Had to force myself to finish.
934764
To start, let me say that this review will contain **SPOILERS**.  There is no other way to describe what is wrong with this book without doing so.

I tried to like this book, I really did.  It took me a few tries to even get through it, and only managed out of a lack of having another book to read.

First: The characters in this book are TERMINALLY STUPID, literally.  I understand the need for a period of adjustment when realizing the dead are reviving and walking the earth.  That said, I wouldn't yell at my daughter's savior for shooting "sick people" or ask him to not shoot anymore because it is "traumatizing". Please!  This same character manages to drive off an entire tank of gas, going in the WRONG DIRECTION! Traumatized, in shock, tired.. etc. etc.  I would hope someone would realize this major error lonnnngggg before they did.  I should've realized her idiocy before this, when she picks up a homeless man and decides to take him along with herself and her 13 yr. old daughter with absolutely no qualms for safety.
  The homeless man, an admitted alcoholic who manages a week or so of running for his life, without any withdrawal or "DT" symptoms at all.  Talk about unrealistic. He is possibly one of the only characters with any redeeming qualities at all. This mainly because he actually maintains some intellect and sacrifices himself for the others.
  The cop, who does seem marginally smarter than the rest of this cast of misfits.  He loses all respect when it is revealed, that when he made his split-second decision to quit the "force" and join with our other "survivors", he walked away from his girlfriend and family without a seemingly backward glance until "days" later.  I understand you can't save everyone, but when he made this monumental decision, things in their town hadn't even gotten bad(as in hundreds of zombies everywhere bad...) yet and they were just seeing their very first zombie.
  The main character, Nadene, is written at times more like a 7 or 8 yr. old.  Especially at the beginning.  I think the author over-compensated in trying to write from this POV.  However, that being said, I think all the characters are very immature in respect to their actions and how the dialogue is written.
  I'm sorry for the long, bad review.  I really do hate writing them.  I just couldn't let this one rest to speak for the Zombie Genre with such a high rating.  I think with a little editing help and some experience this author could do much much better.
3281403
I just couldn't get into it but I made myself finished. I was kind of thrilled when I was done since I wouldn't have to read it anymore.
4587609
At the 50% mark I about lost my mind; I loved the premise, liked the characters, love Stephen King. But good god, this went on and on and on. It became an exercise in frustration. Last night I read until 5am, just to end the damn thing. So, It was good enough for me to bother, but irritating enough I would never read it again. It just needed some major editing; maybe Mr King has reached the point that his editors don't dare to?
598155
I had to force myself to keep reading.  There was too much repetition of events.  I kept hoping for more.  The age difference was a standing problem and poof, it was suddenly resolved.  The end was a bit philosophical but at least brought some resolution.
1489737
The storyline was sweet, but took too long (for my taste) to come together in the end. I found myself skimming through their endless thoughts and pity parties. Too many of their thoughts became redundant and I had to walk away from the book and find something else to do to get my frustrations out. Clearly, I know that I would not be able to stomach another book by this author. Sorry.
3165210
I liked the book, but at times I had to force myself to finish it. I will probably read the next one.
3098936
It was ok.  I forced myself to finish it as it is a Feb. selection for book club.
141380
Much too long and muddling.  It was like having a sick puppy hanging on to try and finish it.
339669
I had to force myself to finish this but the whole time I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen.
3809643
I had to force myself to put it down at night to get some sleep or risk staying away all night to read it at once.
4447997
I was really intrigued by the premise of this story.  The beginning hooked me and I was unable to put the book down.  What happened?  It seemed like time stopped and I could barely force myself to keep reading.  In fact, I lost the battle.  I gave up shortly after Paul's recital.  I would rather live without knowing how this family turned out than have to read one more sentence.  (That is a huge concession for me because I hate leaving things unfinished.)  It was death by slow, tortuous boredom.  The author had this incredible idea for a story that started out so fascinating, yet quickly fizzled.  It's like she ran out of steam and forced herself to finish the book just because.  It was a huge shame.
4940062
It was OK.  I was compelled to finish it.....but the story lagged
2452741
Had to force myself to finish it. Being constantly bombarded by bad one liners make me think the authors 1st name was "Shecky"
3119322
I've always tried to finish a book once I start one, but I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading the same idea over and over.
3856850
Just didn't keep my attention - some clever phrasing but I couldn't finish
3553044
I had to force myself to finish this book (was a choice of my book club so I did read it all).  Don't know whether it was because he wrote too well (made me feel I was immersed in the savage world of characters living on the edge of existence) or not well enough.  There were so many points of view from which the story was told that it was a little disorienting because new chapters might shift suddenly to a different character. He's a well-regarded author, but I wouldn't choose another book by him.
1089000
the book was good, but so long!  I am glad that I read it, but I had to make myself finish....