Can You Survive a Zombie Apocalypse?: An Interactive Doomsday Adventure

You Choose: Doomsday

by Anthony Wacholtz, James Nathan (Illustrations)

A wailing moan. A stumbling walk. A horrid stench. You never thought it could happen, but zombies walk the streets with an unending hunger for flesh. With a single bite or scratch, you'll become one of the undead monsters. When YOU CHOOSE what to do next, will you be able to survive the zombie hordes?

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Middle Grade, Choose Your Own Adventure, Childrens, Dystopia, Science Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 2 in my Zombie-a-thon

Apparently not.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first time through, I died in six pages (just two choices). Pretty much what I expected - I always die in those zombie quizzes! Fun, but ... over too quickly! This is definitely written for kids.

Second attempt: again I die after three choices. (It's way too easy to be killed in this book!!)

Third attempt: I die after seven choices. I'm getting better but still not living through the night!

Finally on my fifth attempt, I made it out alive.

I read it through a few more times and died quite a few more times and survived twice more. Each survival was effected with military aid. There are some creative paths, but none of them are, shall we say, fleshed out enough.

Verdict:
* This book needs more blank pages, it's too easy to see other paths; if recto is the start of the path, verso should be blank.
* The characters make some stupid choices that I have no control over.
* I wanted a path where I survived without the military!
* This was way too short! I died four times in ten minutes of reading. I'm glad I just borrowed this from the library.

This was only the second choose-your-own book I've ever read, and they are definitely fun. I'm interested in reading more.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this mainly to satisfy a Pop Sugar Challenge prompt: a choose-your-own-adventure book. (It also satisfies book with a question in the title.) Fortunately, it was available through Kindle Unlimited.

It was an entertaining way to while away an hour or so, choosing different paths, most of which end badly.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A choose-your-own adventure story involving zombies. Good for older kids who like zombie stories. A quick read. Fun and entertaining.

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. Middle school me literally had nightmares for months from this. And every time I open the heater, I feel like I can't breathe because then the room smells like "this book" (since I read it with the heater on).

Also, I remember making a perfectly rational choice, but this book killed me for it. So rude!

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book. I did a few scenarios, and you die in most of them, so it wasn’t that rewarding. Also, the kind choice, which, in this book, was not always the right choice for survival, and I think that someone could misinterpret it as an excuse for being unkind, but that’s just my opinion.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can You Survive a Zombie Apocalypse? is about what you’d expect. It will take you about an 1hr/1.5hr to get all the endings, many of which result in your demise in an often disappointing way. It can be comical how easily your character will make a mistake, and with only two options to choose from every time, you’re flipping a coin on your character’s death each page you turn. For some, this may seem exciting. However, mistakes frequently do not feel earned and the story is written as to lead you down one, maybe two, paths. On top of all this, there is very little background and context provided for the characters, so you care very little about how they end up. This makes any desire to be altruistic limited and only encourages self-preservation. Ultimately, this book amounts to a quick BuzzFeed quiz that follows all the zombie media tropes, which has some enjoyment in its own right. I’d say it’s worth one or two playthroughs, but I think many may choose that one ending is enough.

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book when searching for Choose Your Own Adventured books. I was a bit disappointed at how short the book is but the story makes up for it. I’ve read three different endings so far. I’m really impressed with the feel of the paper, I love the images too. If you’re looking for an adult book, ya know explicit, this isn’t the book for you. But if you are looking for a good read that you can share with the kids or just by yourself, pick up a copy of this book. I’m pleased enough I want to get a couple more from the You Choose: Doomsday series.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently I can't!!! Even reading it twice -and making different choices. LOL

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun for kids that like Choose your own adventure books and maybe a twist of zombies! I loved it!

[Rick Silva · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style book, so I did not read every possible outcome, just enough to get a feel. I hit about six endings, half good and half bad.

Like a lot of this style of book, the choices end up being pretty random. There is no real winning strategy, and at one point taking bold action leads to doom, where at another, you're killed for trying to play it safe.

