Description

The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.

Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother, Cain, are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their Los Angeles suburb left desolate, they form a new plan: venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up—their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.

The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, hidden truths, new allies, and painful memories of the whole family’s final time making this trip the previous year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.

★ "Marie delves into the genre with resounding success: alternating chapters titled “Now” and “Then” juxtapose Flora’s life in survival mode with society pre-apocalypse. Introspective portrayals of OCD and steadfast siblinghood combine with standout depictions of classic horror tropes bursting with sci-fi zombie gore in this tightly paced novel." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

About the Author

Praise For…

Praise for If We Survive This:

"This twisty, painful zombie apocalypse book is truly, at its heart, a love letter: to family. To queer kids. To teens living with mental illness. To facing down a horrible world and surviving it, no matter what. A story that will be reaching readers at exactly the right time." —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times-bestselling and award-winning author of Compound Fracture

"A bleak, visceral tale that is also intimately personal . . . this book epitomizes the best of what the [zombie] sub-genre has to offer." —Booklist

“Unflinching, gory, and tender. Racquel’s Marie propulsive first foray into horror takes a post-apocalyptic humanity and reassembles it into a beautiful, but haunting macabre portrait of something worth fighting for, all through the lens of one brave but terrified girl. This book finds its sticking place early and won’t let off for a long time yet.” —Joelle Wellington, author of Their Vicious Games & The Blonde Dies First

"Gory, grisly, and profoundly beautiful. If We Survive This carves the apocalypse wide open to bare its human innards, inspecting love and grief as inseparable forces. Racquel Marie’s entry into horror is a paragon of the genre." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

“A fierce and bloody feat of survival wrapping a tender—sometimes achingly so—heart. Racquel Marie stuns with her horror debut, where high stakes are matched by the most brutal emotions, and yet still, speaks to how the affection and love we have other people becomes a pillar of our own survival. Plus, zombies and queer girls—how could you want for more?” —Zoe Hana Mikuta, author of Off With Their Heads

"A harrowing, character-driven achievement . . . not for the faint of heart, but fans of gory survival fiction will love this one." —School Library Journal

Praise for Racquel Marie:

★ "Via Vale’s witty and acerbic first-person narration and her palpable passion for soccer, Marie delivers a textured sapphic romp that spins an earned enemies–to–lovers romance amid empathetic depictions of one teenager coming to terms with the effects of her treatment of others, as well as her treatment of herself." —Publishers Weekly, starred review, on You Don't Have a Shot

"Grabbed me from the very first page and didn't let go once, and I never want it to. This book does a beautiful job of taking care of the reader while not shying away from the incredibly raw and real topics of grief, mental health, and healing. Many grief books will break your heart. This one will piece it back together." —National Book Award finalist Sonora Reyes on This is Me Trying

"Ophelia Rojas is the type of character that leaps off the page and directly into your heart—Ophelia After All is a queer delight through and through." —Leah Johnson, bestselling author of You Should See Me in a Crown on Ophelia After All

"Ophelia may not have a label for her sexuality, but she definitely gives all the delightful disaster bisexual vibes a reader could hope for as she endearingly bumbles through her identity crisis...Deeply relatable." — NPR, on Ophelia After All