Review: Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally, the sequel usurps the first novel of the book. Many authors fall into the trap of “second book syndrome” in a trilogy, where the second book is always full of “filler” junk. It’s not the glorious beginning of the world building concept to the series, or the drastic climax and epic ending. It’s just…the middle.

Gena Showalter does not fall into this trap at all. I LOVED Through the Zombie Glass. First off, that title? Another amazing nod to Lewis Carroll’s sequel to Alice in Wonderland, titled…you guessed it. Through the Looking Glass.

This story picks up soon after where Alice in Zombieland ends. The happy ending with Cole and Ali gets cut short. Something is up with that boy, and it sure irked me a lot throughout the novel. I know romances get dull if there aren’t problems between the couple. I at least am glad that this book isn’t a love triangle. There was a HUGE potential in going down that road, like most books sadly do to keep the drama up. Nope! Showalter doesn’t resort to these measures to make the book interesting, and I love her all the more for it.

However, we DO get introduced to two brand new zombie slayers from Atlanta. One’s a juicy hot guy who has possibly an even LONGER line of girls behind him than Cole does. Oh, yes, Ali refers to him lovingly as the “he-slut”. ‘Cause…that’s kind of what he is. He doesn’t do relationships, but enjoys the physical aspects of one. Yet, he’s still so loveable in his own way. I don’t know how Showalter does this to me! All these secondary characters are just “totes amaze-balls”, as Ali’s bestie Kat would have put it.

And the other slayer is…well, Cole’s ex. Now that already makes it seem like double the trouble for Ali and Cole. And it sure spices things up, to say the least. This girl is really try to grab Cole back for herself. I can happily say that I don’t really like her. But she sure makes for a wonderful and entertaining thorn in the side.

The central plot in this book I felt was more suspenseful and unique. Ali surprisingly gets infected with a zombie inside of her. Doesn’t that sound deliciously creepy? What is she going to do about it? Zombie Ali (or Z.A. as she calls her) causes a mighty lot of trouble that sure kept me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t stop reading, I swear.

The pacing was better in this book, with the problematic twists set fairly early on in the plot. The visions between Ali and Cole were not predictable in how they were going to play out so I was definitely anticipating for the logical explanation to those.

For the most part, the book is a little intense. So many things happen, with zombie attacks and Anima raising havoc at the same time. Which is why clever Gena Showalter added the glorious comic relief in the form of Kat and Ali’s Nana. Kat is her usual self, egotistical and totally awesome in her outlook at life. Nana…for a grandmother, I think she’s the coolest person in the book older than 20. Her attempts at modern day lingo…oh my. Let’s just say, I think “douche-purse” sounds way cooler than “douche-bag”.

Overall Recommendation:
Picking right up from where its predecessor Alice in Zombieland left off, Ali and Cole are immediately faced with grand-scale problems. More ferocity from Anima? Check. More zombie complications? Check. Major zombie infection problem for Ali? Check. Relationship problems between the happy couple? Sadly, check.
Its well-paced action and suspenseful twists are kept balanced by the humorous dialogues between the characters that are still so vividly drawn out on those pages. This is an example of the second book in a trilogy being better than the first. If you enjoyed the first one, Through the Zombie Glass is a DEFINITE must-read. It’s like falling in love with those characters all over again.