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If We Survive This
The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.
Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother Cain are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.
The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful memories of the family’s final time making this trip last year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.
Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother Cain are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.
The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful memories of the family’s final time making this trip last year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2025
70 people are currently reading
10602 people want to read
About the author
Racquel Marie
6 books768 followersRacquel Marie grew up in Southern California where her passion for storytelling of all kinds was encouraged by her friends and big family. She received a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in gender and sexuality studies from the University of California, Irvine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
June 18, 2025
I can handle so much these days. More than I ever thought possible. It’s a strange thing, really, to discover that you were wrong about yourself.
I don’t really see this YA as horror, even though it’s pitched as one. For me, it’s more of an apocalyptic story like All That’s Left in the World, with the horror feeling of The Honeys. It’s genre-bending because it’s also part contemporary with its dual timeline and way more introspective than those books above.
The central theme in this story is fear. Flora has OCD even though she has hidden it all her life and might look like a girl who only cares about her appearance. But deep inside, she has locked up so much anxiety, and her biggest fear is death. But this was Flora.
Now Flora doesn’t care at all (even though her OCD still screams in her head). Nothing is the same anymore, and Flora fights. She runs. Always runs. To stay alive. And most important of all, to save her brother. But as her brother says, ”You don't always have to be the hero.”
I loved the sibling dynamics between Flora and Cain, but the scene that touched me most was the one with Biscuit and Adán and June when tears sprang to our eyes.
Although there is a lot of action in this story (with bloodshed and gore), it’s mainly character-driven, and Flora's internal (sometimes spiraling) thoughts predominate. I skipped some parts because I'm not the best for so many graphic scenes with blood, but overall, I flew through the book. Racquel Marie’s writing always fascinates me, whether it is contemporary or something more gruesome.
Thank you, Fiercereads and NetGalley, for this harsh but beautiful ARC!
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I don’t really see this YA as horror, even though it’s pitched as one. For me, it’s more of an apocalyptic story like All That’s Left in the World, with the horror feeling of The Honeys. It’s genre-bending because it’s also part contemporary with its dual timeline and way more introspective than those books above.
The central theme in this story is fear. Flora has OCD even though she has hidden it all her life and might look like a girl who only cares about her appearance. But deep inside, she has locked up so much anxiety, and her biggest fear is death. But this was Flora.
Now Flora doesn’t care at all (even though her OCD still screams in her head). Nothing is the same anymore, and Flora fights. She runs. Always runs. To stay alive. And most important of all, to save her brother. But as her brother says, ”You don't always have to be the hero.”
I loved the sibling dynamics between Flora and Cain, but the scene that touched me most was the one with Biscuit and Adán and June when tears sprang to our eyes.
Although there is a lot of action in this story (with bloodshed and gore), it’s mainly character-driven, and Flora's internal (sometimes spiraling) thoughts predominate. I skipped some parts because I'm not the best for so many graphic scenes with blood, but overall, I flew through the book. Racquel Marie’s writing always fascinates me, whether it is contemporary or something more gruesome.
Thank you, Fiercereads and NetGalley, for this harsh but beautiful ARC!
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June 9, 2025
Oh, this broke my heart so many times. It has a searingly accurate portrayal of what it’s like to live with OCD and intrusive thoughts. Flora’s brain is constantly showing her images of herself or her loved ones dying in horrific ways. You know when you’re really frightened for your life? That’s been Flora’s daily reality for years before a rabies mutation turns the majority of the population into “rabids” whose sole purpose is to eat the uninfected. You might she’s made to survive the zombie apocalypse. But at what cost, though!! It has to be extremely exhausting to be in a state of fight or flight all the time. I have some experience with this, having anxiety and intrusive thoughts myself, but nowhere near as severe as Flora. It really breaks my heart that some people go through this their whole lives.
With regard to the plot, Flora and her brother Cain leave LA, planning to reach a cabin they had previously vacationed at, all the way up in Northern California. It’s dangerous to stay…but it’s also dangerous to leave. There are rabids everywhere, and when they run into people who have also managed to survive, they have to ask themselves—what have THEY done to survive…
I honestly love zombie apocalypse stories. I don’t like serious, horrifying, give-you-nightmares horror, like “It” or “Pet Sematary”—but I do love me a good “we must journey across this ruined wasteland full of undead” tale. Call me crazy. It’s just my jam. So this book scratched that itch for me. I will warn you, though…this has TREMENDOUS amounts of blood and gore. Like, buckets of viscera. Slip-sliding in undead goo. You catch my drift?
Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
With regard to the plot, Flora and her brother Cain leave LA, planning to reach a cabin they had previously vacationed at, all the way up in Northern California. It’s dangerous to stay…but it’s also dangerous to leave. There are rabids everywhere, and when they run into people who have also managed to survive, they have to ask themselves—what have THEY done to survive…
I honestly love zombie apocalypse stories. I don’t like serious, horrifying, give-you-nightmares horror, like “It” or “Pet Sematary”—but I do love me a good “we must journey across this ruined wasteland full of undead” tale. Call me crazy. It’s just my jam. So this book scratched that itch for me. I will warn you, though…this has TREMENDOUS amounts of blood and gore. Like, buckets of viscera. Slip-sliding in undead goo. You catch my drift?
Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
June 28, 2025
If We Survive This is the third book I’ve read by this author. I’m also a big zombie fan so it was a win win choice. First thing that took my attention is how fast this author has gotten so good. Flora is a teenager who should be celebrating milestones like her 18th birthday, prom, and graduation but instead is fighting for her life against a world of rabids and evil humans. She is also trying her best to watch out for her older brother, Cain, who sometimes seems more vulnerable in this new life.
I love when books take a running leap into a story, especially when it’s meant to be scary or suspenseful. When we join Flora and Cain, a year has gone by since the rabies mutation began to devastate the population so the horror is now ever present. They are managing alone in their family home but decide that survival means taking a risk and leaving for a better place. This hellish road trip toggles back and forth with a family trip to a cabin that took place in the past during more innocuous times.
This author never writes about just the subject at hand. That’s what I love best about her books. Flora fears the world, the micro details of daily life. Her brain captures the possible dangers and sends everything to worst case scenarios. Though she struggles, she still finds joy in her family, her fashion art, and the world at large. But in the present, all of those fears are real. Death and loss are the here and now. The give and take of the sibling relationship is strongly written as well. Of course, Flora and Cain love each other but the dynamics between siblings can be complicated too.
“With siblings, it’s easy to drag every old annoyance back to the surface and use it to fuel your anger, even if you, too, burn along the way.”
The book has action, violence, and some Queer romance. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian worlds, zombie/pandemic stories, sibling YA mains, and young adult characters struggling but also finding meaning in life.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc. I am leaving a review voluntarily.
