I’m ultimately giving this one a 3.5, rounded up, because it did take a little while to get going, but the ending totally redeemed it. I cried. It was beautiful, scary and haunting, all at once.

The romance aspect of it was great, and I rooted for Ian to be able to tell Eric how he really felt about him. The angst! The longing!

One character did get on my nerves a bit, due to the “I know how to do everything ever” and “Let’s commit crimes because no one ever cared about us” vibes, but I loved how three of the characters really loved each other. This story has a wonderful message of recognizing that everyone has failures and makes mistakes, but we can find our people and create a community that means something.

Major shout out to the author for sheer inventiveness regarding the illness taking over the town. I was invested in seeing how it played out.

It’s important to note that this is a good opportunity to learn more about what it might be to suffer from epilepsy and seizures. Leif gives vivid descriptions of Ian’s experiences with his disability and shows how it has affected his entire life. Any time I can learn more about what life is from another person’s perspective, I take it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for the eARC. All opinions are mine.2024-read-in apocalypse arc ...more12 s akacya ?1,298 274

2024 reads: 152/250

i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.

five years ago, ian’s west virginia hometown’s water supply became poisoned by a parasite, causing those who drink unfiltered water to become empty shells of themselves. when an emergency evacuation causes ian to die…and then come back…he’s separated from his best friend/crush eric, and sets out to find him and tell him his feelings before he goes.

unfortunately, this was lacking quite a bit of depth that would have made this a five-star read for me. i would’ve loved more information about the water supply and undead situation, though enough information was given to understand the gist of what was going on. i also didn’t quite connect with the writing style at some points.

now that the negative parts are out of the way, here’s what i enjoyed! i loved that this was set in my home state of west virginia, and i’ll admit this is something that originally drew me to the book. this was set in a different part of the state, but i still could imagine the setting quite well.

i also loved all the disability representation and discussions on disability that were present throughout the novel. our main character, ian, has epilepsy and chronic migraines. he’s joined by monica, who’s chronically ill and uses a cane, and angel, who i believe is autistic (though this label is not used). there’s discussions about how they were left behind as evacuation plans, unfortunately, aren’t typically inclusive. in general, i loved this trio and seeing their friendship grow throughout the novel.

i’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA horror.arcs-finished audience-young-adult disabled-authors ...more12 s Raaven💖512 36

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This was probably one of the fastest moving books I’ve ever read. It’s a quick read that packed a punch. I really enjoyed this premise, but I always sit back and think “if there was something that could make me a zombie if I drank the water in my town, I would just leave.” why are people staying?

We unfortunately don’t get a big look at the friendship between Ian and Eric since everything happens so fast. I was expecting some character building to happen first but nope! I said it moves super fast. The side characters were interesting even if we don’t really see much of them either.

I also LOVED the disability rep. Ian gets seizures and feels a burden to his family and best friend Eric. He feels second to Monica, who is pretty and seems she has it all together even though she walks with a cane. Them teaming up together was so sweet. Angel telling them they are allowed to be selfish and take up space and act human even though they are disabled got me in my feels.

This is such an interesting twist on the zombie genre and I had a fun time reading it. I actually thought it was going to make me cry a few times. A good debut for sure!lgbtqa-reads netgalley-reads7 s2 comments Starr ???1,440 143

*Review to come*

Pre-review comments below
APOCALYPTIC HORROR WITH BOYS COMING BACK TO LIFE TO HUNT DOWN THE BEST FRIEND/LOVER WHO LEFT HIM WHILE SAID BOY STALKS HIM DOWN TO MERCY KILL HIM??????cant-wait got-an-arc library-order-considerations6 s Bradley Humphrey6 1 follower

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!!

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS





You learn early on that Ian is going to die die and you spend the rest of the book dreading that moment.

