Generation Dead

Buy It: Barnes and Noble

Add It: Goodreads

Blog: Daniel Waters

My Rating: 4 out of 5

“Zombies, deadheads, corpsicles. What's the difference? They don't care. They don't have feelings to hurt.” 
-Generation Dead

Synopsis: Teenagers in America begin coming back to life after they are proclaimed dead, and nobody knows why the disease only affects teenagers. Soon, everyone must try to accept these students into regular society: these zombies who can think, read, and function just like normal students; except that they can't eat, they move slow and look slightly discolored. Not only that, but there are few laws protecting zombies, and they are being put back in the grave, often by their own peers. Pheobe, the school goth, begins falling for one of the zombie students, despite protests from her two best friends. Focus groups are started to figure out what makes the zoms so different from the regular teenagers, and why some of the zoms have higher functions than others. Pheobe and her friends, Margi and Adam, have their own zombie issues to get over, and sometimes it''s hard to tell if the study group is helping. Phoebe and her zombie crush, Tommy, have to overcome the pressures of society to try and be together. Adam sure doesn't like that, but he might just have to save Tommy's life to make Pheobe happy.

My Thoughts: I loved this book. I could not put it down and was interested from page one. Plus, look at the cover (usually I would argue to not judge a book by one... but man this cover rocks!). This is not your average love story, or your average zombie lit. It was totally unpredictable with a new character at every turn. The characters were all very well developed. I felt what Pheobe was feeling, and sympathized with the zoms. I would recommend this book to any teenager, though mainly teenage girls because Pheobe is 100% girl, even if she fronts a goth attitude. Also, romance is the main part of the plot, yet underneath it were strong themes of overcoming prejudice and learning to accept people that are different than you. The themes were so relateable and the plot was unique. No matter if your a zombie or a human, you can relate to the struggle of fitting in and learning to survive high school. The single second that I finished this book, I wished that I had the second in my hands. I would recommend this to high school and college aged girls. 

Quotes: “Transformation always requires radical action.”  

“What is it like.... what is it like to be dead?' Evan looked at him with his dull, unblinking blue eyes, ' I don't know, what is it like...... to be alive?