I love when books take a running leap into a story, especially when it’s meant to be scary or suspenseful. When we join Flora and Cain, a year has gone by since the rabies mutation began to devastate the population so the horror is now ever present. They are managing alone in their family home but decide that survival means taking a risk and leaving for a better place. This hellish road trip toggles back and forth with a family trip to a cabin that took place in the past during more innocuous times.
This author never writes about just the subject at hand. That’s what I love best about her books. Flora fears the world, the micro details of daily life. Her brain captures the possible dangers and sends everything to worst case scenarios. Though she struggles, she still finds joy in her family, her fashion art, and the world at large. But in the present, all of those fears are real. Death and loss are the here and now. The give and take of the sibling relationship is strongly written as well. Of course, Flora and Cain love each other but the dynamics between siblings can be complicated too.
“With siblings, it’s easy to drag every old annoyance back to the surface and use it to fuel your anger, even if you, too, burn along the way.”
The book has action, violence, and some Queer romance. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian worlds, zombie/pandemic stories, sibling YA mains, and young adult characters struggling but also finding meaning in life.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc. I am leaving a review voluntarily.
June 17, 2025
In If We Survive This, an outbreak of a mutated version of the rabies virus occurs, leaving society in shambles and creating violent and infectious “rabids.” Flora Braddock Paz and her older brother Cain leave their childhood home and embark on a journey to an isolated cabin from their past to possibly locate their father and try to survive in the dangerous new world.
The audiobook of If We Survive This is narrated by the novel’s author Racquel Marie and she does a good job at bringing the story to life. Nevertheless, her voice is a bit soothing and when aspects of the plot slowed down a bit in the middle of novel, I needed to replay a few chapters to better absorb what was happening.
In If We Survive This is a poignant novel that focuses upon developing its characters and provides LGBTQIA+ and neurotypical representation that feels organic and very relatable. Told in dual timelines-one from the year before the outbreak and one in the novel’s present-the two perspectives help to develop the characters and their complex relationships.
Flora is an engaging character and her mental and emotional struggles are presented in a way that is insightful and genuine. Dealing with anxiety and OCD can be difficult in everyday life, but Flora manages to do what she can to protect herself and her brother in the midst of an apocalypse.
The secondary characters that Flora and Cain encounter help to provide more emotional connections to both their pasts and the present, while also illustrating the detrimental decisions and behaviors made necessary by the degeneration of society.
One theme If We Survive This does share with The Walking Dead is that while those infected may be the more immediate problem, the true danger is often other people. I wish the antagonists had been introduced earlier and developed a bit more, but they served their narrative purpose.
The ending was not quite what I was expecting, but I appreciated it. While this book is a YA novel, it doesn’t minimize the overall grimness of the situation for an unrealistic resolution.
Thank you to RBmedia I Recorded Books and NetGalley for access to this audiobook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
The audiobook of If We Survive This is narrated by the novel’s author Racquel Marie and she does a good job at bringing the story to life. Nevertheless, her voice is a bit soothing and when aspects of the plot slowed down a bit in the middle of novel, I needed to replay a few chapters to better absorb what was happening.
In If We Survive This is a poignant novel that focuses upon developing its characters and provides LGBTQIA+ and neurotypical representation that feels organic and very relatable. Told in dual timelines-one from the year before the outbreak and one in the novel’s present-the two perspectives help to develop the characters and their complex relationships.
Flora is an engaging character and her mental and emotional struggles are presented in a way that is insightful and genuine. Dealing with anxiety and OCD can be difficult in everyday life, but Flora manages to do what she can to protect herself and her brother in the midst of an apocalypse.
The secondary characters that Flora and Cain encounter help to provide more emotional connections to both their pasts and the present, while also illustrating the detrimental decisions and behaviors made necessary by the degeneration of society.
One theme If We Survive This does share with The Walking Dead is that while those infected may be the more immediate problem, the true danger is often other people. I wish the antagonists had been introduced earlier and developed a bit more, but they served their narrative purpose.
The ending was not quite what I was expecting, but I appreciated it. While this book is a YA novel, it doesn’t minimize the overall grimness of the situation for an unrealistic resolution.
Thank you to RBmedia I Recorded Books and NetGalley for access to this audiobook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Read
June 15, 2025If We Survive This is pitched as a zombie book, and technically it is. But really this is an emotional and surprisingly quiet YA coming of age novel about a queer girl with OCD and intrusive thoughts who survives a zombie apocalypse. It interweaves flashbacks and moments from the present (with zombies) and has themes of found family and a sapphic romance subplot. If you're looking for an action-packed zombie drama, you're not really going to find it here. But it does an excellent, if brutally realistic job of showing the experience of someone with OCD dealing with regular life and then contrasting that with surviving when the worst truly has happened. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.
May 28, 2025
Six months ago, there was a global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transformed people into violent, zombielike "rabids”. With their mom dead, their LA suburb being deserted & their dad missing, Flora & her brother Cain venture out to their childhood cabin in hopes of finding their dad.
3.5/5✨ rounded down
I am a simple girl, I see anything pitched as The Walking Dead or Yellowjackets I’m going to read it…so when I saw it was being pitched as both?! yeah, GIVE IT TO ME NOW! I was really enjoying this until I wasn’t towards the middle but then the ending..like yes flora be a boss!
I think the main thing that I enjoyed the most about this is how much representation it has. We get a lesbian mc with queer side characters, there’s neurodivergent rep as well as Hispanic & Biracial family rep all woven into this story..the writing is easy to follow as we switch between dual timelines.
I loved the sibling dynamic between Flora & Cain but let’s be honest the real power duo was Adan & Biscuit. he really loved his little pup & I loved him as a character, he was so funny & I loved that biscuit is alive & well!
however, despite being pitched as YA Horror this felt more like a coming of age, survival thriller so I finished feeling a liiiiittle underwhelmed because I wanted more horror. for me, the romance between Cris & Flora was underwhelming as well but maybe I’m just expecting too much considering they were trying to survive an apocalypse? lastly, I wanted more of the bad guys. they added that touch of the darkness you would expect to see from people living in this world & trying to survive. they could have been Negan 2.0 but fell flat.
Final thoughts, this is a solid YA apocalyptic read. I did enjoy it overall but certain things fell flat. I would recommend to someone who wants a YA survival/apocalypse thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5✨ rounded down
I am a simple girl, I see anything pitched as The Walking Dead or Yellowjackets I’m going to read it…so when I saw it was being pitched as both?! yeah, GIVE IT TO ME NOW! I was really enjoying this until I wasn’t towards the middle but then the ending..like yes flora be a boss!
I think the main thing that I enjoyed the most about this is how much representation it has. We get a lesbian mc with queer side characters, there’s neurodivergent rep as well as Hispanic & Biracial family rep all woven into this story..the writing is easy to follow as we switch between dual timelines.
I loved the sibling dynamic between Flora & Cain but let’s be honest the real power duo was Adan & Biscuit. he really loved his little pup & I loved him as a character, he was so funny & I loved that biscuit is alive & well!
however, despite being pitched as YA Horror this felt more like a coming of age, survival thriller so I finished feeling a liiiiittle underwhelmed because I wanted more horror. for me, the romance between Cris & Flora was underwhelming as well but maybe I’m just expecting too much considering they were trying to survive an apocalypse? lastly, I wanted more of the bad guys. they added that touch of the darkness you would expect to see from people living in this world & trying to survive. they could have been Negan 2.0 but fell flat.
Final thoughts, this is a solid YA apocalyptic read. I did enjoy it overall but certain things fell flat. I would recommend to someone who wants a YA survival/apocalypse thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
June 21, 2025
3.5/5 stars
June 24, 2025
2025 reads: 150/300
i received a digital review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
flora braddock paz has always considered herself weak. there’s no room for weakness during the apocalypse, though, and somehow she and her older brother are still alive half a year into it. now, they’re on their way from their desolate LA suburb to their secluded cabin in northern california. but no matter how far they run, death is never far behind.
i’ve enjoyed racquel marie’s romances, so i was very excited for her first horror novel! i loved how flora had OCD and how this was discussed in the midst of an apocalypse. this story was focused on her journey rather than the apocalypse itself (though, obviously, this did play a big role in her development), and i liked seeing how she changed throughout the book. we also get flashbacks to flora’s pre-zombie world, providing more insight into her story. overall, this was a great book, and i highly recommend this to anyone looking for a character-driven YA horror.
i received a digital review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
flora braddock paz has always considered herself weak. there’s no room for weakness during the apocalypse, though, and somehow she and her older brother are still alive half a year into it. now, they’re on their way from their desolate LA suburb to their secluded cabin in northern california. but no matter how far they run, death is never far behind.
i’ve enjoyed racquel marie’s romances, so i was very excited for her first horror novel! i loved how flora had OCD and how this was discussed in the midst of an apocalypse. this story was focused on her journey rather than the apocalypse itself (though, obviously, this did play a big role in her development), and i liked seeing how she changed throughout the book. we also get flashbacks to flora’s pre-zombie world, providing more insight into her story. overall, this was a great book, and i highly recommend this to anyone looking for a character-driven YA horror.
June 20, 2025
“i have been here before and i will be here again.”
part zombie horror and part all-too-familiar search for one’s place in the world, if we survive this surprised me in all the best ways with its achingly realistic depiction of anxiety and OCD, sibling bonds, and contemplation of humanity. think the walking dead if the walking dead was a coming of age story.
told in dual timelines—now and then, two very different road trips to the same cabin—if we survive this centers around flora, a girl no one (herself included) would have pegged as a survivor. then flora loved fashion and math and dreamed of attending design school; now flora can only focus on keeping herself and her brother alive. the OCD and anxiety that once made normal life so difficult present a new set of challenges now, but years of existing in fight or flight mode have prepared flora for survival in unexpected ways.
the older i get, the more picky i am about YA fiction, but if we survive this is one of the best YA books i’ve read in a long time. i laughed AND cried over this book. i love a good post-apocalyptic story, and this one is reminiscent of the early seasons of the walking dead in the way it balances action and gore with quieter moments of introspection. i truly loved flora—in both timelines, she feels like a real teenager figuring out her place in the world. the heart of the novel is her relationship with her older brother, a sometimes-fraught bond between two people who desperately love and want to protect each other but don’t always understand each other. the romantic subplots were cute, and i appreciated the queer rep (+1 for actually using the word lesbian) and that they weren’t the central focus of the story.
my only complaint is that the story could have benefited from an additional 50 or so pages to further explore some themes, but that really didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all.
perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven survival stories or miss the smaller scale and intimacy of early TWD 🩵
arc provided by netgalley and macmillan children’s publishing group in exchange for an honest review.
rating: 4.75/5.0 stars
June 24, 2025
This story will certainly appeal to fans of movies & books with zombie or apocalyptic storylines. I really enjoyed reading about the resilience and survival of this brother and sister duo.
Flora & Cain are on a mission to survive and find their dad who has been missing for weeks. With “rabids” at every turn, they strengthen their bond, & begin their journey with a couple of friends. Throughout their journey, they try their best not to get bitten by rabids, have a lot of self discovery, & navigate through everyday teenage issues such as high school crushes, sexual identity & challenging sibling dynamics.
Overall a solid read that is perfect for fans of YA, slow burn, apocalypse stories. I especially love the separate underlying love stories taking place with the main characters & their potential significant others. The alternating timelines between before the outbreak & after was relevant & significant as it showed the family dynamics. Thank you Colored Pages Book Tours and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Flora & Cain are on a mission to survive and find their dad who has been missing for weeks. With “rabids” at every turn, they strengthen their bond, & begin their journey with a couple of friends. Throughout their journey, they try their best not to get bitten by rabids, have a lot of self discovery, & navigate through everyday teenage issues such as high school crushes, sexual identity & challenging sibling dynamics.
Overall a solid read that is perfect for fans of YA, slow burn, apocalypse stories. I especially love the separate underlying love stories taking place with the main characters & their potential significant others. The alternating timelines between before the outbreak & after was relevant & significant as it showed the family dynamics. Thank you Colored Pages Book Tours and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Want to read
May 8, 2024i'm a simple person, i see a book has been inspired by yellowjackets, i click want to read.
June 21, 2025
An apocalyptic zombie romp with heavy themes, realistic depiction of anxiety, and the love of family at its core.
Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 9 hours 5 minutes
🎤: Racquel Marie (Author)
Publisher: Recorded Books
I love when authors narrate their novels. This one was no exception. I felt like the author did an absolutely amazing job and added a lot of nuance and layered emotion to the dictation. Each character was able to have their own voice and did not bleed into each other. I was able to listen to the entire novel at the same speed without adjustments. Highly recommend!
Genre: YA Horror
Themes:
🧟 : Coming of age
Representation:
🩸 : Anxiety surrounding germs
🩸 : Latinx Characters
🩸 : Conversational Spanish
🩸 : Lesbian main character
🩸 : Trans/queer side characters
Tropes:
💗: Teens save the world
🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.
Short Synopsis:
Flora deals with some pretty heavy things on the daily. Including anxiety surrounding germs. When rabies takes over the human race and turns normal people into cannibalistic zombies, she leads a pack of her peers on a journey to her family's cabin in search of her missing father.
