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Finding Humanity
After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world.
*****
For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life.
[[Wattys' Shortlist]]
[[Promoted by AMC]]
Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
*****
For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life.
[[Wattys' Shortlist]]
[[Promoted by AMC]]
Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
- GenresZombies
ebook
9 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 14, 2025
I read this fully on Wattpad and I have conflicting emotions about it. It started off good! I liked Emily at that stage, but...it became more and more and more frustrating the further I read. What I liked about Emily became a reason for why I started to dislike her.
The paranoia and the trust issues could have worked. It COULD have. But the execution didn't allow for that. Emily's issues translated instead to her thinking she and her group are uplifted upon a moral high ground. I don't believe this was the intention, but this is always the risk when you're writing a character with these kinds of issues.
The group Emily is in throughout the book make some pretty questionable decisions. And yet we're still expected to look up to them like they're superheroes or something. I did not like how whenever a character Emily views as "evil" is eventually what everyone in the group comes to think as well, even when it'd be illogical for every single one of them to think or feel that way.
It's a small complaint, I know, and a bit petty...no, it's not genius or logical to force people (TWO) to give up their weapons and be tied up in a zombie apocalypse. The group was begging to be distrusted the second they ordered that. Obviously Sam and Jason were going to "consent" to that; the group had GUNS pointed in their face. What the hell were they supposed to do with these strangers demanding they give up their only sources of protection at gunpoint? They were being threatened by both the gun and the possibility of having their supplies stolen and them killed or chased off.
And the thing that pissed me off the most?
The group thinks they are the most trustworthy. No, they are not.
About the zombies...I liked them. I think they are developed well enough, but I do have one issue. The nosebleeds. It feels like it should have led to a massive mistake on Emily's part. Like she murdered a living human with a nosebleed only to realize they were never bitten. It felt way too easy that the people with nosebleeds were always bitten.
One of the major issues I have is with Emily as a survivor of rape. I'm a survivor of SA, to preface this, and I didn't think most of it felt real at all. I seriously think I've read some of those lines coming from TV show scripts. It was just...very cliche and "muhahahaha, we never believe the victim" bullshit that's used to easily demonize everyone in Emily's past and then victimize her to excuse her behavior throughout the book. No, it does not excuse bad shitty behavior. I'm a survivor and I started hating Emily near the middle.
What happened to you does not mean you get a free card to be a bitch. Healing takes time, yes, but don't fucking take it out on everyone around you. I just wanted Emily to grow up because it felt like she didn't even WANT to heal.
Lastly, a complaint about the naming. They were all super similar to each other and I stopped keeping track because I had no idea who was who anymore. Nick, Mike, Kyle. Four lettered stereotypical white boy names.
If I have any recommendations for the author, and I'm sorry if this is super harsh, please come up with better names that don't make me think the person who raped Emily is Nick at first.
I genuinely think you as an author were being done a disadvantage on Wattpad. All you got was mindless praise from most readers who, frankly, wouldn't know reading comprehension if it bit them in the ass. No one, not even here apparently, are willing to tell you about some of the issues of your work so you can become an even better writer in your next work.
The paranoia and the trust issues could have worked. It COULD have. But the execution didn't allow for that. Emily's issues translated instead to her thinking she and her group are uplifted upon a moral high ground. I don't believe this was the intention, but this is always the risk when you're writing a character with these kinds of issues.
The group Emily is in throughout the book make some pretty questionable decisions. And yet we're still expected to look up to them like they're superheroes or something. I did not like how whenever a character Emily views as "evil" is eventually what everyone in the group comes to think as well, even when it'd be illogical for every single one of them to think or feel that way.
It's a small complaint, I know, and a bit petty...no, it's not genius or logical to force people (TWO) to give up their weapons and be tied up in a zombie apocalypse. The group was begging to be distrusted the second they ordered that. Obviously Sam and Jason were going to "consent" to that; the group had GUNS pointed in their face. What the hell were they supposed to do with these strangers demanding they give up their only sources of protection at gunpoint? They were being threatened by both the gun and the possibility of having their supplies stolen and them killed or chased off.
And the thing that pissed me off the most?
The group thinks they are the most trustworthy. No, they are not.
About the zombies...I liked them. I think they are developed well enough, but I do have one issue. The nosebleeds. It feels like it should have led to a massive mistake on Emily's part. Like she murdered a living human with a nosebleed only to realize they were never bitten. It felt way too easy that the people with nosebleeds were always bitten.
One of the major issues I have is with Emily as a survivor of rape. I'm a survivor of SA, to preface this, and I didn't think most of it felt real at all. I seriously think I've read some of those lines coming from TV show scripts. It was just...very cliche and "muhahahaha, we never believe the victim" bullshit that's used to easily demonize everyone in Emily's past and then victimize her to excuse her behavior throughout the book. No, it does not excuse bad shitty behavior. I'm a survivor and I started hating Emily near the middle.
What happened to you does not mean you get a free card to be a bitch. Healing takes time, yes, but don't fucking take it out on everyone around you. I just wanted Emily to grow up because it felt like she didn't even WANT to heal.
Lastly, a complaint about the naming. They were all super similar to each other and I stopped keeping track because I had no idea who was who anymore. Nick, Mike, Kyle. Four lettered stereotypical white boy names.
If I have any recommendations for the author, and I'm sorry if this is super harsh, please come up with better names that don't make me think the person who raped Emily is Nick at first.
I genuinely think you as an author were being done a disadvantage on Wattpad. All you got was mindless praise from most readers who, frankly, wouldn't know reading comprehension if it bit them in the ass. No one, not even here apparently, are willing to tell you about some of the issues of your work so you can become an even better writer in your next work.
May 5, 2024
This is the best zombie apocalypse story I've ever read. It's on Wattpad, and I'd never read anything on there before. I stumbled upon Nina Marks' story accidentally while looking for something completely different, and I'm glad I did.
This story is well written, and the characters are distinguished from one another expertly. The story wrapped up well at the end. I read a comment from the author that mentioned there will not be a sequel, and I agree with her reason.
I don't often give five-star ratings, but this story is definitely a five.
If you enjoy apocalyptic zombie tales, this 120K-word Wattpad story should be on your TBR list.
This story is well written, and the characters are distinguished from one another expertly. The story wrapped up well at the end. I read a comment from the author that mentioned there will not be a sequel, and I agree with her reason.
I don't often give five-star ratings, but this story is definitely a five.
If you enjoy apocalyptic zombie tales, this 120K-word Wattpad story should be on your TBR list.
April 1, 2025
Amazing book with a balance of all the tropes together 🤌🤌
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews