Generation Dead

American teenagers are dying every day... and sometimes, they don't stay dead. What happens to them after they attempt to resume their former lives and try to befriend the still-living is the subject matter of Daniel Waters' debut novel, and he handles it well.

Goth girl-next-door Phoebe and her best friends Margi and Adam become part of a work-study program for a foundation dedicating to studying the "differently biotic" phenomenon, and as Adam comes to realize that his feelings for Phoebe are more than friendly, she begins to fall for the leader of the DB students, Tommy. As Phoebe, Adam, Margi, and a few other students begin to hesitantly embrace the zombie students, others at their school become intent on a far more sinster agenda, show more with horrific and tragic consequences.

Phoebe, Adam, and the other characters, both living and post-dead, are real and emotionally accurate. Waters does an excellent job of portraying the myriad range of emotions that people experience when they are confronted with people who are different from them, from acceptance, tolerance, and friendship, to hatred, anger, and bigoted fear, and the messages about discrimination, bigotry, and fear of the unknown are spot on. Every reader will be able to find a character's point of view that is comfortable and relatable, and it is easy to find yourself caring about all of the characters, even the ones that get a little less page time.

Waters provides little tidbits of mystery in the story to keep the reader thinking and wondering- just what is the exact motivation of the Hunter Foundation, and what are they doing inside the laboratory that no one's key card will open? Who is driving the sinister white vans, and why is the media ignoring the murders of the differently biotic all across the country? Why are Karen and Tommy so much more articulate and quick than the other zombie kids, and why does Karen seem almost telepathic? These questions, as well as the main question of whether or not the murderer in their small town will be brought to justice, should bring readers back to Waters' sequel, Kiss of Life, tentatively scheduled for release next June.

People of all ages would enjoy this novel (or series), not just the young adult audience; even readers who are hesitant to read about supernatural types of characters will be able to comfortably enjoy this book, since the focus is on characterization and plot, instead of the mechanics of a supernatural world. show less

Awesome title, isn't it? I liked how it focused on the whole "zombies are people too, and we should not segregate" issue ... yes, I am writing that line as if zombie discrimination is a cultural issue we face in today's world. *snigger*

The love story was a little bland, and strange at times. To be clear, this book is very thought provoking, and has an important message I hope filters through.

It's interesting (this is about to get gross) but technically if you fall in love and have sexual relations with a zombie it becomes necrophilia ... who's grossed out now?! I had that realization in the middle and struggled to finish because I kept thinking ... "please let her choose the human and not the zombie", and usually when I read a show more paranormal, I'm on the supernatural love interest's team.

Anyhow, good book, a little slow some places, but nice if you get tired of reading about zombies as brainless, well, brain eaters. show less

I’m not a huge fan of zombies, anybody who knows me knows that I’m ridiculously terrified of just the idea of them. So when I opened this as a gift previously, I was a little iffy. However, as I began reading, the entire concept just drew me in.

The plot kind of reminds me somewhat of True Blood, where zombies are like vampires and are mostly frowned upon by society. Of course, I’m not relating the two of them past that, because they are radically different. (And I wouldn’t suggest True Blood to anybody under 18, just a friendly hint) Moving on, I found a new adoration for zombies during this. Daniel Waters introduced a very clever way of portraying them in a positive light, which I’ve never seen before.

I was a bit hot and show more cold with the characters, but towards the end, everything fortunately cleared. They’re your run of the mill, teenage cliché group of students, but with the zombies (which is an insult to them!) mixed, it works.

This book was a lot more than just “forbidden” romance. Phoebe and friends are dealing with the pressures of being ridiculed for their choices of interacting with the dead. The “differently biotic” are dealing with the struggles of trying to find their place in a world that wants them gone. I found the main topic of the book being racism, and Daniel Waters approached it very wonderfully.

I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Kiss Of Life, the sequel, yet. I hope Tommy redeems himself, and I hope Dan turns the angst level up a whole lot more. It’s not my favorite book in the world, but it’s a great read, and I definitely recommend it to any YA reader! show less

So I went into this book expecting it to basically be a high school book with zombies in it, but it turned out to be much more.

Yes, it takes place in high school and there are zombies, or differently biotic, but this book really delves deeper than that. It goes into the political and philosophical conflicts surrounding discrimination. Waters perfectly reflects real world discrimination and applies it to the paranormal theme of zombies.

It was amazing. With such concepts as passing, redefining derogatory terms, violent opposition, capitalizing on a movement, and couples from different groups, Waters raises some really interesting points on how we think of the people around us.

While the plot was simple and a bit slow, I really enjoyed how show more Waters pulled from various groups such as the Civil Rights Movement, perfectly personifying the philosophical differences in Martin Luther King Jr versus Malcolm X.

The characters were well-developed and even the zombies were three-dimensional and easy to like.

I really was not expecting to like this book as much as I did, but the discussions of discrimination were actually very intelligent and interesting to read. A very "smart" book with enough plot to keep it interesting. show less

This book was much better than I thought it would be when I bought it. When I bought it, I expected some sort of silly Twilight knockoff with zombies...but that wasn't it at all. If I had to describe it, I would describe it as a Twilight/Frankenstein (and by Frankenstein I mean Mary Shelly's book, not the dreadful movies) mixture by an author who can actually write. As opposed to Stephenie Meyer (sorry, Twihards). The book was engaging, thought provoking, touching and actually at times heartbreakingly sad, the characters were very well developed (especially for a young adult's book) and the prose was engaging and well written. I will definitely be looking for the second book.

This book was much better than I thought it would be when I bought it. When I bought it, I expected some sort of silly Twilight knockoff with zombies...but that wasn't it at all. If I had to describe it, I would describe it as a Twilight/Frankenstein (and by Frankenstein I mean Mary Shelly's book, not the dreadful movies) mixture by an author who can actually write. As opposed to Stephenie Meyer (sorry, Twihards). The book was engaging, thought provoking, touching and actually at times heartbreakingly sad, the characters were very well developed (especially for a young adult's book) and the prose was engaging and well written. I will definitely be looking for the second book.

I was VERY pleasantly surprised by this book. I know the old adage, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” but I was a bit leery upon just doing that.

However, I wound up liking this book more than many I read last year, especially the “Twilight” series.

Waters sucks you into the “biocism” that is going on in Oakvale. Many American teenagers are coming back from the dead--blame the hormones, the fast food, whatever--the zombies keep a’rising, especially in Oakvale. Nobody ever gets used to it though, and avoids them like the plague. A new Undead Studies elective is offered, and Phoebe is one of the first to sign up. Mostly because of the “living impaired” football player, Tommy Williams. The more Phoebe gets to know show more him, the more she wonders who is more alive. However, the new class is not having much effect on the prejudice, and things are getting dangerous.

Loved the surprise ending! I knew what was coming once it was set up for me, but still a twist.

I can’t wait until may for the sequel “Kiss of Life” in May! show less