Kiss of Life

This is a hard review, there was so much in this book that made me just want to throw it against the wall and never pick it up again. Pete and Duke's machinations mostly. The hatred they represented really got to me, at one point making me physically ill. But at the same time I feel "good" writing should make the reader feel something, make an impression, make them think and I cannot deny this book did all of that for me. I could not help but constantly compare this to the civil rights movement here in America not that long ago and can't help but wonder is this the way Martin Luther King Jr thought, is this the way people planned to show they were not going away either and that they no longer would be treated as different? Daniel Waters show more certainly gave me plenty to think about and for that I appreciate his hard work and hard words. show less

While I didn’t enjoy Kiss Of Life nearly as much as I did Generation Dead, I did think it was a fantastic follow-up. The story is more gripping, more action-packed and more zombie-filled and it definitely left me impatiently craving the next book in the series.

One thing I really loved about Kiss Of Life was Adam’s zombie progression throughout the chapters. At first, it kind of irked me; the chapters. Stopping. Periods and sentences. Not complete. Like this. But as the story went on, you could see how he was developing and I actually looked forward to his chapters to see his progress.

One thing I really hated was Phoebe’s wishy-washy, back and forth attitude between Adam and Tommy. I’m team Tommy, all the way. She spent the show more entire first book harboring strong feelings for him, and it was only until Adam took a bullet for her that she decided she was in love with him. Maybe that’s intense gratitude and adoration, but I didn’t like that THAT’S what stemmed her feelings. Her feelings changed so much through this one. One minute she like Adam, the next she was pining for Tommy. It was too much and too confusing.

But overall, Kiss Of Life is an exciting and enticing sequel, featuring the characters we had grown to love and hate, with a small number of new additions to the cast. The ending is gasp-worthy and will have you craving the third book in the series, Passing Strange, which tells the story of the eccentric and lively zombie, Karen. If you’re a fan of the first book, Generation Dead, I definitely suggest picking this one up! show less

First of all, Generation Dead is one of my all-time favorite books. I was super super excited to finally read the second book in the series. And I greatly enjoyed reading it.

But honestly, it's not the most well-written book ever. Maybe my standards have risen after taking in-depth writing courses, but I couldn't help but notice a lot of little things that interrupted the flow of the overall story.

I also didn't feel as drawn to some of the characters as I did before. Phoebe is kind of annoying, mopy, and indecisive, but she's not all bad. Margi and Collette are outrageously comedic. Adam is an extreme sympathy-inducing character, poor guy. Karen is interesting, as always. But everyone, especially Karen, makes a big deal about how many show more people fall in love with Phoebe, which is usually the case with urban fantasy. But really, it's only Adam and Tommy. Little bit of an exaggeration there.

All of that aside, I did enjoy it. There are so many plot progressions, which I LOVE. I love that the world of Generation Dead is getting bigger and expanding and getting complex and dangerous and revolutionary. I love how horrifying some of these things are. However, there are lots of things that were hinted at that weren't followed up on. Maybe they'll come in in a later book, but I kept wanting to know more about George and Karen, specifically. It's pointed out how "zombified" George is, with his eating habits and weird shuffling. And then it's pointed out how "human" Karen is. I really want to know what's going on with that.

Okay, I feel like I've read way too much into a lot of this book and criticized it in way too much detail. But this just shows how much I care about it... I just find the Generation Dead world so interesting. show less

This is the second book in the Generation Dead series by Daniel Waters. The 3rd book "Passing Strange" is due out in June of 2010. This was a great follow-up book to the first book in the series.

This book takes up shortly after Book 1 left off. Adam has re-animated as one of the biotically different (zombie). Unfortunately it is taking Adam a long time to regain any functionality. As a result Phoebe is spending a ton of time looking after him and has cut off any of her relations with Tommy. Meanwhile theedgy zombie "Smiley" has created a group called the Sons of Romero that play pranks on breathers to keep the Zombies in the spotlight. Unfortunately someone is doing pranks that aren't funny at all and they are making it look like the show more Zombies are responsible; which is starting to unite society against the differently biotic. Thrown into all this mystery is the Hunter Corporation. The Hunter Corporation is supposed to be helping with Zombie rights, but all is not what it seems to be.

There is a ton going on in this book. It is actually a fairly complicated plot. The plot is engaging and the characters are interesting and full of depth. It was a quick read and touches on a lot of political issues of human and undead rights. For the most part I really enjoyed this book. Although as things start to go more and more wrong, I found myself cringing. At the end of this book you can't help but feel that things are going to get really, really bad for all of the characters in the third book.

The most irritating part of this book was the beginning, way too much time was spent on Adam and Phoebe. Especially on listening to Phoebe moan about how Adam saved her, how she feels guilty, and how he needs her. I thought Waters went over this a bit too much and spent too much time driving this predicament into the ground. If this part had been shortened up it would have been a wonderful book indeed.

I also have to mention the horribly chick-lit cover. The cover has nothing to do with the story. The cover also lends the impression that this is some tween bubble gum read, and that it is not. The book is very serious and deals with a lot of serious issues. I am not too big on the book covers picked out for this series, I wish they reflected the material inside a little better.

