It completely coloured my perception of this book. From that point on I felt that I was reading the work of a bully; someone who tears others down to make herself look better. Is she really that kind of person? I don't know, but it really struck a chord with me. I'm not sure if I will read the next one when it comes out.
June 2, 2012
Madeleine Roux follow-up novel to Allison Hewit is a slight let down and doesn't really take the mythos of zombies any further or expand on anything that we have learned so far from the first novel.
The story opens up in a cordoned off city and conditions are less than bearable but at least they are safe. When Sadie's nephew goes missing, the action starts at quite a brisk pace with new characters added to the mix. The characters are quite stereotypical and lack soul and seem to be added to give victims instead of depth.
The second act deals with survival as the group find themselves stranded but unfortuantely, the author lacks the writing style to make the urgency feel dangerous and there is no underlying tension to feed off of. At one point, I was hoping that the characters would die or just commit suicide as nothing really happens.
As the third act unravels, the story does pick up momentum but sometimes becomes muddled in a third half action sequence that sometimes captivates and often falls flat. I do give credit to the Ten Little Indians scenario that develops and an interesting plot twist that garners this book to earn a third star in my estimation.
Some of the flaws from the first novel do carry itself over to this novel. It is written in the first person so therefore you know that the main character will make it at the end because how else is it written. Alison Hewit was a bit more cleaver as it was written as diary entries and was structured so you were never sure if she will make it or not. This is more straight forward and written in a Hunger Game/Twilight fashion as the character talks you through her story, you know that she will be in danger but will always pull through.
The other flaw as with the first is that the time frame is set two years ago, if the author had foresight in her novel and set it 20 years in the future, the book would have more legs but setting it in and around 2009, gives the book more of a fantasy quality instead of a science fiction/horror feel that it should.
Ms Roux sophomore follow-up lacks ingenuity that could have been played a bit more realistically and with more depth. It does feel rushed and somehow lends itself to a Romero's version of Gilligan's Island to an odd degree. She will need to up her game if she wants to give competition to Mira Grant's fabulous zombie Deadline trilogy.
The story opens up in a cordoned off city and conditions are less than bearable but at least they are safe. When Sadie's nephew goes missing, the action starts at quite a brisk pace with new characters added to the mix. The characters are quite stereotypical and lack soul and seem to be added to give victims instead of depth.
The second act deals with survival as the group find themselves stranded but unfortuantely, the author lacks the writing style to make the urgency feel dangerous and there is no underlying tension to feed off of. At one point, I was hoping that the characters would die or just commit suicide as nothing really happens.
As the third act unravels, the story does pick up momentum but sometimes becomes muddled in a third half action sequence that sometimes captivates and often falls flat. I do give credit to the Ten Little Indians scenario that develops and an interesting plot twist that garners this book to earn a third star in my estimation.
Some of the flaws from the first novel do carry itself over to this novel. It is written in the first person so therefore you know that the main character will make it at the end because how else is it written. Alison Hewit was a bit more cleaver as it was written as diary entries and was structured so you were never sure if she will make it or not. This is more straight forward and written in a Hunger Game/Twilight fashion as the character talks you through her story, you know that she will be in danger but will always pull through.
The other flaw as with the first is that the time frame is set two years ago, if the author had foresight in her novel and set it 20 years in the future, the book would have more legs but setting it in and around 2009, gives the book more of a fantasy quality instead of a science fiction/horror feel that it should.
Ms Roux sophomore follow-up lacks ingenuity that could have been played a bit more realistically and with more depth. It does feel rushed and somehow lends itself to a Romero's version of Gilligan's Island to an odd degree. She will need to up her game if she wants to give competition to Mira Grant's fabulous zombie Deadline trilogy.
May 3, 2015
Enjoyable enough but underwhelming when compared to Alison Hewitt is Trapped. It's set in the same world and Alison, who we know and love from the previous book, gets a mention or two but this is really Sadie's story. Unfortunately Sadie is a lot of promise that never really delivers. She has knowledge of outdoor pursuits and survival skills but doesn't use them. She creates a bow and arrows which work effectively and then doesn't use them. She stands by very puzzled as the ten little Indians stuff is going on and she's pretty sure she knows where it's coming from but doesn't act. It's really frustrating. Meanwhile her fluctuating hormones over two potential male companions when she swears all she wants to do is look after her nephew is just baffling.
My biggest niggle is that none of the other characters are fully rounded. I'm sure the author was trying to make us suspect everyone, instead they all came across as flat and not very engaging. When the grand reveal occurred it wasn't a surprise - I'd been waiting for it for at least thirty pages.
So a lot of annoying stuff. However this is still a good read and a pretty engaging survival story. Sadie's voice keeps you reading and if the plot is a bit jerky and uncoordinated with sub plots that go nowhere - well you could always be losing brain cells watching the x-factor. Seriously if you like a good survivor/ zombie novel this has plenty to keep you entertained. I would just have liked a bit more plot and character development especially on the 'rabbits' but perhaps we can hope for that in book three?