This book was excellent. The only reason I didn’t read it in one sitting is because I did not want it to end. It was The Walking Dead mixed in a little bit with Warm Bodies and was reminiscent of Roanoke and croatin. It was just a great read.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review5 s1 comment Jada24 2

I really wanted to this book but for me it was a DNF about 40%. It was hard to get into and I kept trying and just wasn’t engaged. Based on the description I thought I would it. Horror is not a genre I usually read but seemed a YA horror with romance might be up my alley.

It jumped into the action really quick and it talked about how Ian cared so much about Eric but I felt we never got to see that. I think I might have d it better if we got a better sense of their background and relationship before it just dived right in. YA books written in 1st person are real hit or miss for me and maybe I just need to move on from trying to them. I also felt the world building was pretty vague and maybe if I had finished it would be better but at 40% through I was still really confused what being dead meant and what caused it.


Thanks to negalley and the published for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review! While this book was not for me there might be others than really enjoy it.4 s Maggie272 44 Want to read

So excited for this!! I've read snippets as I'm in a group with the author online, and y'all. It's so good.4 s Shrike117 2

Take All of Us had my heart in a stranglehold. Tears were shed.

The kids are not alright...and that's okay. There's fantastic disability, neurodiversity,  and queer rep. I love that these characteristics are very intentional and central to the story. Leif centers each character's identity and loudly denounces inspiration p*rn.

There is no shortage of gross-out body horror and cosmic horror between the heartwarming moments. I found myself pacing just to release some of the tension Leif builds so well. I highly recommend this book for both YA and adult readers, especially fans of queer horror. 

Thank you so much to Leif, Holiday House, and NetGalley for the chance to check this ARC out for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.favorites gaayyy queer-horror ...more3 s2 comments Amr SalehAuthor 1 book7

A book that keeps me anxious and guessing until the last page automatically earns five stars. That’s exactly what Natalie Leif’s Take All of Us did to me. I genuinely had no idea what was going to happen next or how the story would end. Imagine watching a TV show and always playing the next episode because you just need to know what happens next. That was the case with Take All of Us. But it wasn't because of cheap cliffhangers. Far from it. In this book, every logical conclusion points in a certain direction until the story reminds the reader of an important overlooked detail. That’s when said reader will respond with, “Oh, right. But then this would mean... oh no!”

What personally sold the book to me was Ian. He was the type of protagonist that resonated with me from the start. He reminded me of my teenage self in many ways: the angst, the anxiety, and the need to confess one’s feelings to someone special. It’s just the teenage longing for a victory in an otherwise frustrating week, and man did I want Ian to have that win.

The cast of characters was amazing, each with their own distinct personality. So much so, that I could always tell who was speaking without needing a dialogue tag because each voice was so unique. The Ian-Eric dynamic was incredible and very believable because this is a book where teenagers feel actual teenagers!

I was also quite impressed by the world-building aspect of the story. Usually, in horror, I take everything at face value and focus more on the impact of the horror elements. But I found myself genuinely interested in the mechanics of Leif’s world and how everything that led to the current situation operates within the rules they established. So the SFF nerd in me was pleasantly surprised.

One last thing I want to mention is the representation. I usually don’t focus on it in my because I believe that the world and its people are diverse, and it shouldn’t be something that stands out in fiction anymore. But I must commend Leif for going the extra mile here. I genuinely felt I walked away from this book having learned something new about life experiences different from my own, simply by watching the characters interact with the world and each other.

Take All of Us stole my heart from the start. It’s a story that is surprisingly deep, and its themes have stayed with me long after I turned the last page. As gory as it can get, it’s also quite humorous at times. But for me, Take All of Us shines brightest when it gets serious, and the themes start to take center stage. There were a couple of scenes that brought me to tears—a certain scene involving a letter comes to mind. This is an incredible debut by Natalie Leif. It’s a story I am sure to revisit multiple times in the future, and for that, it deserves five glowing stars.2 s Catherine294 2

I receive a copy of this book from NetGalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a unique take on a “zombie” novel. To be dead without being “all-the-way dead”. Blackened eyes and a body slowly beginning to rot away while you are still coherent enough to know you don’t want it to; until finally, that piece of you that you still had left in your mind starts to decay as well.

Ian, our main character, is an epileptic who dies in a mall water fountain after a seizure. He wakes up knowing he is dead, but not ready to leave his life yet without telling his best friend that he loves him. Along the way, he teams up with Monica and Angel. Two girls that are imperative to him taking his first steps forward in his “new life”.

There is a ton of character growth within these 250 pages between both Ian and his party of stranglers. A fun and fast read about what it means to allow yourself the freedom to live for yourself and to take up space. 2024-reads lgbt2 s Adriana30 1 follower

Beautifully written, attaching characters. I wish there had been more.
One problem was that throughout almost the whole book, I thought that Angel and Monica were dead as well, so I got confused. The Book also seems to be preparing the reader for the real death of Ian, only for him to escape it, so it feels both a plot twist and a prank.
I never knew I would take an interest in 'zombies'.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2 s ícaro4 1 follower

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

In all honesty, I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. When I started reading and realized the characters' ages, I was scared that this book would be more young than adult, and that I wouldn't fully get into the story - however, I actually did.

This novel manages to combine the gore-y and dark bits of horror, and the overall ethical questions that come with any story about life and death, with the the feel of a found family YA trope. It was a bit slow at some points but once I got into it, I actually devoured it.

Of course, it's still YA, which means it has a teenage vibe to it (which is not a bad thing, teenagers also need to have good stories). The fact that the three main characters were disabled and had honest conversations on what it means to take up space without guilt was very cool to me - it really is nice to see these topics in YA stories.2 s Maral :)34

Omg this was so heartbreaking, i loved every sec of it so much.
The ending put me on such a relief.
I lived the main caracter and how he learned from his experience and how he grew from the first page till the last page.
I loved how they make a little world for them selves and how they cared about each other.
This booj was so beautifull.
Thanks to netgally and thanks for letting me read this beautifull book.2 s Sara Anthony56 1 follower

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink for sending me this ARC!

3.8/5 stars!

Soooo... I do feel the marketing on this is a little off, but NOT because the book is bad. On the other hand, the book was very good! I just think it shouldn't be classified as horror, and more of an action adventure YA kind of read. I don't really read horror in the first place (I'm a scared little baby lol), and when I requested this book I had NO IDEA that I had requested a horror book. As I read, I couldn't tell that it was going for a horror-esque theme, because while it was pretty graphic, it wasn't SCARY. Most of the scenes that carried a lot of suspense were detailed and gory, but it wasn't "grip your armrests and sit at the edge of your seats kiddos, this is gonna be one helluva ride!" effect. It was more of a "oh, that was strange. Interesting for sure, but very strange." And most of the gore is balanced out by the romance as well, so it doesn't hit as hard as it could (which was a good thig for me because I can't handle that kind of thing, but bad for people who prefer it!) This was a very intriguing book to read, and while I came into it totally blind, it was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed how the characters stayed true to their ages in the actions that they performed and the dialogue, but some of the plot did fall a bit flat for me (in some scenarios there were a few plot holes and other ares that didn't entirely tie up loose ends) but despite the issues I found, this was an incredibly enjoyable read! Starting off the book was already going strong, with Ian and Eric's introduction and the death of Mr. Owens kicking off the whole 'infection' idea. The premise was very promising as soon as I finished chapter one! Ian's epilepsy is what causes the major problem of the book (aka his death), however I took a little bit of issue with Natalie Leif kind of "picking and choosing" when she wanted the epilepsy to be THERE and mentioned, and when it almost felt he didn't have it at all. Another issue I had, was that Angel as a character was very unable and while it is eventually established to be a coping mechanism of childhood trauma, we didn't really see her grow as a character which didn't really develop a connection to her. Another issue I had was with PLOTHOLES. Ian forgets things (as the dead are meant to do in this novel) however almost immediately in the next chapter it is almost as if he never forgot anything at all. This was a bit confusing for the reader, because it was a little bit of a "wait, what? But didn't he just... And now he is... The blue sedan? Whatever." kind of feeling you get as you read. Which, by all means, was not a terrible thing at all. It just gave off a little bit of an unpolished aspect.