General Thoughts:
This book definitely had it all. Gorey zombie apocalyptic vibes set to the backdrop of some really heavy coming-of-age themes. Watching Flora tried to regulate her high anxiety surrounding germs and intrusive thoughts with actually maintaining order to keep her brother and friends safe was quite the task. I felt like while the anxiety rep was definitely for a more debilitating case of anxiety, it was very well represented, and felt very realistic.
This book was not at all predictable for me. I did not see the big twists throughout the book coming in anyway. I feel like the author made a very good case for each of these characters to feel well flushed out and realistic. The background setting of the apocalyptic world and cannibalistic zombies was so well done. I definitely felt like I was in the middle of the cinematic type setting.
The Latinx rep in the novel was so well done. The conversational Spanish was on point and dictated very well by the narrator. It flowed well into the novel and felt appropriate to the times of usage.
While the novel did have lots of really fun and action packed scenes, there were a few times where the downtime went on a little too long for me. But that is something that is easily fixable in subsequent books.
There is a light thread of sapphic and achelian romance in this novel. It does take a giant backseat to the overall horror story.
I cannot wait to see what else this author comes out with. While this was a debut, it definitely did not read like one and I am very excited to see what else can be done with this author in the future. This was a stellar opening for me.
Disclaimer: I read this book via NetGalley ALC from Recorded Books. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 9 hours 5 minutes
🎤: Racquel Marie (Author)
Publisher: Recorded Books
I love when authors narrate their novels. This one was no exception. I felt like the author did an absolutely amazing job and added a lot of nuance and layered emotion to the dictation. Each character was able to have their own voice and did not bleed into each other. I was able to listen to the entire novel at the same speed without adjustments. Highly recommend!
Genre: YA Horror
Themes:
🧟 : Coming of age
Representation:
🩸 : Anxiety surrounding germs
🩸 : Latinx Characters
🩸 : Conversational Spanish
🩸 : Lesbian main character
🩸 : Trans/queer side characters
Tropes:
💗: Teens save the world
🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.
Short Synopsis:
Flora deals with some pretty heavy things on the daily. Including anxiety surrounding germs. When rabies takes over the human race and turns normal people into cannibalistic zombies, she leads a pack of her peers on a journey to her family's cabin in search of her missing father.
General Thoughts:
This book definitely had it all. Gorey zombie apocalyptic vibes set to the backdrop of some really heavy coming-of-age themes. Watching Flora tried to regulate her high anxiety surrounding germs and intrusive thoughts with actually maintaining order to keep her brother and friends safe was quite the task. I felt like while the anxiety rep was definitely for a more debilitating case of anxiety, it was very well represented, and felt very realistic.
This book was not at all predictable for me. I did not see the big twists throughout the book coming in anyway. I feel like the author made a very good case for each of these characters to feel well flushed out and realistic. The background setting of the apocalyptic world and cannibalistic zombies was so well done. I definitely felt like I was in the middle of the cinematic type setting.
The Latinx rep in the novel was so well done. The conversational Spanish was on point and dictated very well by the narrator. It flowed well into the novel and felt appropriate to the times of usage.
While the novel did have lots of really fun and action packed scenes, there were a few times where the downtime went on a little too long for me. But that is something that is easily fixable in subsequent books.
There is a light thread of sapphic and achelian romance in this novel. It does take a giant backseat to the overall horror story.
I cannot wait to see what else this author comes out with. While this was a debut, it definitely did not read like one and I am very excited to see what else can be done with this author in the future. This was a stellar opening for me.
Disclaimer: I read this book via NetGalley ALC from Recorded Books. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
June 18, 2025
I hate that I didn't enjoy this. Maybe it was the audio I didn't vibe with but I don't have the capacity to reread this with me eyeballs to see if that is the difference.
I just didn't vibe with it, and that makes me sad. Because I was so looking forward to this one.
I just didn't vibe with it, and that makes me sad. Because I was so looking forward to this one.
2025
June 6, 2025🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books
June 17, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book very much gave off “The Walking Dead” vibes, which I loved! If you love the show you will absolutely love this!
I didn’t really see how it was like “Yellowjackets” though, which isn’t a huge deal, I was just expecting more of that show’s vibe.
This was written so well! I underlined so many lines! It was so descriptive. You could really picture everything Flora was seeing and felt the character’s fear or any emotions they may have had.
There were lines I laughed at, was grossed out at and was scared at. I was on edge the whole entire time while reading! In a good way.
I really liked all of the characters and thought they were super unique and they stood out to me!
It went back and forth between the past and present, and seeing Flora and Cain’s dynamics between their parents and them was so special. I love a good sibling story, and this provided. The bond they shared was so good to read about, even if they kept things from each other at times. I preferred the present chapters better, but the past chapters tied in perfectly to the story!
It had drama and angst as well between the characters in just the right amount! I loved the found family aspect of it all. It made my chest feel warm and fuzzy.
I loved Cain and Adán together! Adán was honestly my favorite character. I warmed to him the minute I met him and he just kept getting better and better the more we got to know him! It took a little too long for Crisanta and Flora to get together which made me sad. The pining was great at first don’t get me wrong, but by the end I just wanted them to be together. We didn’t see a lot of it, and I was hoping for more.
Flora had OCD, which I don’t see in books very often. I know it is around and I am probably just not reading ones where it is talked about, but it was a very prevalent part of the story and it blended in very well! It wasn’t forced and it tied into Flora’s character and her surroundings.
Wow! What an ending! My heart was pounding so hard! I teared up. I almost wanted JUST a little bit more because it can’t end like that!! But at the same time, it also wrapped up in such a good way for an apocalyptic novel that it made sense as an ending. Honestly I’d read a second book if there ever was one. I don’t want to leave these characters!
With the ending being a little rushed and it being open ended, and the fact that the plot was a little slow for me at times is why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, but otherwise I really enjoyed it!
Even the acknowledgments were really sweet and well written!
This book very much gave off “The Walking Dead” vibes, which I loved! If you love the show you will absolutely love this!
I didn’t really see how it was like “Yellowjackets” though, which isn’t a huge deal, I was just expecting more of that show’s vibe.
This was written so well! I underlined so many lines! It was so descriptive. You could really picture everything Flora was seeing and felt the character’s fear or any emotions they may have had.
There were lines I laughed at, was grossed out at and was scared at. I was on edge the whole entire time while reading! In a good way.
I really liked all of the characters and thought they were super unique and they stood out to me!
It went back and forth between the past and present, and seeing Flora and Cain’s dynamics between their parents and them was so special. I love a good sibling story, and this provided. The bond they shared was so good to read about, even if they kept things from each other at times. I preferred the present chapters better, but the past chapters tied in perfectly to the story!
It had drama and angst as well between the characters in just the right amount! I loved the found family aspect of it all. It made my chest feel warm and fuzzy.