My biggest niggle is that none of the other characters are fully rounded. I'm sure the author was trying to make us suspect everyone, instead they all came across as flat and not very engaging. When the grand reveal occurred it wasn't a surprise - I'd been waiting for it for at least thirty pages.
So a lot of annoying stuff. However this is still a good read and a pretty engaging survival story. Sadie's voice keeps you reading and if the plot is a bit jerky and uncoordinated with sub plots that go nowhere - well you could always be losing brain cells watching the x-factor. Seriously if you like a good survivor/ zombie novel this has plenty to keep you entertained. I would just have liked a bit more plot and character development especially on the 'rabbits' but perhaps we can hope for that in book three?
February 9, 2012
I love the way this author writes! Very clever and humorous. I can't say this was one of my favorite zombie reads however. The story started out with a bang, but didn't end that way. Still an overall good read. I'm giving this a 3.75, so as usual I've rounded up.
December 28, 2019
Ups and downs
Originally I wasn't expecting anything worth while. The first book was okay but nothing spectacular. I still picked this one up though so it obviously wasn't awful.
I hated Sadie at first. I think a lot of that came down to the narrator on the audiobook. Once I switched to reading instead of being read to she was a little more tolerable. That said, this book has some issues. The one that bugs me the most is Shane. He's supposed to be eight but throughout the book the way he's written fluctuates so that he can seem anywhere from four to twelve. That's a big age gap to be spanning. In some scenes he's portrayed with the meek shyness of a toddler with the capability to hide in a cupboard and in other places he has more teenage aloofness than the actual teenagers. So, he wasn't the most well written child I've ever read about.
Otherwise this is on par with the last book. It's a relatively cookie cutter zombie apocalypse. There are some twists that make the overall plot better. The better plot and worse characters leave my rating the same as book one, 3 stars. If Sadie was less annoying and Shane was a solid seeming age the plot could've elevated this above and beyond my opinion of book one. That kind of plot twist had potential but my lack of investment in the characters let it fall flat.
Originally I wasn't expecting anything worth while. The first book was okay but nothing spectacular. I still picked this one up though so it obviously wasn't awful.
I hated Sadie at first. I think a lot of that came down to the narrator on the audiobook. Once I switched to reading instead of being read to she was a little more tolerable. That said, this book has some issues. The one that bugs me the most is Shane. He's supposed to be eight but throughout the book the way he's written fluctuates so that he can seem anywhere from four to twelve. That's a big age gap to be spanning. In some scenes he's portrayed with the meek shyness of a toddler with the capability to hide in a cupboard and in other places he has more teenage aloofness than the actual teenagers. So, he wasn't the most well written child I've ever read about.
Otherwise this is on par with the last book. It's a relatively cookie cutter zombie apocalypse. There are some twists that make the overall plot better. The better plot and worse characters leave my rating the same as book one, 3 stars. If Sadie was less annoying and Shane was a solid seeming age the plot could've elevated this above and beyond my opinion of book one. That kind of plot twist had potential but my lack of investment in the characters let it fall flat.
February 23, 2025
Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleine Roux was a book that intrigued me from the very beginning. Unlike other zombie books, this story begins within a protective barrier around the city of Seattle. Life inside is normal, as zombies outside continue to try to find ways inside. A religious group eventually destroys one of the barriers, and Seattle is soon swarmed with bloodthirsty zombies. Sadie and her nephew, Shane, barely escape with several other passengers on a boat.
The author is quite witty and I laughed out loud several times during the story. Soon a storm comes up and the boat shipwrecks on a deserted island, or so they thought. It is here that the story takes an odd turn when Sadie's group reacts like those contestants on the Survivor TV program. While building a shelter and finding food, Sadie soon comes across another group of survivors on the other side of the island. There, the story becomes drawn out with minimal action and becomes part love interest and murder mystery.
Eventually, zombies overrun the island and the survivors must fight their way out. The ending is weak and leaves itself open to a sequel.
The author is quite witty and I laughed out loud several times during the story. Soon a storm comes up and the boat shipwrecks on a deserted island, or so they thought. It is here that the story takes an odd turn when Sadie's group reacts like those contestants on the Survivor TV program. While building a shelter and finding food, Sadie soon comes across another group of survivors on the other side of the island. There, the story becomes drawn out with minimal action and becomes part love interest and murder mystery.
Eventually, zombies overrun the island and the survivors must fight their way out. The ending is weak and leaves itself open to a sequel.
October 10, 2018
From the reviews I have seen most didn't like this book as much as the first. Personally I thought this book was better. It might help that I spent time in Seattle so the location is more familiar. Or, it's because I listened to the audiobook. I don't think I ever laughed so hard about sea sickness before.