Anyways, since I've summarized all of that, here are my in depth s and diss!

LIKES:
- Ian and Eric were sooooo cute! I absolutely adored both of them, and I found it very sweet every single time they interacted. (I do kind of wonder about the kiss with Ian being dead and everything, ... Does that spread the parasite to Eric? Idk... Idk if I want to think about that)
- Monica and Ian were totally bsf feeling, enemies to friends is totally something I can get behind. I really love how their disabilities shaped them into the person they are in the book, and even though it was really only a one sided enemy kind of thing I did really feel the connection between them. They had chemistry as friends, and it should be a more established thing with authors creating perfect friends and not creating a romance between them!
- Ian's whole thought process and feelings of guilt were very tough topics. He often thinks he isn't good enough for able bodied people throughout the book, but his character development definitely showed the evolution of his actions and inner monologue. He was a deep character who wasn't written to be too complicated for a teenager, and I applaud the author for portraying him so raw and clear.
- Zoey was a very misunderstood character, and I enjoyed the development she had.
- The world building, while murky at times, was really interesting! The author enables this amazing world of zombies that aren't really zombies to exist, and I think this was super clever and fun to read about.

DISLIKES:
- I pretty much summarized it all in my overview, but the plot warped a little bit and it was hard to keep up with.
- I admit, I did really love the ending of the book. It was nice and sweet, but it was also very abrupt which I didn't . It felt the book wasn't really closed off, and kind of gave off disney vibes. But it was really cute, and I have to say that even though it wasn't the most true to the book's theme, it was super cute!

OVERALL, this book was really enjoyable (though I don't recommend reading it at night because it may or may not give you existential crisis) and while its not exactly a multiple reads kind of thing, its great for picking up pretty quickly. I read this book in the span of three days with about an hour and a half designated to it everyday, and it was a great cooldown sort of book to read as I ate dinner or did some work. Love the author's work, as a debut novel you should be very proud! I would totally read some more of Natalie's work in the future, this was extremely impressive!arcs1 3 comments Jasper69

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn‘t know how to feel about being dead or being heartbroken. But I wanted to try figuring it out. I wanted to try doing everything I‘d never let myself do while alive. And if that meant doing it as a messy, rotting, undead corpse…
Fifteen years too late, a couple hours too late, and a town-wide evacuation too late, I wanted it.

Take All of Us is a story about a ragtag group of disabled teens learning to let themselves take up space, set against the backdrop of an Appalachian small town where the dead refuse to stay dead.

There was a tonal dissonance in the book that I struggled with a bit. In the beginning the book reads very young, with the characters being on the lower end of the YA age range. I also noticed that some parts of the dialogue were much closer to actual spoken language, with contractions "Pro'ly", "Couldn't've" and "Musta" almost disrupting the reading flow. The core moral of the story was also very on the nose, and could have used a bit more subtlety in the way it was communicated, further adding to the juvenile feel of the book. All of this is perfectly fine for a YA book, but led to me thinking that I've probably outgrown the younger end of the genre.

However, the further the book went on the more it grew into something I really enjoyed reading about. The idea of an ancient, almost eldritch thing in the mountains raising the dead and calling them 'home' was amazing, and I loved seeing it unfold and take up more space in the novel. Natalie Leif conveys this atmosphere wonderfully with her prose; gorgeously vivid descriptions and paragraphs that made me pause to re-read or annotate them.

I wanted to scream at them in holy tongues, scream about something, jamming everything I saw into words too impossibly small for it, a million people speaking together into screaming noise, the universe crammed into a single dying body, a seizure lighting up every part of the brain at once, a cigarette spark in a room full of oil.