I loved Cain and Adán together! Adán was honestly my favorite character. I warmed to him the minute I met him and he just kept getting better and better the more we got to know him! It took a little too long for Crisanta and Flora to get together which made me sad. The pining was great at first don’t get me wrong, but by the end I just wanted them to be together. We didn’t see a lot of it, and I was hoping for more.
Flora had OCD, which I don’t see in books very often. I know it is around and I am probably just not reading ones where it is talked about, but it was a very prevalent part of the story and it blended in very well! It wasn’t forced and it tied into Flora’s character and her surroundings.
Wow! What an ending! My heart was pounding so hard! I teared up. I almost wanted JUST a little bit more because it can’t end like that!! But at the same time, it also wrapped up in such a good way for an apocalyptic novel that it made sense as an ending. Honestly I’d read a second book if there ever was one. I don’t want to leave these characters!
With the ending being a little rushed and it being open ended, and the fact that the plot was a little slow for me at times is why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, but otherwise I really enjoyed it!
Even the acknowledgments were really sweet and well written!
January 17, 2025
I always love a good zombie apocalypse book, but the thing most of the time they never really hit the mark for me. Either they’re too focused on action and the characters end up feeling flat, or it’s too much like a million other things I’ve seen from the genre. So I wasn’t expecting too much going into this, but it actually ended up being a pleasant surprise.
What really stood out was how character-driven the story was. It wasn’t something I had expected going into the story, but I really liked the characters and their dynamics, so I was happy we got to see a lot of that. I will say though as much as I enjoyed the characters, I do wish the plot had been a little more fleshed out, especially when it came to the villain. We don’t meet them until around the 70% mark, and the whole concept behind them and the group they were with was interesting, so I really wish we got to see them come in a bit earlier.
One aspect that I thought was done really well was the representation of the main character’s mental illness. It’s rare to see it written so well in a book like this, where the focus could have easily been just on the action, but the author did a good job of showing how OCD manifested in different ways for the main character before and after the apocalypse.
Speaking of before and after, we get dual timelines in this book, with one taking place before the apocalypse and the other being after. I honestly had mixed feeling on these, because while some of them created a nice parallel between the past and the present, others didn’t really seem necessary and kind of interrupted the flow of the story for me.
Overall, this offered a nice balance of emotion, representation, and action. Even though it might not be something I remember long term, I still found it enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a character driven apocalyptic book.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
~🅞🅥🅔🅡🅐🅛🅛 🅡🅐🅣🅘🅝🅖: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ . 25~
What really stood out was how character-driven the story was. It wasn’t something I had expected going into the story, but I really liked the characters and their dynamics, so I was happy we got to see a lot of that. I will say though as much as I enjoyed the characters, I do wish the plot had been a little more fleshed out, especially when it came to the villain. We don’t meet them until around the 70% mark, and the whole concept behind them and the group they were with was interesting, so I really wish we got to see them come in a bit earlier.
One aspect that I thought was done really well was the representation of the main character’s mental illness. It’s rare to see it written so well in a book like this, where the focus could have easily been just on the action, but the author did a good job of showing how OCD manifested in different ways for the main character before and after the apocalypse.
Speaking of before and after, we get dual timelines in this book, with one taking place before the apocalypse and the other being after. I honestly had mixed feeling on these, because while some of them created a nice parallel between the past and the present, others didn’t really seem necessary and kind of interrupted the flow of the story for me.
Overall, this offered a nice balance of emotion, representation, and action. Even though it might not be something I remember long term, I still found it enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a character driven apocalyptic book.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
~🅞🅥🅔🅡🅐🅛🅛 🅡🅐🅣🅘🅝🅖: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ . 25~
June 26, 2025
I am really mad at that ending
March 29, 2025
4.5/5 stars!
The anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen.
This book was so fast paced that I would’ve finished it in one sitting if I didn’t have to adult and go to work. Once I started, I was hooked. I loved the characters, I loved the found family aspect.
If We Survive This was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. This book felt like it was written specifically for me, the anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen. Flora is a character that I just GET.
Highly recommend!
The anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen.
This book was so fast paced that I would’ve finished it in one sitting if I didn’t have to adult and go to work. Once I started, I was hooked. I loved the characters, I loved the found family aspect.
If We Survive This was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. This book felt like it was written specifically for me, the anxiety rep in this made me feel so seen. Flora is a character that I just GET.
Highly recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2025
Racquel Marie, I pray you never stop writing. I’ll give you my soul, but please keep writing. Flora was a very relatable character, and that was definitely because we're both virgos and not because of morbid ideation. Anyway. I always love the dynamic that develops between the characters. Flora and her brother in particular, because even though she's the youngest, she finds herself in a position where she has to be responsible for his safety. Her worst fears have come true, and now she has to deal with the anxiety and stakes of surviving in a violent world.
Each character feels like a well rounded individual, even those we only meet for a few pages. Overall, the cast feels like a unit, each struggling with their own struggles—trust, uncertainty, past and present experiences—but also connected by a common goal and similar motivations. Plus, it's a mostly queer cast, and I love seeing depictions of queerness during the apocalypse; there's always something that gets to me.
This book is much darker than any of Racquel's other works, and we see this not only with the zombies and gore, but also with the themes it explores. If you've ever wondered about the moral implications of murder during the apocalypse, I assure you, you'll have a field day with this one. The horror element is present, and the atmosphere is perfect. It's dark, but ultimately, I think there's an underlying theme of hope that plays into the humanity of the characters and their stories. The book combines intense, emotional scenes with action-packed moments and a charming character dynamic.
In both timelines, we see Flora and company on their journey to the cabin, albeit under very different circumstances. We can see the rift between them and how everything intertwines to create a very intimate and complex story centered around family, friendship, and the fight for survival.
The ending is somewhat bittersweet. But I also think it was very well executed and perfectly summarized Flora's story arc. As always, I could say so much more about this, but it would be endless, and I'm trying to keep this short.
CW: mentions of death/dead loved ones/dead bodies, violence between humans, graphic violence, gore, stabbing, implied threats of sexual violence, weapon usage (guns, knives, axes), amputations on and off page, vomiting, general peril, starvation, OCD intrusive thoughts (especially related to contamination & harm), suicidal ideation.
Each character feels like a well rounded individual, even those we only meet for a few pages. Overall, the cast feels like a unit, each struggling with their own struggles—trust, uncertainty, past and present experiences—but also connected by a common goal and similar motivations. Plus, it's a mostly queer cast, and I love seeing depictions of queerness during the apocalypse; there's always something that gets to me.
This book is much darker than any of Racquel's other works, and we see this not only with the zombies and gore, but also with the themes it explores. If you've ever wondered about the moral implications of murder during the apocalypse, I assure you, you'll have a field day with this one. The horror element is present, and the atmosphere is perfect. It's dark, but ultimately, I think there's an underlying theme of hope that plays into the humanity of the characters and their stories. The book combines intense, emotional scenes with action-packed moments and a charming character dynamic.
