Passing Strange by Daniel Waters

Passing Strange
(Generation Dead Book #3)
by Daniel Waters

Genre: Young Adult  | Urban Fantasy | Paranormal Romance

Karen DeSonne is used to pretending to be something she’s not.  All her life, she’s passed as a normal all-American teenager; with her friends, with her family, and at school.  Passing cost her the love of her life.  And now that Karen’s dead, she’s still passing – this time, as alive.  Meanwhile, Karen’s dead friends have been fingered in a high-profile murder, causing a new round of anti-zombie regulations that have forced nearly all of Oakvale’s undead into hiding. Karen soon learns that the “murder” was a hoax, staged by Pete Martinsburg and his bioist zealots. Obtaining enough evidence to expose the fraud and prove her friends’ innocence means doing the unthinkable: betraying her love by becoming Pete’s girlfriend. Karen’s only hope is that the enemy never realizes who she really is – because the consequences would be even worse than death.

Karen has always been considered one of the "fast" zombies and the most caring and beautiful as well.  She has dear friends who are both living-impaired and heart-beaters, but in the beginning of Passing Strange she learns something about herself that both fascinates and frightens her immensely.  Thus, she decides to keep it a secret.  Her world has also turned up-side-down, funny thinking that she's a rare zombie to begin with, but seriously . . . her fellow dead-walking friends are now in hiding on the bottom of the local frozen lake for a crime they didn't commit, her family is beginning to emotionally reach out to her in ways she never imagined since her suicide, the government has passed new strict laws where her kind are no longer allowed out without certain authorization, and she was able to pass as being "alive" long enough to get a job at the mall. Strange, right?  Now she's taken it upon herself to help her friends, both living and dead, to overcome the injustice being dealt to them by falsely dating (ie. being an undercover agent) the main reason for most of their problems, Pete.

Like all readers following the Generation Dead series, Passing Strange created a twist for it's fans by getting new POVs.  The previous two books where told from Tommy, Adam, and Phoebe's perspective, but now we're getting into the thoughts of Karen, Takuyaki, and Pete.  Sadly, none of the new three narrators were my favorite in the series, but it was interesting to see the post-zombie world through their eyes.  If you read the books, you know the whole concept of how everyone deals with these zombies is really one big metaphor for racism (aka "bioism" in the book). Some people deal with it a lot better than others, but overall it points out the ugliness of prejudices in society.  Karen had some really touching moments throughout this book and even had me tearing up as times.  Tak really learned about having to step up and take the spot of Tommy as the new leader of the local zombies.  Pete was just as dark and evil throughout and didn't really convince me of his actions near the end when his conscious caught up with him, but could someone please explain what exactly was happening to him on page 369?

Also, Passing Strange ends in a why that has the reader really questioning just WHERE the series is headed.  Karen's secret becomes even juicer at the end and the last sentence is a major turning point for Generation Dead, even though there seems to be a lot of foreshadowing hidden throughout the text.  That's what I find so fasinating throughout these books, there's so many similarities to the past and it's a perfect example of the saying "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

Lastly, I'm so shocked this series hasn't become as popular as I would have liked it too.  I was obsessed from book one and I know all these books will be a permanent fixture in my library.  Yet, I would like more of the reading public to check them out as well since they're a delight and are definitely one of my favorites!!!  Check out my reviews of Book 1 - Generation Dead and Book 2 - Kiss of Life

Likes: Tak and his gang (Popeye & Tayshawn) were really funny together. 

Dislikes:  I would have liked to see more of Tommy, but I know he's off doing better and brighter things right now and we'll be seeing more of him in the future of the series.  Yet, if you think about who he's starting to become, that's just another huge foreshadowing of what will happen in the next couple of books.  Just think about which historical figure he most resembles right now and sadly, I think they'll share the same fate!

Rating:

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Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Kiss of Life
(Generation Dead Book #2)
by Daniel Waters


Genre: Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

The phenomenon that’s been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they’re calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

The story opens with Adam dealing with his new "life" as a zombie. Some of the newlydead come back more agile & talkative and then some have a much harder time adjusting to being undead. Adam falls into the latter. He can barley speak, barley walk, and his thoughts are all jumbled. Phoebe, on the other hand, is torn between guilt and affection for him. She's sad he sacrificed his life for her, but she's still deeply moved he has feelings for her, something she never knew until after his death. Their relationship has its ups and downs throughout the story all while the zombie generation begins to make rebellious protests (a sort of zombie revolution) to the way they're accepted in society.

I love when you like the first book in a series and then you read the second book . . . and enjoy it ever more! I devoured this story. I got so caught up in Adam's development and Phoebe's torn feelings between Adam and Tommy that I found it hard to put down. It's an emotional tale and you really see the characters change from chapter to chapter. The ending probably wasn't as gut-wrenching as the first book, but it still gets the tension going and gets the reader excited for book three - Passing Strange

Likes: All the visits to the zombie dance club AFTERMATH in New York.

Dislikes: Discovering the Hunter Foundation's experiment of how to "cure" being undead.

Rating:

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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.

Rating:

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