Not only does this theme of eldritch horror slowly twist and grow throughout the book, it was also wrapped up really well. The last 10% of the book shines not only with the way it was written, but also with the amazing end it offeres to a book whose plot could have easily been concluded poorly.

Unfortunately, this part of the novel only comes after the long stretch that is the first 75% of the novel that I struggled to enjoy. I sorely missed a common thread; a more central plot to make it feel less I had to wade through a book that despite its potential hadn't decided what it wanted to be. Its more youthful traits make it virtually impossible to anticipate the darker, more imposing tone the novel takes on that, while really interesting, ends up fitting an oversized jumper the book has yet to fully grow into.

Damn the blood, damn the afterlife, damn death and all its rotting pieces. I loved him a dog or a soldier, alert and upright before I‘d even thought about moving. I loved him instinct.

To summmarize, Take All of Us is a diamond in the rough that could have used a bit more polishing in the form of thematic coherency, but nevertheless has some wonderful moments in its prose, plot and characters. It has a core message that I haven't seen before in a lot of media, and is going to mean a lot to people. It's a debut that shows a lot of promise, and I'm interested to see what Natalie Leif writes next.arcs1 Abby219 5

So apparently I need to get back into the apocalypse genre because I forgot how enjoyable it can be, especially when paired with mild horror...

Take All of Us is a story about an apocalypse and what it means to take up space as a person. While I think the "horror" aspects were more "gore" than anything, I did really enjoy the world and the messages the story shared.
We follow Ian, an epileptic teen who just happens to hit his head and die at the beginning of this apocalypse, transforming him into what is basically a zombie-in-progress. He teams up with the handful of others left behind in the evacuation as they try to save their town - and Ian - from turning completely into the undead. There was a lot of build-up to an ending that might be considered by some to be unsatisfying or abrupt, but because it wraps up most of the loose ends, I was willing to accept it. (However, I do think it could be more in-depth because there are some moral issues that we just gloss over and accept without considering the consequences).
I really d the found family vibes that developed throughout the story. Ian's personality reminded me a lot of some of my favorite characters, although I can't pinpoint exactly who. Angel was a bit annoying at times, but I didn't mind her or Monica and their developing friendship. Zoey didn't get much development, so I can't say much about her. However, I didn't trust Eric for, , the whole story, and I see everyone else saying he's amazing, but I still got bad vibes from him that I struggled to ignore as the story progressed.
If you're looking for a YA sci-fi with apocalypse and found family elements with bits of romance, horror, and action, look no further than Take All of US.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

4/52024 24-hours advanced-release-copies ...more1 Erika Lucas10

I was sent an ARC of this by NetGalley and in return, here is my honest review!

Take All of Us is perfect for those seeking a story following a misfit group of kids saving their town from the apocolypse. Themes, which include found friendship, adventure, horror and romance make this YA novel a warm hug. Even with the gore, I found myself amazed at the way Natalie Leif explains the undead almost in a whimsical, fascination for them.
I wish there was a chapter or two at the beginning of the book going through a day in their life before the events of where the book actually began. I think this would have added context that would allow an easier transition into the first chapter with Mr. Owens. Without understanding the undead and the dynamic of Monica/Ian and Eric/Ian, I think the book was harder to follow and too quick to start because of lack of context.
Even though it was fast to begin, I found myself enjoying following the characters through their town and discovering the truths of the evacuation that left them the only ones left.
My favourite part of the book was the message of 'taking up space'. I especially think Natalie Leif did an exceptional job at portraying this within a disabled persons point of view and even extending it through a queer lense as well. It added an extra strength within Ian, to use his past experiences in the healthcare system to overcome his problems.1 Miles69 1 follower

Oh god do I love horror books that are queer and centered around boys who are meek and learn not to let unfathomable horrors screw with them and keep them from having a life they never got to have but deserved to. If I had a nickel for every book I've read that had horror elements and a kickass cast of unruly teens I'd only have two nickels but it's weird that it happened twice, right?

