Young (Semi) Professional

Whatever I write as a review probably won't do my true feelings justice on that matter. For me and I'm assuming for most readers as well, the enjoyment of opening a book is truly about the journey. The experience. The escape. You could be a fan of the worst book ever to be written, but if that one book transformed your life for a handful of hours, leaving you emotionally charged and genuinely happy to have spent your time consumed by its words, then I am not one to degrade that feeling.

Feed is not a perfect book. It has its spots that are rough around the edges and each reader is entitled to his or her own literary pet peeves; however, the delivery of the story and the work as a whole is something that I have experienced in very few books. Everyone has that one book. You know the one. You've read it countless times and each time you read it, the discovery feels new again. It's like a marriage where the honeymoon never ends! Assuming your honeymoon wasn't a disaster, of course. Feed will now become one of those books that I instantly recommend and it'll be mentally stored away among my favorites.

I know I haven't done a lot of reviewing in terms of the actual storyline. Do please forgive me because I am still in my book-finishing afterglow. Probably the thing I appreciate most in terms of books featured in this genre is believability. I understand that in most books, people are apt to suspend their belief for the sake of their enjoyment in a story, especially in terms of fantasy or science-fiction novels. That being said, I think in order for a zombie novel to work within a somewhat current setting, the zombie plot has to be plausible. That's part of the appeal, in my opinion, and the author did enough research for an outbreak to seem possible given the circumstances.

The reliance on blogs and the internet as the main news source was also a lovely touch. The media today can often get its fair share of flack in terms of not reporting the full scope of the facts and it was a nice spin on the zombie genre that makes Feed fit into that niche but also have the ability to stand out as well.

Other reviewers have mentioned that some of the characters were a little flat and the setup of good vs. bad politician is a bit trite. I do happen to agree. I would have liked something a little less obvious, but it honestly didn't make me enjoy the book any less. Like I said, it's all about the journey and to me, this was the equivalent of discovering that your brother left the bag of chips open during half the car ride during your road trip and now they're stale as hell. It's unfortunate, yes, but you're still going to stuff your face with them and be just fine. Or maybe I'm the only one who's too much of a glutton to do so.

My absolute favorite part of Feed? Georgia and Shaun's sibling relationship. I have a younger brother and, despite there being a larger age gap between us than the fiction siblings, we have a similar bond. Minus the zombies and blogging. I always seem to enjoy a book more when I find something relatable to latch onto within the characters. Once again...minus the zombies and the blogging.

The second installment in the trilogy is due out at the end of this month and I certainly plan on justifying its immediate purchase because I have no willpower when sticking to a book budget or patience when it comes to a series.