Day Zero (The Zero Trilogy Book 1)

As "Doomsday" books go it is not bad, the typical book. But it left me with some questions. Elle managed to get a knife from one of her guards when he went to sleep. If she was in a cage, how did she do that and why would the guard be going to sleep by her cag in one of the passages between the cages. The only way I can figure this might happen is if the guard had pulled her out of the cage and had sex with her and then fell asleep after. That would be the logical assumption. In all the books, the "evil" guys only shoot women and men and kids or occasionally use them as slaves and the ones who had Elle prisoner only used prisoners to fight to the death in the Pit. I realize this book is fantasy but it would be refreshing to read doomsday books where the bad guys act like real bad guys and use the women for more things than target practice or gladiators or field slaves.I realize the author is young and probably does not want to go into such things, but if she wants to have the books believable, they need to step things up quite a bit. Ms. Lane is not alone, I have read quite a few of these "doomsday" books and I have only found two so far that mention rape and what happens to captured females and only one (written by a woman) that mentions feminine hygiene products when the characters were foraging survival items.Getting back to the book, I read one review that said Elle seems to have it way to easy, and it didn't seem as hard as it should be for her. I agree with that assessment.

Elle has been on her own since society collapsed and the modern world we've become accustomed to became a thing of past. Now scavenging for canned goods, hiding in abandoned buildings, and trying to escape the notice of armed gangs and the brutal new order has become the only way to live through each day. But for the first time since the world ended, she’s come across a group of survivors she just might stick with, and together, they’ll search somewhere safe.The Verdict: I’ve read some really great books lately that focus on survivors of what is essentially the apocalypse. From Lissa Bryan’s world in which a flu-like plague wipes out most of humanity to Pauline Creeden incredible melding of zombies and aliens with the book of Revelations, I find myself wanting to read more and more stories of survival in collapsed world. So when I noticed that Day Zero was only 99¢ on Amazon, I decided to continue my post-apocalyptic journey. Unfortunately, this one just didn't live up to my expectations.The biggest issue I have with the story is simply that everything is too easy. Elle should be a typical teenager, a bit lost without iPhones and cappuccinos, but she’s been rather conveniently trained in both martial arts and gymnastics, which give her an edge that’s just not believable. It’s not that she’s just lucky or slightly better prepared than her peers; she’s presented as some kind of teenage badass who can outrun and outfight her would-be killers. Add in that she’s probably the only person who’s ever escaped from the death matches that darker society has decided constitute entertainment, can lead a rag-tag group of teams in besting the heavily armed and feared gang that outnumbers them at least ten to one, and ends up with a sword, and I was done believing any of it. Had she been raised in some kind of system that turned out teenage assassins and survivalists, or had she not so neatly escaped danger at every turn, perhaps I would have bought into the story more.Despite how negative that all sounds, it’s not a terrible book. The scenario is intriguing, and there’s plenty of mystery to be resolved in later novellas in the series. Elle’s too disconnected to be very likable at first, but I suspect that will change as she spends more time with her new band of survivors and reconnects at a human level. And as is appropriate for this genre, the violence isn't too gory or over-the-top for younger YA readers. I would venture say that while many YA books are great for any age, this one is probably better suited for the youngest teens, the ones who love falling into an adventure and won’t necessarily question the lack of fallibility in Elle. I already have my copy of Day One, though, so I may still give it a shot and see if it makes a better impact on me.

I love the post-apocalyptic genre, but I'm not so big on Young Adult fiction; I feel like YA stories pulls back too many punches for the sake of keeping it a light PG-13 rating (if it were a movie, that is). However, that wasn't the case with Summer Lane's Day Zero. It definitely wasn't gory by any means, let there be no mistaking, but violence happened when violence was necessary for the sake of storytelling.This novella is about Elle (like the letter), a young girl who's been forced to become a fighter and a survivor; she actually reminded me of a the more hardened version of Ellie from The Last of Us. Elle's smart and quick on her feet, but not much of a people person. I like that. Too many times new writers try to make their protagonists a little too perfect, but Elle is flaws - stubborn, a little cocky, sort of awkward, and anti-social. We are introduced to her right off the bat, and soon she stumbles across a group of four other survivors around her age (some a few years younger, some a few years older), while trying to escape a gang called the Klan in post-apocalyptic Hollywood. Her gradual befriending of this group of teens is the catalyst for what follows.There are elements of Day Zero that reminds me of The Road (except not as depressing), the TV show called Revolution, The Hunger Games (but better, in my opinion), and The Last of Us. I think this is a great book for lovers of Young Adult series, and people interested in post-apocalyptic fiction. Summer's writing is fast-paced and to the point (she won't describe every detail of a blade of grass, for example; she assumes the reader knows what a blade of grass looks like); her character dialogue is realistic; and her style is clean, crisp, and doesn't cause any head scratching moments for the sake of literary experimentation.Summer Lane is an author I expect great things from.

These are easy to read books (or Novellas as they are quiet short) and set in the same 'Universe' as her other Collapse Series.This series follows a young girl 'Elle' as she struggles to get around the nearly abandoned city of L.A. I say nearly abandoned as of course its full of the gangs, ferals, and other low lifes that you expect in this type of story, otherwise, what would be the point?? It's a good fun read, not to heavy, with a nice simple plot to follow that makes it an enjoyable read.This book has some great descriptions of street scapes and city scapes, giving you a real feel for being in the city. You can really get a feeling and understanding of what the city that is desolated and abandoned, even more through the eyes of a young girl. Summer Lane does a brilliant job of describing this.Summer writes great characters, this one is slightly different in that her female lead is slightly less useless than Cassidy was at the outset of the Collapse Series (Cassidy seemed completely inept at everything but was able to be rescued by the gorgeous hero quiet often...), whereas Elle is very self-sufficient. The characters in this series seem almost a little more believable than in her other series, and this one is a bit darker I feel as well. It reads really well and you flip through the pages quickly, wanting to read what is going to happen and find that the story is over very quickly (basically its only flaw?)I really enjoyed the first in this series, and have already started on the 2nd, and will get the 3rd on pre-order based just on this book as in my opinion, it’s a great series, and a bit better than the Collapse series, more believable in its characters, and its story and a great read.

Not a bad story, but not enough given away to make it compelling. Sometimes it was hard to follow, just because you're never really sure what has happened. The characters are not developed enough to make me invest in them. That said, I would give the second book a go, to see how it develops. So there is potential for an interesting story to develop.

I think I just got so used to Chris and Cassidy that I didn't really like this book as much. Not to say it didn't have some good points, it certainly did but... I'm hanging out for the next State of Book so..

kept me interested good story line