I won't lie towards the end it got to my head a little bit and I was left wondering what the ever loving hell was going on, but I honestly think that adds to the mindfck of it all, the weirdness, the unease, the horror. I was driven to the end wondering, is he going to make it? I was driven through to each plot point wondering, is Zoey going to kill him? is he going to be betrayed? does Eric love him?

And I think a truly good book is one that not only captivates you, but smoothly takes you from one plot point to the next, and keeps you reading and reading because you just HAVE to know the answers to your burning questions.

I'm picky on my horror books, but I can trust authors Leif, Andrew Joseph White, to provide trippy, truly scary horror books paired with just a hint of love, justice, bittersweet, and the taking back of what was truly theirs all along.1 Stephanie892 9

I’d to thank Natalie Leif, NetGalley and Holiday House for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god I loved this. I inhaled it. Near the end I was afraid to finish in case it would make me cry but we got there in the end. Queer apocalyptic horror with found family, I needed this so badly. You have no idea.

Take All of Us follows Ian who wants to profess his love to his best friend Eric, so they go to a mall and things don’t go the way they planned. Ian “dies” and wakes up alone in a fountain in the mall. His goal is to find Eric, but in the process he finds Angel the apathetic prepper, and Monica his old school rival. I love the disability rep in this book, proving people can still survive the apocalypse even if they have to use a cane to move around. The way the dead in this book were created was so cool, love the idea that people can still live on for a little while, and come to terms with their death before they officially die.

This book is a hug, a mug of hot cocoa by the fire in the late fall when things are getting cold, and the song Meet You at the Graveyard is playing in another room.

These are the trigger warning I’ve gathered: seizures, body horror, grief, apocalypse, injury detailnet-galley netgalley1 ally857 56

2024 reads:137/124
I would say that this is more 3.5-3.75 stars
negatives:
-I feel the world-building wasn't the best and that there wasn't enough detail about the situation. there's enough explanation to be able to understand what's going on but I was still left not knowing how they were dead but "alive" and how Ian came back to life?? idk maybe it's just me and it was too confusing for me
-it was also maybe mismarketed? I wouldn't say this is horror, it wasn't actually scary. if anything, it's more a dystopian novel.

positives:
-short and sweet? (still can't tell if that's a good thing)
-great representation
- surprising sad, deep, and emotional.
-amazing characters!!! i loved ian as the main protagonist and then their cute little trio. i also love the found family aspects!!
-the ending. it was very nice and satisfying
^i enjoyed reading it and was wanting to know how it ended, but although the concept was pretty interesting and unique, the writing wasn't my favorite

also procrastination is amazing!! i finished this at 11 pm the night before this comes out :)) 4-stars arc cute ...more1 Joyfully Jay8,114 474

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.5 stars

This is an unusual book. There’s a bit of gore — with people dying, people falling apart, some light cannibalism — and some very angry conversations as the three of them face the reality of being abandoned. Angel is implied to have autism (it’s never stated, but the indicators are there), Monica has chronic pain and walks with a cane, and Ian has epilepsy. Monica and Ian know one another by sight, as they both had frequent trips to the hospital both as children and as adolescents, but they’ve never really talked until now.

There are a lot of thoughts on helplessness, on anger and grief, on injustice and frustration and acceptance. The subject matter, framed in an adventure story of a ragtag group of survivors, might be slightly weighty for some people. Even so, it’s a fun adventure with a new take on the undead, the process of dying ((and no dying), and the bonds of friendship formed in adversity.

