Review: Hollowland (The Hollows #1) by Amanda Hocking

 

 Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows…

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.”

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

This is a young adult title with some language, violence, and mild sexual situations recommended for ages sixteen and up.

My Review:

Hollowland starts out with nineteen-year-old Remy King waking up to the sound of a siren. We find out she’s in a compound near Las Vegas and Zombies have invaded the once-safe enclosure. Her only thought is to leave the room she shares with several younger girls and go find Max, her eight-year-old brother, who is housed somewhere in the same building.

Some girls follow her, while the others follow protocol and barricade themselves in their rooms. Downstairs, Remy and her companions find dead bodies of soldiers and zombies alike. Luckily, she happens to find a soldier she knows and asks him about her brother. The soldier tells her Max was evacuated to a base near Wyoming. Remy tells the soldier to leave with her, but he refuses. Remy insists, but stops when he shows her his arm. He's been bitten by a zombie.  

Dejected, Remy leaves him, and only she and another girl, thirteen-year-old Harlow, are able to clear the base with their lives. Behind them, the base burns to the ground, but they don’t sit still, they move on and make their way to catch up with Max. 

So begins Remy's long journey to Wyoming to find her brother alongside Harlow, and a collection of odd characters they pick up along the way: a rock star (Lazlo), a medical intern (Blue), and Ripley, a tame lioness who loves to eat zombies. They quickly form a tight-knit group and they trust Remy unconditionally - though Remy is keeping a secret from them. But it's just a matter of time before the group discovers what Remy is hiding and nothing will ever be the same again.

It should be noted that I'm not a horror fan, but I did enjoy reading this book as Hocking portrays a vivid picture of what the post-Apocalyptic world would be like - filled with heartache, loss, death, hope, love, and non-stop action. This book was a page-turner for me and I definitely recommend it.

Plus there was nothing mild about the sex scene – it read just like a Charlaine Harris sex scene. Not exactly erotica, but you knew what was going on. Definitely not something for a young child to read.

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What’s even better about this book is that it’s free on Amazon.com. Click on the AMAZON lips to download it.

My favorite part of the book was that it was a toss up as to who was more dangerous - the zombies or the non-infected humans they come across in their travels. Plus, I'm all about happy endings and we get one - sort of - though it's more of a cliffhanger. Thank goodness there is a part 2, Hollowmen, where we can find out what happens next!

Rating:

Book 1 of 6 From Book Chick City’s
Zombie Challenge for 2012