To me, having a blog or journal format in books is a hit or miss. I mean, when I write in a journal I can't remember specifically what everyone did or said, especially if I'm writing about it days later. I don't have that issue with this book, because it is not a replication of the first.
If you liked the world of Allison, and want to see an illustrator fight her way to survive the z-poc but are turned off by the reviews, try the audiobook. Or ignore them and read the book.
To me, having a blog or journal format in books is a hit or miss. I mean, when I write in a journal I can't remember specifically what everyone did or said, especially if I'm writing about it days later. I don't have that issue with this book, because it is not a replication of the first.
If you liked the world of Allison, and want to see an illustrator fight her way to survive the z-poc but are turned off by the reviews, try the audiobook. Or ignore them and read the book.
December 12, 2023
i read both book super fast, they super easy to fly thru, the other night i kept reading bc i wanted to know what was gonna happen next.
i liked the previous book better, i liked allison better too. sadie sometimes some of her decisons werent the best.. i liked the love interest and i liked the ending too..
sucks that banana and moritz and noah died tho --. i liked em :c
i was a bit confused about the timeline in this book tho.. this one didnt have blog entries and no dates which kinda sucked, bc i like havin that info.
what was happenin on the island was creepy af i wasnt sure who was behind it..
i liked the previous book better, i liked allison better too. sadie sometimes some of her decisons werent the best.. i liked the love interest and i liked the ending too..
sucks that banana and moritz and noah died tho --. i liked em :c
i was a bit confused about the timeline in this book tho.. this one didnt have blog entries and no dates which kinda sucked, bc i like havin that info.
what was happenin on the island was creepy af i wasnt sure who was behind it..
January 8, 2023
2.5 stars. And barely. I loved Allison Hewitt is Trapped so, so very much. The first half of this read was stellar. And then…language I couldn’t forgive and logic completely forgotten, and so, so many plot holes that didn’t pay off and weren’t explained. I liked that Roux explored later in the Zombie apocalypse. I liked the romance a lot of reviewers hated, I’m fine with that, and honestly, it feels more realistic than not. But…so much of this story is non-sensical and illogical that I just couldn’t look past it. It’s like the first and second halves were written by different people.
March 24, 2017
I've read Madeleine's Roux's YA stuff before and wasn't overly thrilled. However, I adore this zombie series and I really hope there's another in the works. It feels realistic without being too gory or gritty. The romance never overtakes the story, but instead is perfectly balanced. There's the right amount of hope for a story like this. Over all, I'm absolutely a fan of the series and will be looking at her other adult work.
May 12, 2019
Roux missed her calling as a romantic comedy author. For a zombie book there wasn't nearly enough blood and guts, until the end of the book, and way too much gazing into some guy's beautiful blue eyes. If a man handcuffed me to a bed during the zombie apocalypse, I would make a point of not fall in love with him. I liked this book better than Allison Hewitt is Trapped but it still wasn't that great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2024
Its been awhile since I read , but I don't know that this was a bog deal. Zombies in Seattle, people are trying to survive. blah blah blah. Allison is mentioned, but not referenced a lot.
I think the ending was a little rushed, but the story was interesting enough
I think the ending was a little rushed, but the story was interesting enough
June 18, 2017
Another amazing contribution from Miss Roux! It jumped into the action pretty much straight away and didn't really stop much at all. Sadie is flawed, which is a great thing. It's nice to see characters who act human, especially in these terrible situations. And the last 50 or so pages were just nonstop awesomeness.
October 8, 2018
Reading a Madeleine Roux zombie novel is like putting on a pair of comfortable slippers, everything just fits and feels so right. She has created a world that is familiar yet has enough surprises to keep you interested. This second novel isn't as good as the first however it is so good that I want the series to continue on for awhile.
November 1, 2022
This was another good zombie story by Madeleine Roux, which is loosely connected to her previous one, "Allison Hewitt is Trapped." As with that story, the characters in this story are strong, likeable, and interesting. The story flows nicely making it easy to read. The ending was quite satisfying, as well.
December 29, 2018
I think this is a fun addition to the genre. There is humour that a lot of novels don't have, but at the same time it has some clique tropes that I had to try and ignore to enjoy the novel for what it is. I did like the characters, and the plot, and found myself through it in no time.
March 27, 2019
Maybe I'm bias since this takes place in the Pacific NW but I enjoyed this more than Allison Hewitt. I'm not used to seeing so many local references in a book. I definitely have to check out Madeleine's other books.
June 30, 2019
You don't have to read Allison Hewitt is Trapped before you read this, but this will be more fun if you do. Also, you'll be prepared for flawed plot and story line that Sadie Walker is also rife with. So given this is a bit of a mess, I liked it. I enjoyed this even more than Allison Walker. Zombies and pole dancers on an island in the Puget Sound? How can this not be fun?
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