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
elizabeth1 USOM2,810 268

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Take All of Us was described to me as "Unbury Your Gays" meets chronic health representation. While it took a bit to fully start steamrolling, once it did I was smitten. Take All of Us balances this tender love story about trying to tell the person we love, that we love them - even if we're dead. It has this universal almost angst ridden necessity to convey these feelings if it's the last thing we do. At the same time, it's slowly revealing the 'what happens next'. Because if we're dead, is that just over?1 Finn Lampe52

Copy for review from NetGalley
---
I didn't really the book. About 50 pages in the biggest goal the main character had was reached. Another 50 pages another big goal was reached and then the story just lay flat. And I didn't feel there was any motivation to let the story continue. It felt very unmotivated and I didn't it. Only the last 50 pages were filled with some type of motivation and goals for the characters, and still reaching that goal was very vague and it didn't really make sense.netgalley1 Drakoulis257 24

Take All Of Us has an interesting premise promising big moral conflicts and a horror/dystopian world-building, but sadly doesn't commit to either aspect enough and the story produced is lukewarm.

The origins, causes and resolution of the living dead were vague at the start, disregarded as barely important in the middle and went full paranormal in the end - unfortunately it never made an intriguing mystery.

The characters were not really deep (and very childish in the first part), the message about society leaving disabled people behind was in-your-face and I couldn't find myself to care more than superficially.

Overall, the book was built on a good idea with a mediocre execution.

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC!gay horror m-m-romance ...more1 Maggie3 1 followerWant to read

Cannot wait to read this book!!1 Ace2

I received a e-arc of this book from NetGalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink in exchange for an honest review.

Final rating 4/5

Take All of Us is a well written book about the protagonist Ian coming to the conclusion that he’s in love with his best friend Eric, But before Ian can confess his feelings he dies.

The ‘Zombie’ concept was interesting. I enjoyed how different and unique the take on it was. To be dead without fully ‘being dead’. Your body rotting while you’re still conscious enough to know you don’t want it to.

I loved the platonic love in this between Ian, Angel and Monica. A mixed gendered group where no unnecessary romantic love bloomed. The family concept was also heart warming as well as heart breaking - when Ian called his family i was sobbing.

I thought the way the disabilities were betrayed was good and didn’t seem stereotypical.

Despite how much i loved almost everything about this book, i didnt really enjoy/understand the romance between Ian and Eric. I feel i didnt have anytime to really get to know them or see more in depth feelings from them. I also wish i would have been able to just genuinely know more about Eric instead of just what Ian had to say, he seemed a great character that didn’t reach his full potential.

The more i let myself sit with this book the more questions i have about it. The ending was confusing and sad and i don’t understand how the dead just magically werent dead anymore - but despite that i think the book was an easy and enjoyable read.







1 Alex3 1 follower

I'm not typically big on "zombie" esque books, but this one is intriguing. It's one of the most interesting premises I've read in a long time, and add that it's an "unbury your gays" story? Count me in!1 Kai (CuriousCompass)553 23

A cute, grim, kind of punk, kind of goth, kind of video-gamey YA coming of age novel about a gay boy and his mis-matched pack of left-behinders in a world where zombie parasites turn your blood into combustible oil...

Take All of Us drew me in for many reasons. Good ones. Zombies. Gays. Pitching itself as an "unbury your gays" story. There was no way I could resist.

The book immediately sets up our core couple, Ian and Eric, a pair of best friends doing their best to hang out everything is normal despite Eric's deadbeat dad and Ian's severe epilepsy and, oh yeah, the fact that zombies exist in their town and everybody is doing their best to pretend it's normal. A parasite of some kind has infected the water supply, and if you die with it in your system, you return, your eyes entirely black, your body slowly breaking down and rotting as your blood turns into flammable black oil...

Zombies retain their awareness and personality at first, but after a few days they descend into twitchy, dazed, husks of their former selves, locked in a fugue state doing repetitive and familiar tasks until their either rot and die, or are put down by others out of mercy.

Our story follows Ian, Eric, and a team of badass survivors named Monica, Angel, and Zoey, each of whom feels fleshed out and fully realized, each with their own issues, trauma, and personal handicaps, be they physical, mental, or both.

