Girls Save the World in This One

 

Warning: Slight spoiler

Hi everyone!  Today, we're going to talk about Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons.  This was a delightful little treat.  Its message of sisterhood and community was beautiful.  

June 's whole life has been leading up to this: ZombieCon, the fan convention celebrating all things zombies.  She and her two best friends plan on hitting all the panels, photo ops, and meeting the heartthrob lead of their favorite zombie apocalypse show Human Wasteland.  And when they arrive everything seems perfect, though June has to shrug off some weirdness from other fans—people shambling a little too much, and someone actually biting a cast member. Then all hell breaks loose and June and her friends discover the truth: real zombies are taking over the con. Now June must do whatever it takes to survive a horde of actual brain-eating zombies—and save the world.

I really enjoyed this book!  It had everything I love: horror and girl power.  I loved June's character.  She was funny, honest, and relatable.  All of her dialogue was *chef's kiss*.  I loved June's dynamics with her friends.  They were always supportive of each other.  On top of that, she was a genius.  She came up with brilliant plans that helped her group escape certain death.  June started out as unsure of herself, but she realized that she is powerful, no matter what anyone says.

Something that I really loved was that none of the main characters of color died.  I love horror movies and have seen how black lives are seen as dispensable.  It's disheartening to know that if the movie wasn't made by a black director and producer, the black and brown characters will die first.  I loved that the author was aware of this trope and neglected it.  

I also loved how the author diverted from the final girl trope.  The majority of the survivors were women.  It was a very cathartic experience.  Girls' suffering is so ingrained in us as a society, that when we take charge, people get scared.  Girls are never allowed to fight back or get revenge.  We must be meek and suffer in silence.  This book turned that idea on its head.  The women were the ones making the plans and taking charge.  We deserve stories where we get justice and revenge.  Stories that show that we have the capacity to be the princess or the wicked witch.

This was truly a fun read.  I can't wait for next time.  See you soon!

XOXO, Michaela