e-Audio, 08:34:33
Narrated by: Meghan Sinclair
Release Date: August 25, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: August 23-24, 2026
The Dead Weight, #1
Source: Libro FM (I received an e-ARC from the publisher and Libro FM and an ARC from the publisher at the ALA conference This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Blood. Child Death, Death, Gore, Toxic Relationship, Violence, Bullying, Medical Content
For Readers of: 2sLGBTQ+, Action, ARC, Audio, Body Horror, Holy Crap, Horror (Zombies), Sparkly Cover, Libro FM, Most Anticipated, Series/Companion, Thriller, YAIt’s kill or be killed in this heart-pounding apocalyptic horror. The first book in a new series, If We Survive the Night combines the ruthless zombie perils of The Last of Us with the every-woman-for-herself angle of Yellowjackets. What type of person does it take to survive the end of the world?
Sixteen-year-old Quinn is used to being told that what she feels inside isn’t quite right. After getting kicked out of multiple foster homes and narrowly escaping juvenile detention, she’s undergoing therapy at a residential treatment center for “troubled” girls. Looking for a night of freedom, Quinn sneaks onto the roof with her best friend Keisha, and what she sees changes everything…
She witnesses the start of the zombie apocalypse.
As zombies, or “carriers” as the news calls them, infiltrate the treatment center, escape becomes crucial. Quinn and Keisha make a pact to leave together, but several unexpected complications screw up their plans.
As the girls battle the carriers and wrestle with their doubts about each other, Quinn realizes she has never felt more alive. Maybe this is exactly the kind of world she was built for. And part of thriving in this cutthroat environment means cutting off the dead weight – even if that means putting other lives at risk…But even if she’s willing to sacrifice everything, can anyone really outlive the apocalypse?
*MY THOUGHTS*
So when I heard about this from the publisher I was already into it. She comped it to the other zombie book with the cooler on the cover. She said it was just as gory and it was also really good at showing what they were doing to survive and not change. So naturally I was like HELL YEAH. We were able to take things at the end and she only had ONE. I grabbed it as soon as I could. And y’all it was fate because I (definite pun intended) DEVOURED this.
Ok so I waited forever for this book to hit Libro under Sourcebooks audio program. Once it did I think I started this immediately lol I immersive read it and I swear that was the best decision. I was able to get into this and block out everything. And trust me, you need it. The audio is phenomenal! It had me jumping and I was even pausing it to write down notes and everything else. It was so good.
The plot was good. When I tell you it was non-stop action. These girls was aways in some shit lol I think I yelled at them every page! For the most part I was yelling because they all were so damn noisy! I’m sorry in this situation you better whisper EVERYTHING. It seemed like they were speaking in a regular tone the whole time! I would have left everyone lol
Speaking of that, the main character was crazy. There’s no other way to say it. She off-ed every single person she came across. And I’m talking before they even became a threat. It became very apparent why she was in the place she was when all this started. Now some of them deserved to be left behind and not with them, but sh was killing their asses. She was ruthless and it was crazy lol
The carriers are basic, but there were still so many questions around them. Like how did the come about? I know they reawakened after they died when there was a loud noise, but like what was the origin? Who was Patient Zero? I need the details. Hopefully there’s more to come in this second book? But yeah, even tho they seemed basic, they were still gross and creepy af. Definitely don’t want to come across any of these weirdos at any time LOL
Now like I said this was filled with action and heart pounding moments, but the ending of this was hella wild. I had to rewind it because what in the world? It was so much going on in those last few moments and then it was just over! It creeped me out so bad that I got mad that the sequwl wasn’t already here smh lol I don’t want to say what happened but just know I was like that meme from Friday with Smokey and Craig saying, “DAMNNNNNN” lol This solidified in my head that she was crazy. But then it made me think…. Was she crazy or is this just something that had to be done for them all to survive? Because I mean technically it worked for them all so far. It was just a hot mess all around.
This was wild. I hope to get the next one sooner rather than later! Also, I learned while writing this review that this was an indie release first! Definitely made me want to go harder with telling y’all to pick it up. So go do it and come back here and tell me what you thought!
Overall, I give this
