Fright-Fall Review: Contaminated (Contaminated #1) by Em Garner

Title: Contaminated
Author: Em Garner
Published: July 22, 2014
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pages: 352
Genre: Teens, Fantasy
Review: Paperback bought from school book fair
Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk 

After the Contamination - an epidemic caused by the diet drink ThinPro that turned ordinary citizens into shambling creatures unable to control their violent impulses - the government rounded up the "Connies" to protect the remaining population. But now, two years later, the government's started sending the rehabilitated back home, complete with shock collars that will either stop the Connies from committing violent acts or kill them before they do any further harm.
Since her parents were taken in the roundup, Velvet Ellis has struggled to care for her 10-year-old sister and maintain a sense of normalcy, despite brutal government rations and curfews. She goes to the "Kennels" every day searching for her parents, and when she finds her mother, she's eager to bring her home.

Sacrificing everything - her boyfriend, her home, and her job - Velvet will do anything to protect her mother. Velvet has to get the collar off her mother before the military comes to take her away. Even if it means risking all of their lives.

So I bought this book at the book fair. What called to me was the title of the book. I bought it and came home and started looking at reviews because I have never heard of this author before. There were a ton of 1-3 stars given to the book on Goodreads. I wanted to return this book because for it to have that bad of reviews it couldn't be good, could it? I have never returned a book before so I felt bad well I am glad I didn't. For me it was a pretty decent read. No it does not deal with zombies even though the people that are affected by this drink called ThinPro go crazy they don't start eating brains or anything they are just more violent. 

We follow along with Velvet and how she struggles at 17 to take care of her younger sister, go to school and work while still trying to find her mom who was a victim of this ThinPro epidemic. We learn a bit on how the ones that were affected by are captured and taken to be "studied." Now when Velvet finds her mother I kept thinking man something drastic is going to happen and it did but not in a bad way. I was surprised at the twist that came or at least to me it was a twist. 

I am wondering now what is going to happen with the military because it seems that people are turning into these violent people even if they have not drank any ThinPro. It has to be something either in the water or food but what could it be? I do think I will read book two as I want to see what else is going to happen.

I really enjoyed this world of Velvet's because it isn't a normal zombie story to me. It is pretty easy to read and it is really not graphic. 

Em Garner writes books.
She likes rainbows and unicorns and glitter and zombies, and she hates the feeling of corduroy, the grit of sand in her teeth (who doesn’t?) and the way banana candy tastes.
She lives by the ocean with her family, and she always goes in the water even though she’s afraid of sharks.