I had started and re-started this book a couple of times. I don't know what turned me away from it the first few times. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the narrative, or that the content wasn't something I was interested in. I love zombies! And this is a take on zombies that you don't see very often: how real-world politics or nations might handle such an international crisis.

I've been trying to figure out why it was sometimes a slow read for me, and why I didn't feel compelled the first time. It wasn't because the stories got repetitive. They each had their own feel to them, and the different sections of the book definitely added new puzzle pieces to the story each time. But I think that it's because I'm not a history buff, nor am I very knowledgeable about 20th century political conflicts, especially when it comes to regions that I was just never taught about sufficiently in school (read: The Middle East, China, and South America). So, when it came to parts where history mattered to a particular person's story, I just kind of felt... dumb?

This isn't saying that this book should take a hit for my inability to know important parts of history, but it is a reason why I think this book might be a slow read for some people, or why it is not compelling during parts.

I do have a lot of good things to say about this book. Although none of the characters really caught my attention on that deep level (I didn't take away feelings of deep sorrow or happiness from any one character's problems or victories), the stories weaved through each other in ways that I think is hard to do. Especially when you consider the fact that, in the world of this novel, none of the characters really interacted, save a couple. That's pretty amazing to me.

I was convinced, while reading the stories, of the gravity and utterly horrifying situation that the book is set in. World War Z is a must-read, especially for history lovers and zombie nerds.

It took me a long time to finish this book. That's pretty normal for me, since I am a student and generally have a lot of reading on my plate to do that isn't just for fun. However, I had to actually goad myself to keep reading this book instead of reading another because I just didn't see the point in it. Sure, there was conflict, but I wasn't sure where the book was trying to go with it.

I also had a problem with some of the character development. Although the book tried to get me to sympathize with Binhammer's wife, I couldn't. There was not enough reason for me to enjoy her as a person to either feel sorry for her or understand her point of view. I also had a hard time understanding why other characters were placed in the book. Sibyl, for instance, was one character that just completely disappeared about 2/3 through the book, and nothing more was said about her interactions with the other characters after that.

The students seemed to be placed there (with the sole exception of Liz Warren, perhaps) to be used for plots involving the adults or teachers. I wouldn't normally mind this--not every character has to be essential to the plot--but I don't know why the author actually put some of them there. I understood the character personalities or types, but wasn't sure why they actually mattered or were important.

My last criticism comes from the fact that the emotions and behaviors in the book seemed very shallow. Teenage girls are grittier, more emotionally charged, and deep than the book tries to depict. The only mean thing that I ever heard come out of a student's mouth in this book sounded like something I might have said as a teenager while gossiping to another friend, not in an angry confrontation with someone I disliked or was jealous of. Overall, the students seemed way more innocent than they should be in real life, and seemed to pay way too much importance to their teachers.

I went back and forth between deciding whether I ultimately enjoyed this book more than I was bothered by it, or vice versa.

Being a reader that has never actually read Alice In Wonderland or Through The Looking Glass (much to my shame!), and who did not know much about Ms. Alice Liddell Hargreaves or Mr. Charles Dodgson, I came to the story rather unprepared. Which is fine. In fact, it probably helps. As per other GoodReads users, I can imagine that one who places great respect in Lewis Carroll might become uncomfortable or even offended by his role (and of his relationship with the protagonist) in this novel.

Overall, I found the story to be enjoyable. It appeared a bit shallow in character development in some places. I was expecting more development in Alice's family, and was slightly disappointed a few times when I expected there to be harsh conflict between Alice and a family member later in the novel, and there was little to no conflict at all (the principle of Chekhov's Gun didn't seem to apply when I thought it should've). There was enough conflict in the novel to keep me going. It seemed to go through a progression of two or three story arcs or phases, which helped it avoid getting dull or repetitive.

The major criticism I have with this book was the grammar. The author loves semicolons. She loves them so much that she isn't afraid to use two semicolons in a sentence rather often. Five to ten semicolons per page isn't uncommon in this novel, which causes the sentences to drag on. As a reader, I appreciate prose that does not make me wander all the way back to the top of a sentence to remember what the subject of it was, or why we're on a different train of thought in the same sentence.

That criticism aside, the author definitely researched her subjects well, and I enjoyed the narrative liberties she took in some areas to make the story more compelling. This book is a cute and fun read into the life of a well-to-do woman growing up, and later, growing old, in England in the late 19th and early 20th century.