Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Generation Dead
(Generation Dead Book #1)
by Daniel Waters

Genre:  Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

Phoebe is just your typical goth girl with a crush. He’s strong and silent…and dead. All over the country, a strange phenomenon is happening. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same—they stutter, and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic," they are doing their best to fit into a society that doesn’t want them. Fitting in is hard enough when you don’t have the look or attitude, but when almost everyone else is alive and you’re not, it’s close to impossible. The kids at Oakvale High don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear—for good. With her pale skin and Goth wardrobe, Phoebe has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids. Not her best friend, Margi, whose fear of the differently biotic is deeply rooted in guilt over the past. And especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has just realized his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than just friendship. He would do anything for her, but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Phoebe's an open-minded high school goth student whose best friend/neighbor is one of the football teams top players, Adam. Their Connecticut school comes into the media spotlight when it beings to allow the highest ratio per capita of "living impaired" (really zombie teenagers, but the word "zombie" is a derogatory term in the story and everyone usually refers to them as DP = differently biotic) to attend classes. This unique acceptance is met with much tension, but a new Hunter Foundation "learning lab" is started to include both kind of students in hopes of projecting a more positive image. Throughout it all, Phoebe begins to develop feelings for the new "living impaired" student Tommy and realizes not everyone is as tolerant as she. So on top of having the responsibility of teaching her community about what DP people have to offer, she also has to deal with prejudices against her latest crush.

I admit, it took me awhile to get into this book. I would start reading, put it down, then a week later pick it up again. But after about getting a third of the way into it . . . I was intrigued. I'm a HUGE zombie fan, so that was the main reason for reading this, but overall, I liked it. It's defiantly got its undertone meanings, but you really begin to see the DP students side of their new way of "life" and some of their stories are just so heartbreaking. The ending was a bit shocking for me, so I cannot wait to begin the 2nd book in the series - Kiss of Life.

Likes: I enjoyed Adam & Phoebe's Frisbee sessions, very therapeutic.

Dislikes: How the zombies speak annoyed the heck out of me, but not so much towards the end.

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