In both timelines, we see Flora and company on their journey to the cabin, albeit under very different circumstances. We can see the rift between them and how everything intertwines to create a very intimate and complex story centered around family, friendship, and the fight for survival.
The ending is somewhat bittersweet. But I also think it was very well executed and perfectly summarized Flora's story arc. As always, I could say so much more about this, but it would be endless, and I'm trying to keep this short.
CW: mentions of death/dead loved ones/dead bodies, violence between humans, graphic violence, gore, stabbing, implied threats of sexual violence, weapon usage (guns, knives, axes), amputations on and off page, vomiting, general peril, starvation, OCD intrusive thoughts (especially related to contamination & harm), suicidal ideation.
January 31, 2025
Unflinching, gory, and tender. Racquel’s Marie propulsive first foray into horror, If We Survive This, takes a post-apocalyptic humanity and reassembles it into a beautiful, but haunting macabre portrait of something worth fighting for, all through the lens of one brave but terrified girl. This book finds its sticking place early and won’t let off for a long time yet.
June 12, 2025
Thank you, NetGalley and RBMedia, for the ALC.l All reviews are my own thoughts!
If you are a fan of The Walking Dead or any other kind of zombie movie, you are going to love this book!
The story follows Flora, who is not the girl who survives. She is a creative who loves creating things, but she spends so much time fearing death and inside her own head. She tries to hide this fear from the people around her because she doesn’t want to be seen as weak. Now, they are half a year into a global outbreak of a rabies mutation that turns people into zombies, or as Flora calls them, ‘rabids.’ Flora’s mom is dead, and they aren’t able to find her father, so all she has is her brother Cain. Their father left, but Cain and Flora have to create a new plan to venture to the cabin in the woods they used to go to growing up, in hopes of finding their father. As they try to find their dad, they must also deal with both people and rabids alike.
I liked that we got to see both the past and the present and how they melted together. I liked Flora as a character, and while she claims that she’s not a survivor, she is. She cares so much about the people around her, she will do anything to keep them safe. Flora has OCD, which can consume her thoughts and thoughts of her dying. Flora hides this from everyone that she loves because she doesn’t want the people around her to worry. I thought that the author did a nice job of showing the hard sides of both OCD and anxiety. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for Flora to deal with daily.
This story will have you gripping the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. There is such strong imagery when they are fighting the zombies that it feels like you are there with Flora, killing the zombies. I liked the writing and felt like the writing flowed well throughout the story. I also liked the found family aspect of the people they meet along their journey. I was always so shocked at how trusting they were, because when I watch shows like TWD, they never trusted anyone, and Flora trusted these people they just met. It’s a nice change seeing that while the world is ending, they are still able to find people to care about who are worth fighting for.
Overall, this was a good book, and I highly recommend it if you love thriller/zombie books! 4/5 stars!
If you are a fan of The Walking Dead or any other kind of zombie movie, you are going to love this book!
The story follows Flora, who is not the girl who survives. She is a creative who loves creating things, but she spends so much time fearing death and inside her own head. She tries to hide this fear from the people around her because she doesn’t want to be seen as weak. Now, they are half a year into a global outbreak of a rabies mutation that turns people into zombies, or as Flora calls them, ‘rabids.’ Flora’s mom is dead, and they aren’t able to find her father, so all she has is her brother Cain. Their father left, but Cain and Flora have to create a new plan to venture to the cabin in the woods they used to go to growing up, in hopes of finding their father. As they try to find their dad, they must also deal with both people and rabids alike.
I liked that we got to see both the past and the present and how they melted together. I liked Flora as a character, and while she claims that she’s not a survivor, she is. She cares so much about the people around her, she will do anything to keep them safe. Flora has OCD, which can consume her thoughts and thoughts of her dying. Flora hides this from everyone that she loves because she doesn’t want the people around her to worry. I thought that the author did a nice job of showing the hard sides of both OCD and anxiety. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for Flora to deal with daily.
This story will have you gripping the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. There is such strong imagery when they are fighting the zombies that it feels like you are there with Flora, killing the zombies. I liked the writing and felt like the writing flowed well throughout the story. I also liked the found family aspect of the people they meet along their journey. I was always so shocked at how trusting they were, because when I watch shows like TWD, they never trusted anyone, and Flora trusted these people they just met. It’s a nice change seeing that while the world is ending, they are still able to find people to care about who are worth fighting for.
Overall, this was a good book, and I highly recommend it if you love thriller/zombie books! 4/5 stars!
May 28, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a complimentary early release copy of If We Survive This by Racquel Marie.
I have mixed feelings about If We Survive This. I liked the sibling relationship between Flora and Cain. The sibling relationship between these two are strained/tense for a number of reasons but you can still tell very clearly that the two of them care for one another. I like that we get perspectives from before and during apocalypse, I kind of liked the before moments of the book as it really made me like the family aspects better. The before chapters helped give me an idea of what the characters were like before things had changed in their world, it also helped me feel a bit more connected to the family and feel for them.
I wasn’t fond of the found family aspects in this book. I didn’t really like any other characters besides the main characters family. A good percentage of the book is just the characters moving around and surviving, nothing really sticks out about any of those moments. The action of the book doesn’t even hit until about the sixty percent mark. Then things become a bit chaotic and rushed, I kind of liked the direction the book was going in towards the end as it made sense to me but then things had changed leaving me with a rather opened ended ending that I wasn’t fond of. The romance in here between the Flora and her love interest didn’t even come in until towards the end, I didn’t like nor feel for this romance and even though the characters knew each other for a long while it still felt kind of instant lovey and out of nowhere. I did like the brief mentions of Cain’s relationship, I think the two of them make a cute pair together.
I have mixed feelings about If We Survive This. I liked the sibling relationship between Flora and Cain. The sibling relationship between these two are strained/tense for a number of reasons but you can still tell very clearly that the two of them care for one another. I like that we get perspectives from before and during apocalypse, I kind of liked the before moments of the book as it really made me like the family aspects better. The before chapters helped give me an idea of what the characters were like before things had changed in their world, it also helped me feel a bit more connected to the family and feel for them.
I wasn’t fond of the found family aspects in this book. I didn’t really like any other characters besides the main characters family. A good percentage of the book is just the characters moving around and surviving, nothing really sticks out about any of those moments. The action of the book doesn’t even hit until about the sixty percent mark. Then things become a bit chaotic and rushed, I kind of liked the direction the book was going in towards the end as it made sense to me but then things had changed leaving me with a rather opened ended ending that I wasn’t fond of. The romance in here between the Flora and her love interest didn’t even come in until towards the end, I didn’t like nor feel for this romance and even though the characters knew each other for a long while it still felt kind of instant lovey and out of nowhere. I did like the brief mentions of Cain’s relationship, I think the two of them make a cute pair together.
