This Is Not a Test

This Is Not a Test is a novel written by Canadian author Courtney Summers. It was first published on June 19, 2012 by St. Martin's Press. The novel takes place in a fictional Canadian town called Cortege, during the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. This Is Not a Test follows Sloane Price, a suicidal and abused teen girl as she faces the mental torments of her abusive father and being abandoned by her elder sister all the while reluctantly surviving alongside five other damaged teenagers. In 2013, it made the Inky Awards Shortlist and was a nominee for Silver Inky. In 2014, it was an Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading White Pine Honour Book. Summary Barricaded in Cortege High with five other teens while zombies try to get in, Sloane Price observes her fellow captives become more unpredictable and violent as time passes although they each have much more reason to live than she has. Characters Sloane Price – the main protagonist of the novel. She and her sister, Lily Price, were subject of their father's abuse from a young age, presumably after their mother's death. She alongside five other teenagers are barricaded in their high school, Cortege High once the apocalypse breaks. During their time sheltered at Cortege High, Sloane develops a friendship of sorts with Cary Chen and Grace Casper, as well as a sexual relationship with Rhys Moreno. Rhys Moreno – the narrator of the sequel novella, the main romantic interest of Sloane. Rhys is a high school senior whose locker was diagonal from Sloane's at Cortege High. According to Sloane, he was frequently surrounded by girls and smoked cigarettes frequently. He is one of the six students who shelter there after the events at the beginning of the apocalypse. Throughout the novel, he is close with Cary Chen, and often chooses his side over Trace Casper's, with whom he develops an antagonism. Trace Casper – the twin brother of Grace Casper. Trace is very close with his twin sister, Grace, and loved his parents. He develops an enmity with Cary Chen, blaming him for letting his parents run into an alley swarmed with the infected. He quarrels often with many of the characters and is distrustful of everyone, especially Nick Baxter and Cary. Grace Casper – the twin sister of Trace Casper. She was part of Cortege High's student council, and was very popular. She has a good relationship with her family, and had many friends. After the death of their parents, she also blames Cary, but later begins to let it go.