The early half of the book really felt walking around reading apocalypse logs in a video game: Ian, Monica, and Angel investigating the town and searching for clues as to what had caused the evacuation, their fraught encounters with Eric and Zoey, and the few clues and pieces of information they're able to piece together, mostly by a mix of breadcrumbs and guesswork, is really interesting. The atmosphere was impeccable.

Easily the most fascinating part of the book was the parasite itself, the hints and glimpses at what was behind it, the lure and pull it had over the undead, the way it made their eyes go black. It was giving Resident Evil: Village vibes with the big mold colony thing.

Ian's descent into confusion and terror at a certain point was absolutely well-realized and left me impressed with how wrought it all was and how invested I was. It also sort of reminded me of some of the later sequences in the first Life Is Strange game. Really fantastic stuff.

I was hanging on by the edge of my seat as the book played out and Ian's fate hung in the balance. The ski-lodge sequence near the end genuinely reminded me of something akin to The Quarry or Until Dawn.

I would genuinely love a sequel to this. Although it works well as a standalone, I could see a path forward for this to turn into a duology or even a trilogy, if the author was so inclined. At the very least I would love a novella or short story from Eric, Zoey, or Angel's povs about what the three of them saw on the mountain, because I am burning with curiosity, yet a part of me s that it was kept relatively vague, so my mind can fill in the horrific blanks.

All in all, Take All of Us is an interesting, oddly wholesome, grotesque, coming of age tale about a gay teen zombie boy and his support crew, a unique take on zombies, a love letter to disabled people, and a great little mystery with some neat surprises to unfold along the way.

I want a sequel and a Netflix film adaptation please! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc/review copy.coming-of-age coverlove cute-overload ...more Ronald Hopkins57 4

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story is as follows something is harming the people within the town of Kittakoop and it has something to do with the towns water. When Ian winds up as one of the undead he must go on a journey to hopefully give his heart to the boy of his dreams while also battling losing himself and his mind. Can Ian make it and will Eric return the feelings for him at the end?

I decided to give this a chance because I loved the overall concept and premise and wanted to read something that felt a movie I enjoyed Warm Bodies. I think one of the great selling points about this book is that it uses the message of the undead as a Trojan horse to really talk about how we tend to throw away or give up on the disabled community. The main character deals with epilepsy and this unfortunately leads to his death which he struggles with throughout the book even when he finds the love of his life he has to accept that his reaction is valid towards his change as a person. I think the story was mostly romance and inner turmoil with a side of the horror or zombie plot which if you came into this book expecting romance to be at the forefront, much I did with Warm Bodies, you'll enjoy it a bit better. I will say that the book does plop us right into the thick of the story and we sort of learn through it the characters stories, personalities and everything between is sort of taught to us throughout this book. I found the side stories sort of just present but not all the time necessary. Ian's issues with Monica felt just present but random was interesting because I think it was supposed to give the lead some form of negative traits but it didn't really amount to anything and I would have loved for him to acknowledge how that may have caused harm towards his relationship with her outside of this, but I will say that I enjoyed the relationship that forms between this ragtag group of friends that come from different or diverse experiences and have different ways of handling or reacting to the leads change in dead/undead status. I also found the romantic engagement very sweet and luckily I enjoyed that because that was legit the main point of the story and everything else sort of took a backseat to the pining, the desire for each other, the hurt and the discovery of mutual attraction. All these points were present for a lion-share of the story and we don't really get into the reasoning for why the water is a problem until closer to the third act of the book.

All in all, the book is a great time if you have a taste for romance but you will be disappointed if your expectation was more survival horror and them trying to make sense of their unfortunate situation versus this being a story about romantic engagement and the building of friendships. Don't get me wrong they have a lot of great moments that are directly correlated to the zombie story but romance drives this vehicle. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewnetgalley takeallofus Smallbob44 2

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