June 19, 2025
Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with a digital copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This book was calling my name. The title, the cover, the vibes were perfect for the summerween mood I find myself in dark and stormy summer days.
“If We Survive This” is a great take on a zombie apocalypse with great family dynamics, relationships and character development.
The story does not shy away from hard-hitting topics, not only the rabids our main crew has no deal with, while showing us the struggles of being human in a kill-or-be-killed world.
All our characters have depth and their own motivations that drive their actions through-out the novel. The develop into great additions to the plot with every new chapter you read, as you get to meet most of them before the horrors began. The “then” and “now” storytelling is one of my favorite ways to piece together a plot like this one, as it lets you fill in blanks as you go.
I absolutely loved how a lot of the scenes felt so cinematic. And I mean in in the best way possible: I could easily imagine an adaptation of this book. It just feels like a story you’ll see on a screen someday. In the meantime, you can enjoy this book.
I do have to mention, I thought this would be a bit scarier, leaning more into horror. Found out it leans more into the humans and their struggles. We do have several moments charged with tension, gory and scary scenes. But our MCs groups is the heart and soul of the story. Just something to take into consideration if you plan to pick this one up.
Fans of The Walking Dead & The Last of Us should have good time reading this one.
And lastly, this is not a new favorite of mine, but I’m glad I read it.
(CAWPILE) = 7+9+6+7+8+6+5 = 6.7 = 3 stars
This book was calling my name. The title, the cover, the vibes were perfect for the summerween mood I find myself in dark and stormy summer days.
“If We Survive This” is a great take on a zombie apocalypse with great family dynamics, relationships and character development.
The story does not shy away from hard-hitting topics, not only the rabids our main crew has no deal with, while showing us the struggles of being human in a kill-or-be-killed world.
All our characters have depth and their own motivations that drive their actions through-out the novel. The develop into great additions to the plot with every new chapter you read, as you get to meet most of them before the horrors began. The “then” and “now” storytelling is one of my favorite ways to piece together a plot like this one, as it lets you fill in blanks as you go.
I absolutely loved how a lot of the scenes felt so cinematic. And I mean in in the best way possible: I could easily imagine an adaptation of this book. It just feels like a story you’ll see on a screen someday. In the meantime, you can enjoy this book.
I do have to mention, I thought this would be a bit scarier, leaning more into horror. Found out it leans more into the humans and their struggles. We do have several moments charged with tension, gory and scary scenes. But our MCs groups is the heart and soul of the story. Just something to take into consideration if you plan to pick this one up.
Fans of The Walking Dead & The Last of Us should have good time reading this one.
And lastly, this is not a new favorite of mine, but I’m glad I read it.
(CAWPILE) = 7+9+6+7+8+6+5 = 6.7 = 3 stars
June 25, 2025
Lightning struck, except death isn’t lightning, its the Sun setting because it rose:
I was not aware of Racquel Marie’s talent, I was expecting this to be a fun little zombie survivor romp. What I got instead was an emotionally charged coming of age story, with brutal Mental health and queer representation.
I know everyone will love Biscuit and Adan, will cheer for the small joys and love stories that flow throughout this book. In my eyes the real star is our FMC Flora. Flora who, if you are blessed with a brain that does not always play fair, you cannot help but see your self in. Marie’s prose and deep understanding of the struggle of trying to find yourself while your body works against you creates a beautiful tough and flawed main character, whose name fits her perfectly.
I truly appreciated that Flora being queer was not a struggle for her, we didn’t lean in at all into your normal tropes of coming out and living as a queer teenager (we didn’t have time there were zombies!). The focus on her mental health and struggles during and prior to the outbreak, how they affected her relationships, her world was also so present, I may have gasp allowed a few times, the quote at the top actually made me pause the audio.
Speaking of which this Audio book was stellar, reading her own work and words really gave the connections to the story.
All in all this is a must have - Ill probably be ordering a physical copy
Death will come knocking whether I invite it over or not and one day I would have to answer, dreading its arrival until then
I was not aware of Racquel Marie’s talent, I was expecting this to be a fun little zombie survivor romp. What I got instead was an emotionally charged coming of age story, with brutal Mental health and queer representation.
I know everyone will love Biscuit and Adan, will cheer for the small joys and love stories that flow throughout this book. In my eyes the real star is our FMC Flora. Flora who, if you are blessed with a brain that does not always play fair, you cannot help but see your self in. Marie’s prose and deep understanding of the struggle of trying to find yourself while your body works against you creates a beautiful tough and flawed main character, whose name fits her perfectly.
I truly appreciated that Flora being queer was not a struggle for her, we didn’t lean in at all into your normal tropes of coming out and living as a queer teenager (we didn’t have time there were zombies!). The focus on her mental health and struggles during and prior to the outbreak, how they affected her relationships, her world was also so present, I may have gasp allowed a few times, the quote at the top actually made me pause the audio.
Speaking of which this Audio book was stellar, reading her own work and words really gave the connections to the story.
All in all this is a must have - Ill probably be ordering a physical copy
Death will come knocking whether I invite it over or not and one day I would have to answer, dreading its arrival until then
June 8, 2025
I was hesitant to listen to If We Survive This by Racquel Marie because it was also narrated by the author. She did satisfactory narration but this could have shined with another narrator. How does someone with anxiety and OCD survive in a zombie apocalypse? The main character, Flora, showed her strength in battling the rabids (people infected with rabies) while struggling internally with anxiety, fear and OCD. The narration with the dual timelines blurred together and felt awkward. There was LGBTQIA+ representation in this survival story. There’s a lot of blood and gore which I appreciated. ALC was provided by RB Media/Recorded Books. I received an audiobook listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 22, 2025
3.5 stars. loved the interesting premise and how action-based it was but sadly some of the plot had too much cliche (just sooo typical to the genre) moments also some of the choices characters made felt illogical/ sometimes even clashing with their own reasoning so that took me out of it a little ig. tho the ending twists kinda redeemed it for me a bit (did not saw coming some of them like at all) also some of the characters were really well done neurodivergent rep felt organic enough even if a bit overused? but it's huge part of the premise so that's ok ig. on the other hand some of the characters could've been more fleshed out/ had more personality at least the important ones like the brother. still had a fun time with this one especially in the last part even tho it dragged a bit earlier ngl
June 21, 2025
Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In a world that has fallen to pieces due to a mutated rabies virus, Flora, a teenage girl, leads her brother and some other survivors through various dangers to find sanctuary.
