Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella

By: Jamie McGuire

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

Being 13 has pitfalls of its own, but growing up has never been this hard.

Jenna had promised her mother that if the worst happened during her dad's weekend, they would meet at Red Hill Ranch. When she finds seven words spray-painted on her dad's wall the morning after a deadly outbreak, she makes a promise to herself: to get to the ranch with her seven-year-old sister, Halle, and to get them both there alive.

For Jenna, seeing her mother again is worth everything. Determined to keep her promise, she is faced with experiences and decisions that force her to leave her childhood behind.

©2015 Jamie McGuire (P)2015 Jamie McGuire

Great YA sci-fi read

This book written from the girl's prospective is very well one of my favorite of late. Yeah, it's the zombie theme and I would have liked the transition process to take longer; but, it's a novella not a series. Though it could easily been stretched into at least a trilogy. Book was greatly enjoyed and completed in one listening session.
This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. Definitely recommend as an outside school read.

Interesting perspective

This book has a fresh perspective on a popular story. Although the book was a little unrealistic at times, it is entertaining and a good addition to the genre.



"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Among Monsters

Enjoyed hearing loose story lines being wrapped up. Good companion novella to Red Hill.

Awesome read

What did you love best about Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella?

The story was great. It started off fast and just kept going.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella?

When Jenna realized that "the neighbor" was actually with her mom

Have you listened to any of Patricia Santomasso’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, but I would have bought it anyway.

great second book to go with the first!!

I love how the author intertwined both stories so you know where one person ( the girls and their dad) was doing at the same time the other person ( Scarlet) really enjoyed these book a must read books!!

Not you typical Zombie book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The characters are likable and not the usual ex Special Forces guys fight off a hoard of zombies. The main character are sisters and its not a over the top gory book

What did you like best about this story?

The sisters growth. They were typical sisters the youngest the baby off the family and small "popcan" and the older a bit of a full of herself tween. They lean to work together and grow as well as appreciate and rely on the other. A divorced family but with two loving parents

What about Patricia Santomasso’s performance did you like?

She captured the essence without trying as some do to speak in baby voices or very deep male. She has a soothing voice as well

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

When a parent passes it was sad, but I wont say more as to run the story.

Any additional comments?

I liked the book ; not overly long and good characters and for once strong females vs the " help me " type. These were the type of women that would say " right ... this what we need to do" and get it done with ingenuity and stealth if needed.

I was given this book to review. The views and opinions are honest and what I truly feel about the book

Great view on Zombies

Patricia did an amazing job narrating this novella. I've read several zombie books and seen shows and movies and from what I've noticed they usually focus more on the adults. So hearing about a teenager and everything she goes through was a real difference. I really enjoyed this story because it was so different from what I'm used to. Yes it did follow the normal zombie rules, but unlike a lot of zombie related stuff it showed that women can be just as strong and smart as the men no matter what age. Plus it gives really good advice for whenever some idiot doctor finally makes zombies and we have our own outbreak.

such a strong girl!

This story is heart breaking.. what this strong girl has gone though to get to mom when zombies break out. She and her mom have plans that is anything ever happens, they would meet up at a farm about 40 miles away. Seems easy right? Not so! it might as well be 400 miles. I love that she does not give up-ever! her dad could sometimes use a kick in the butt, but learns his daughter can be trusted, and knows what she is talking about!

Good book! I would recommend if you like zombies, and are looking for a good fast paced story.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Stunning Zombie Apocalypse Novella

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I most Definitely would recommend this to a friend. This was a real treat to listen to. I really enjoyed hearing this tale narrated from a younger girls perspective. He was the driving force to keep her father and sister going towards their ultimate goal of reaching their mother.

What other book might you compare Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella to and why?

Apocalypse by Rashad Freeman. Similar theme of small groups having to leave the safety of their areas and move due to the dead and reduced resources.

What does Patricia Santomasso bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms. Santomasso does an amazing job giving each character life of their own. Jenna the perfect voice of a teenager. Halley the most annoying whine of a little kid. She was an amazing vocal performer.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was I wanted to sit and hear the whole story at one time but had to stop my self to go about my day and finish the needed tasks.

Any additional comments?

"This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom."

Kid-focused zombie story

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.


I didn't read the first story Red Hill. I've never read the author's mainstream romance novels, so I didn't have any expectations coming into 'Among Monsters'. I haven't read many zombie stories so I can't really compare, but the spread felt unnaturally fast. In the beginning, we hear about a viral outbreak in europe but nobody has any details. Within a day, america gets the first outbreak, then within another day, america is overrun with zombies. It seems the virus only spreads from being bitten, and they turn within a day after getting flu symptoms. You'd think that would slow the spread, especially if Europe was already exposed. I mean, if you can beat a zombie with a bat and not get infected from touching the blood-covered bat, then it's not gonna spread that quickly. But I digress.


This is the first zombie story i've read which followed a 13 year old girl (with first person POV), which is what piqued my interest in the first place. The author tries hard to balance the character and make her seem mature and reasonable but still whiney and stubborn as a child. Throughout the story, Jenna constantly berates dad about needing to see mom, which doesn't end well for some people. The story was reasonably paced. The focus wasn't really about surviving, but rather how to get to mom. I enjoyed the story, and it was a nice length. I thought the narrator was great as the young hailey. I'm biased in favor of female narrators, so I never had a problem with her male voices, but they're not super deep. She uses a subtle difference to differentiate when Jenna is speaking versus just narrating since it's first person POV, mostly changing her inflection and tone as opposed to pitch.