The above being said, this was a good read. As both the world, the characters, and the plot become more and more complicated I am starting to wonder where this story will lead us. I know last I heard the plan was possibly 5 books for this series. I am wondering with the plot pace and complications, if it will actually be wrapped up that quickly. A good read. If you liked the first book you will like this one too. show less

The Generation Dead series is about what happens to teenagers who die and come back to life as zombies. At the end of Generation Dead, Adam had been shot and killed saving Phoebe's life from his former friend Pete the night of the prom. In the aftermath Phoebe must deal with her feelings for both Tommy and Adam as she and her differently biotic friends negotiate a world that is increasingly more hostile towards them.

Waters work continues to over written and angst riddled. There are certain allowances that one often makes for a YA novel simply because working with teenagers as characters means that maturity of thought and or behaviour at times is extremely immature; however Waters quickly pushes through that tolerance with an angst level show more that is enough to drive adults to throw themselves on a bed and cry about not being understood.

As with Generation Dead Waters seeks to tackle oppression of zombies by using the oppression faced by historically marginalized bodies as a framework. This of course amounts to appropriation and belittling of what marginalized people face on an everyday basis. In Generation Dead Waters dealt with the word zombie as a slur and specifically discussed reclaiming this word. In Kiss of Life Waters ups the anti by having a traditionally biotic person complaining about the inability to say the word zombie without facing retribution.

"I got a detention yesterday for saying the word zombie. Everyone in the room, even Tommy who Phoebe hadn't seen crack a smile since homecoming, seemed to think that was pretty funny. Alish laughed out loud, unmindful of his daughter's warning glare." (pg 28)

Of course they laughed. It's not like slurs hurt or stem from a historical method of dehumanizing minorities or anything right? This is specifically why the word zombie regardless of Waters intent should never be considered a slur even in a fictional sense. Then Waters decided to double down on his error by having the character complain about losing his girlfriend because of his relationships with differently biotic people (pg28), and in response the zombies only laughed. This is not a realistic response to this sort of appropriation and anyone who had any experience dealing with a slur would know that.

For the first time, we have the introduction of a gay character. Popeye is artistic and the mastermind behind the zombies social protest, though he does at time play second to Tak. We first learn that Popeye is gay when he makes a comment about how short Karen's skirt is and Tak wonders, "if Popeye got away with his innuendos because he was gay." (page 147) We quickly learn that not only is Popeye gay but he is in love with Tak who has hinted that he has no hope. "Popeye, he knew, wasn't really deterred. That was one curse that didn't leave when you died. The curse of hope". (149) I don't know about you but I am pretty sick of the trope that involves a gay character mooning over a straight character. There is no reason why Popeye could not have been given his own love interest.

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Kiss of Life addresses the question that disturbed Phoebe in book 1. Does a kiss speed up the zombie rehabilitation process? Is that the only reason Tommy was interested in her? Does Adam want a kiss from her, out of pity, or out of love? Who does Phoebe love, Tommy or Adam?

The writing in this book was even more intense than in the first. The issues of zombie rights strongly echo events we've seen in the past, involving other minority groups: African Americans, gay and transgendered people, and others.

Prejudice is strongly focused on in this series, how it is started, fed, and ultimately explodes. I would say a thoughtful high school or college student could likely write a paper on this book, if they so chose. The material is there.

My show more one complaint with this book, is some seldom spelling errors. No book is perfect, but it is distracting for a reader looking out for these things. show less

Welcome back to a world were some teenagers rise up from the dead and walk among us. A world were science still hasn’t figured out why some teens come back and some remain dead. Not everyone is happy these “zombies” are walking around. That these differently biotic teens are going to school and mixing with the living. It is a dangerous world for the living impaired.At the end of the first novel in this series, GENERATION DEAD, Adam took a bullet for Phoebe. Adam loved Phoebe from afar, but stepped aside when she showed an interest in Tommy, a differently biotic boy. Adam didn’t give a second thought to giving his life to protect Phoebe and he didn’t think about coming back from the dead.Since Adam has been back, Phoebe spends show more all the time she can with him. She knows he wouldn’t be in the situation he is in if it weren’t for her. She feels confused though. She can’t decide if she loves Tommy or Adam. She doesn’t know if Tommy’s feelings for her are genuine or if he just wants to be with her because she is living and he wants to make a statement.There isn’t time for her to focus on her own problems though. Trouble is brewing with Pete all over again, Reverend Nathan Mather is continuing to gather followers and making life difficult for all the differently biotic, and politicians are considering laws to take away what little freedom they have. Times are changing and it isn’t for the better.KISS OF LIFE is a great follow up to GENERATION DEAD. Daniel Waters does a great job of showing us a differently biotic’s thought process through Adam’s character. We get to witness Adam’s improvement through chapters from his point of view. Readers will sympathize with Adam and come to love him even if they didn’t before. A few new characters are introduced - some of them will pull at your heart strings while the others will make your skin crawl. The way this book ends, readers will be clamoring for the third in this series.People that can’t get enough of Tommy and the other differently biotics can visit Tommy’s blog at:http://www.mysocalledundeath.com. show less