I enjoyed this quite a lot. The narrative flashes between the present and the past where Flora is heading off to vacation with her family. She herself is a compelling character, with a crush on her brother's female best friend, and mental health struggles including a crippling fear of illness and death.
A superior young adult horror novel.
In a world that has fallen to pieces due to a mutated rabies virus, Flora, a teenage girl, leads her brother and some other survivors through various dangers to find sanctuary.
I enjoyed this quite a lot. The narrative flashes between the present and the past where Flora is heading off to vacation with her family. She herself is a compelling character, with a crush on her brother's female best friend, and mental health struggles including a crippling fear of illness and death.
A superior young adult horror novel.
June 26, 2025
Ophelia After All was a great debut, This Is Me Trying is one of my favorite YA contemporaries of all time, and If We Survive This, Racquel Marie's first speculative novel, makes it seem as if Marie has been writing in the genre since her career began while also delivering all of the staples readers have come to expect from her books: well-drawn characters, humor, and attention to detail.
April 9, 2025
I swear I've never met a Racquel Marie book that I didn't love and I hope I never do. Anything she writes I will be here to read it and im so sure be captivated by whatever it is. Obviously in If we survive this the shift was pretty sharp from her previous three books into something as bloody and gory as this was but It was so good.
I have always loved the post apocalyptic, zombie apocalypse, the last of us, the walking dead etc type stuff so I knew Id have no problem loving that aspect of the book. It was bloody and gory and disgusting but also borderline kinda cool to me because i'm a little twisted like that lol. It might not sit too well for people with weaker stomachs but the characters will absolutely make up for that. I admit I didn't know how a rabies induced apocalypse would work at first but I liked learning the details of all that and it easily just twists itself into the general mold of stuff of this sort, but it was fun to see that twist at all. There was a lot of question around what can the Rabid's hear, how much do they feel, are they still themselves inside but with ultimately no control over what they're doing? And as it is with every time that question is asked its really left up to reader to decide. Theres a ton of moral questions like that asked here honestly. Flora ponders so many so often at least. I feel like I haven't read a ton of books with OCD rep but it was interesting to watch Flora fight that in so many situations that I feel like directly challenged it. Cain, Crisanta, and Adan were awesome characters It was so easy to get attached to them right from the jump, especially little biscuit but i swear my heart tugged every time I thought something might happen to any of them. Flora and Crisanta's bickering was funny but also easy to see right through to what they actually wanted to say. Because of course as we well know, the idiots who are in love cannot actually admit it until they are forced to! Also I saw someone in these reviews compare them to Ellie and Dina from the last of us and that also explains why I loved them so much.
The flashbacks back to the last time they went to this family cabin were a nice break every once in a while and also allowed you to feel a little bit more of Cain and Flora's grief over losing her parents and see how life used to be for her before essentially all hell broke lose. It also really helped me figure out a lot of the stuff that was brewing under the surface and give context to some things in present tense too. Which leads into my final point, when the synopsis said "hidden truths" they were not lying! It felt like every body in this damn book had secrets including Flora. Which was funny because a few times when I was reading id be like wow what a hypocrite but then in the next sentence she would say exactly that lol. At least she's a self aware hypocrite. Overall like I said I loved this, cannot wait for whatever Racquel publishes next because I will be among the first in line to read it,
I have always loved the post apocalyptic, zombie apocalypse, the last of us, the walking dead etc type stuff so I knew Id have no problem loving that aspect of the book. It was bloody and gory and disgusting but also borderline kinda cool to me because i'm a little twisted like that lol. It might not sit too well for people with weaker stomachs but the characters will absolutely make up for that. I admit I didn't know how a rabies induced apocalypse would work at first but I liked learning the details of all that and it easily just twists itself into the general mold of stuff of this sort, but it was fun to see that twist at all. There was a lot of question around what can the Rabid's hear, how much do they feel, are they still themselves inside but with ultimately no control over what they're doing? And as it is with every time that question is asked its really left up to reader to decide. Theres a ton of moral questions like that asked here honestly. Flora ponders so many so often at least. I feel like I haven't read a ton of books with OCD rep but it was interesting to watch Flora fight that in so many situations that I feel like directly challenged it. Cain, Crisanta, and Adan were awesome characters It was so easy to get attached to them right from the jump, especially little biscuit but i swear my heart tugged every time I thought something might happen to any of them. Flora and Crisanta's bickering was funny but also easy to see right through to what they actually wanted to say. Because of course as we well know, the idiots who are in love cannot actually admit it until they are forced to! Also I saw someone in these reviews compare them to Ellie and Dina from the last of us and that also explains why I loved them so much.
The flashbacks back to the last time they went to this family cabin were a nice break every once in a while and also allowed you to feel a little bit more of Cain and Flora's grief over losing her parents and see how life used to be for her before essentially all hell broke lose. It also really helped me figure out a lot of the stuff that was brewing under the surface and give context to some things in present tense too. Which leads into my final point, when the synopsis said "hidden truths" they were not lying! It felt like every body in this damn book had secrets including Flora. Which was funny because a few times when I was reading id be like wow what a hypocrite but then in the next sentence she would say exactly that lol. At least she's a self aware hypocrite. Overall like I said I loved this, cannot wait for whatever Racquel publishes next because I will be among the first in line to read it,
May 21, 2025
RACQUEL WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOUUU OH MY GODDDDD
actual review:
A genre-bending story of survival, fear, and bravery.
Racquel Marie's talent has always shined brightest in her characters, and the drive behind their choices and their feelings. Flora Braddock Paz has OCD, and is fighting against every intrusive thought she has day in and day out to ensure her and her brother's survival in a new apocalyptic world. If We Survive This is primarily character-driven; the plot is fleshed out well enough to give you a scarily realistic sense of the fear and gory horror Flora and Cain, as well as other survivors, have to face as they try to keep themselves alive and safe. But what really drives this story home is Flora's growth, from someone unwilling to sacrifice other, more 'worthy' lives when she is right there, to someone who finally understands there will always be something worth fighting for - including herself.
This story is haunting, unflinchingly brutal and honest, and such a refreshing read.
actual review:
A genre-bending story of survival, fear, and bravery.
Racquel Marie's talent has always shined brightest in her characters, and the drive behind their choices and their feelings. Flora Braddock Paz has OCD, and is fighting against every intrusive thought she has day in and day out to ensure her and her brother's survival in a new apocalyptic world. If We Survive This is primarily character-driven; the plot is fleshed out well enough to give you a scarily realistic sense of the fear and gory horror Flora and Cain, as well as other survivors, have to face as they try to keep themselves alive and safe. But what really drives this story home is Flora's growth, from someone unwilling to sacrifice other, more 'worthy' lives when she is right there, to someone who finally understands there will always be something worth fighting for - including herself.
This story is haunting, unflinchingly brutal and honest, and such a refreshing read.
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