Schoolgirl Apocalypse

by John Cairns

It begins in a small Japanese village. A mysterious affliction transforms men into zombies who kill women on sight.

For the few women who live to see the second day, a harsh new world awaits where the only rule is survival of the fittest.
Sakura is a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, naïve and unprepared for the violent murder of her family and friends. Will she give in to starvation and madness? Will she crawl into a hole to die?

Aoi, a sociopathic beauty, finds this new hell to be her personal utopia. In this lawless land she can amass a fortune and indulge in her darkest fantasies. Beware any who would stand in her way!

Okamoto is an alcoholic lab technician in a remote mountain research facility. Her life of hazardous waste disposal ends abruptly with the bloody chaos of the crazed men and the arrival of an angelic boy, mysteriously immune to the affliction.

Will this broken woman rise to the challenge to protect the boy and young Sakura? Will these desperate few survive long enough to discover the force behind the apocalypse?
Follow the schoolgirl Sakura and the others as they struggle through a macabre landscape of horror and madness to find the source of this blight on the soul of man.

Genres: Zombies

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2012

About the author

John S. Cairns was born in Mederie, Louisiana. He studied fiction writing and film at the University of Iowa and the Paris Center for Critical Studies, Sorbonne and received his MFA in Film Production from Syracuse University. He wrote and directed the film, "Schoolgirl Apocalypse" which premiered at the Puchon Fantastic Film Festival as well as the Montreal Fantasia Film Festival. He is also the author of a collection of short stories entitled, "The Negative Cutter". He now lives in Tokyo, Japan and divides his time between film production and writing.

For an interview of John Cairns please check this link:

http://www.filmdeviant.com/2013/08/fo...

Reviews

[Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was loaned a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for them.

Review:

Schoolgirl Apocalypse oh how I love thee. This little gem was brought to my attention a month ago when it went Free on Amazon. Unfortunately I missed it at the time so marked it on my Zombie wishlist for later purchase. Fast forward a month later and I get the offer to have it loaned to me through Kindle. I kid you not I had this book devoured in one sitting under 2 hours. Yes, it was that good.

Now if you don't watch a ton of Asian media the themes in the book might seem a bit unconventional but I assure you if you give it a chance you won't be disappointed.
I even heard a movie was made based on this but haven't had a chance to view it as of yet.

In Schoolgirl Apocalypse all the men turn into killers, these aren't your traditional zombies (think 28 days later meets Resident Evil 4) but I still would classify them as such based on behavioral patterns.
A lot of women die in this book and because the deaths are rage fueled they can be at times brutal. I myself found this interesting but it might be off putting for some.

As for the story itself its certainly unique. Schoolgirl Apocalypse follows three characters Sakura,Aoi and Okamoto. All the women featured in the book are at different stages in life and I found the choices made by each character reflect that. Sakura is the Schoolgirl in the story. Coming from a fairly traditional household I found her character had the hardest time adapting to this crazy world. That being said I felt by the end she had embraced the hand dealt her and had become a very solid survivor. Okamoto however I would of liked to have learned a bit more. Her story is told in the beginning and end but during the middle she just pretty much disappears. It works for the story but I wouldn't of minded seeing a few glimpses extra.

My favorite character was Aoi. Yes she was a crazy psychopath and even downright unlikable in the beginning but the girl had complex layers and I really cannot wait to see where her story heads in the next book. As for the ending....all I can say is it definitely has a certain flair to it. The ending might be annoying to some but I felt it was fitting considering all the tiny clues given throughout. Schoolgirl Apocalypse is left on a cliffhanger and personally I would of liked to have seen a few more pages before it closed but that's just my own personal gripe.

Final Thoughts
If you like Action, Unconventional themes, fantastic world building and strong enjoyable characters then this book is for you. I know I will continue following this series and definitely checking out more books from this Author. Therefore I will be giving Schoolgirl Apocalypse ★★★★.

[Jay Traub · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not my usual genre, but I found it an enjoyable read. It is funny that the first kind of book it reminded me of was the Goosebumps series that I used to read in elementary school. I really enjoyed them, but after reading a few books it became obvious that there were places the author would not go due most likely to the fact that the series was targeted at younger readers. This book is in certain ways similar, but it does delve more into the horror of the given scenario and uses more graphic details and gritty descriptions to make a more compelling read. I guess because of the darker turns the story takes, it would later remind me of the classic science fiction movies I used to watch that made subtle but profound use of symbolism in their tales.

What I liked most about the book is that the leads are females. It is nice to see females being the hero, villain and support characters as they are often underrepresented in stories. The fact that only men become zombies opens the books to a lot of interpretations on its symbolism, but I will let others read and decide.

If I was to recommend this book to anyone, it would be to those who like an intersection of Japanese culture and zombie culture.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Lots of innovative twists and totally unexpected ending.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great start, but unfortunately devolves as we follow the least interesting character wandering around and thinking in circles for page after page. By the end I had lost interest.

[Aria Draconfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had quite the enjoyable experience in reading this book. I definitely couldn't put it down and finished it in one sitting. The writing is well done, the pacing is great, and the scenario gives you a lot to ponder over. I decided to read the book based on the title and the fact that I am a huge fan of Japanese manga, video games, and anime but even if you aren't I believe you will still enjoy this book.

The story follows three characters, all women, Sakura, Aoi and Okamoto. All of the characters go under considerable change and growth throughout the book, which is expected due to the circumstances. Aoi is definitely the most interesting of the characters, you get a really good feeling of what she is about and she is fascinating in many ways. Sakura and Okamoto are a little less compelling to start with and I felt that out of them all Okamoto had the least to contribute to the book. Sakura started out weak, which fit her age and her upbringing. I was glad to see the considerable growth that she went under throughout the story, it was slow and painful but played out beautifully.

The book can become very brutal at times, but I found it to be very realistic based on the premise of the book.

The only criticism I would give is the ending leaving you a bit in the dark, and feeling slightly abrupt, I would have liked the scenario to play out slower, and gone into more detail, some parts were slightly confusing and I really wanted to know more. Hopefully though all of this will be answered in Book 2 and will no longer be an issue.

All in all I definitely recommend this book.

[Deth Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snagged this book on a whim. It's basically a zombie story with some twists. Where the book really shines is actually it's characters, and it's buildup of suspense. I was definitely kept on edge during reading it, because of the way in which the unexpected happened; from one moment to the next you wouldn't be sure if things would go to plan, or if it would all fall apart.

The book is decidedly female-centric; all the main characters are females, and it goes into great depths about their motivations, thoughts, and feelings. I found that very refreshing. Some of the characters were very memorable to me, but I wouldn't want to spoil the book!

The action in it was very well done, and not over the top or unbelievable. Interestingly it deals with the emotional consequences of self defense, which is rare to see in books of this type.

It also talks a good bit about Japanese culture and odd little tidbits about the country, from the perspective of people fleeing across it as it falls apart. I found the stuff about school particularly interesting.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of apocalyptic stories, Japan, or female-centric stories.