The zombie apocalypse presented in the story is generic by necessity. It needs to resemble the expectations of the reader because there is only three pages of setup to get the mayhem started, so any deviation for cliche would be a distraction. But the result is, of course, a pile of cliches.

Since the story is written for a younger audience, it avoids extremely graphic gore, but has enough horrific moments to stay true to the intended genre.

This is serviceable for what it intends to be, but it is not interesting.

[Jade Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant I loved these type of books as a teen and hasn't really looked for them since. I found this book by accident it was either a suggested read or from a site like bookbub. I made the wrong choice several times and had to go back but that's half the fun. once I finished and got to an ending I started again and made different choices. not sure if I've done them all yet but I loved the ending I got to that said the end instead of an end. I will continue to explore the other options and will read again in the future when I've kind of forgotten what each choice means. love it

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable hour or so where I died 15 times and survived 6. Yes I completed all the options and some of the scenarios you survived in seemed a little unrealistic. Basically if you made it to the military you were good. If they were being attacked by zombies I doubt they would be so concerned about people they don't know in the real world.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The answer to this question is... no. No I cannot.

On my first read-through I made only two choices before I died, which I think is some sort of record! On my subsequent read-throughs making different choices I continued to die repeatedly, with maybe only two endings where I lived, and I kind of had to cheat to get those.

So it’s clear: I would not survive the zombie apocalypse.

[Erica Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun choose-your-own-adventure that's fitting for the Halloween season. There's not much depth, but it's quick, if you want a short distraction.

I read through two scenarios. I played the hero the first time around and actually survived. My second read I got killed, so it seems like there's a good mix of outcomes.

[Jane Saul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole point of it is very cool, but I think the story can be a little more interesting and/or fun.

3 Stars
Okay Book
Suggested for kids under the age of 11
You will have to be okay with sort of a creepy genre
Enjoy! ☺

[Moira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and fun

I haven’t done a chose your own adventure since I was little; the story was quick and fun - aspects I generally enjoy in books, but I don’t think pick your own adventures are quite my cup of tea.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I survived!

This is a great book full of of zombie fun for the whole family.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I read this together he died a bunch but I survived!!!! Lol

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but...

This was a as some book but I wish some of the endings would be longer. But this is great!

[Juju · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was my first choose your own adventure book and thought it was pretty good. Wasn't super long and I read a few different outcomes. It was cool.

[Joye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read!

Nostalgic. Reminds me of all the hours I spent in the library getting lost in books. I love being able to control (in a way) how my character lives or dies.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this is a little too gruesome for the age group that it's aimed at.

[Gabriela Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet

Perfect for a beginner on all things zombies, not very graphic but you get the picture! I will be sharing with my kids who sometimes get scared easily! :)

[Esteban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and I did die a few times BUT i was smart when it was like "go into the basement" and i was like NO any smart person says no to that it's the #1 choice to say no to BUT THERE'S STILL ONE PERSON who clicks that part...

[Annie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

the people are chloe,logen and me. so you are in the car and lisning to the radio and your dad sees a man bitting a lady and he goes to save her and you are still in the car. you and your friends are going to make some choieses do are you going to survive or die. they are having a hard time because there is a zombie apocalypse and they might die they are proble gonna ending up dieing because there is a zombie apocalypse. and I rated it a 4 because it was ok. but it is a choose your path book and it has horrer so you might like it. it is called "Can you survive a zombie apoclalylepse?" and the author is Anthony wacholtz.

[Coryn]

I have definitely outgrown these, but I thought that maybe it would be fun. I gave it a 3 star rating because for a You Choose book it was boring. I get that it can't get into detail, but still. I recommend this book for 1st and 2nd graders (6-8 age range).

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this "choose your own adventure" a few times, both by myself & with my kids, I've surmised that none of us will survive in one way or another.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

You need this in your life. I mean, why wouldn't you read it?

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when you think you made the right choice, the zombies catch up to you.