Title: Zero Repeat Forever
Author: Gabrielle Prendergast
Pub. Date: August 29th, 2017
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 496
Formats: eGalley
Trigger Waring: Suicide & Racism
He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.
Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.
His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.
Until a human kills her…
Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.
Shelter in place.
Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?
Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.
Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…
Zero Repeat Forever is THE book that demanded patience of me in return for a nice pay-off. Slow paced yet instantly addictive, I couldn’t quit this book. The story follows Raven, her boyfriend Tucker, his twin brother Topher, and a few other friends who were sent away to Summer Camp after getting into some trouble back home. While away, planet Earth is invaded by the Nahx aka alien forces. The killings begin and don’t show any sign of stopping. Humans are hit with darts that turn their veins black & rob them of life. Raven & her friends were informed to stay in place until they can be rescued however, that seems less likely with each passing hour. Opting instead to move in order to survive, their group finds that they know very little of the Nahx. Gathering info from Kill videos circulating on the web, they know the Nahx can be killed with much difficulty. Getting close to a Nahx however proves to be near impossible until Raven gets injured & captures the attention of one Nahx soldier. Eighth has been one directive...”Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.” & yet the sight of Raven is enough to make him go against his very nature. Not only is he unable to dart Raven…he sets out to protect her from his own.
The heart of this story lies within its characters, with wonderful character development Zero Repeat Forever was achingly beautiful to read. Raven is considered to be a bit of a troublemaker but she’s really just your average teen. She wants to do better for her parents especially now that the world has been taken over but she’s also a free spirit. Raven is loyal to those she cares about & she also harbors a ton of anger towards the Nahx (rightfully so). Raven meeting Eighth wasn’t easy & I loved seeing the progression of their very complex relationship. I don’t want to reveal too much about Eighth for fear of spoilers so I’ll just say, this character broke my heart with his sadness and guilt. Some scenes are hard to get through because there’s a communication barrier (the Nahx can’t speak) & Raven has a ton of anger. What I loved about their story is that it wasn’t rushed & it went through stages making the reader feel all of the emotions both characters are trying to cope with.
Told in alternating POV chapters between Raven & Eighth, Zero Repeat Forever is not your typical fast paced action packed sci-fi. Instead we get a heartbreaking story of death & destruction, friendship, love, and the unlikeliest of bonds. Prendergast also covered some serious topics such as suicide & racism. Raven our MC is bi-racial & she does bring up (via internal monologue) the racism she’s experienced back home. Suicide does get introduced in the latter part of the book as a thought both Raven & Eighth have struggled with. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did because of the slow pace. However, when I finally reached the last page I was left flipping blanks looking for more story. Zero Repeat Forever with it’s melancholy tone & Edgar Allen Poe quotes sprinkled throughout is now in my very top Sci-fi favorites. I recommend to all who enjoy a good sci-fi (think SyFy’s Falling Skies), love good character development, & don’t mind a bit of melancholy every once in a while 😉
*HUGE Thanks to Simon & Schuster, Netgalley, & Gabrielle Prendergast for the eGalley of Zero Repeat Forever in exchange for an honest review
Hello Readers! I originally planned to have this review up last week but life got in the way, Zero Repeat Forever is already on shelves! has anyone read or plan on reading? I am SO READY for the next book cuz that ending left me with eyes wide open! haha 🙂
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This sounds so fun! I really think I’d like this based on your review and I LOVE the cover!
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Thank you Krysti! you can never go wrong with black & gold lol 🙂
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So true. Like The Thousandth Floor. Those books are stunning.
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😍😍😍yes! My shamnciest books 😂😂😂
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For real though! 😍😍😍
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This is on my list for sure! I didn’t get a review copy, so I’ll have to buy it at some point. But I’m glad I read your review, and I’m glad you loved it so much:-)
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Thank you Tammy! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you get around to it 🙂
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I loved this book!! I can’t wait for the next one either!
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eeeeeK! YESSSS! I’m following this one til the end 🙂
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Great Review! I’ve been hearing mixed reviews on this book but I’m so glad you loved it. Now I’m pretty excited to read it. 🙂
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Thank you Raven! I did read a lot f these reviews & can totally understand how the pacing may have discouraged some. however, if you don’t mind a slow paced book with awesome character development then this is worth checking out 😉
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This sounds very interesting! Great review x
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Thank you Liesje! 🙂
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Wonderful review Lilly! Another one for my tbr!☺️
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Thank you Kim! & yea whenever the Sci-fi bug bites you then this would be a solid choice 🙂
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Ooh this book sounds really interesting! I hadn’t heard of it before reading your review, but I’ll have to add it to my list. I’m always looking for a good dystopian/sci-fi to read!
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Thank you for stopping by! there are so very few YA Sci-fi books on the shelves at the moment but this is one of the best I’ve read in terms of character development. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you get around to it 🙂
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You’re reading all the books I’m dying to read…the HC is prettier than the ARC!
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HAHA! what have you been reading? & yea I’d have to agree lol, I saw the HC in store & regret not picking it up but I’ll be hauling it soon 🙂
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Great review for this book Lilly. It sounds really good and that, even though it was slow to start and demanded patience from you, there was some incredible character development to keep you interested. This is definitely a book I am thinking about adding to my to-read list. It sounds really good and the fact that I’ve been warned about the slow start means hopefully I’ll be able to get through it without being tempted to DNF this book. 😀
Again great review. 🙂 ❤️
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Thank you Beth! If and when you get around to reading this one, I’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts 💭…loved the characters but it does require some patience. I haven’t DNF’d a book since Roseblood which hurt like hell to do, before then I hadn’t DNF’d in 10 yrs! LOL! Smh
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That’s all right, and I’ll definitely let you know. I have way too much on my TBR list to get around to this soon but one day. 🙂
Oh I struggled to get through Roseblood myself, and yeah it’s been a while since I DNF-ed a book too. 🙂
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