Generation Dead Review & Awards + Failteaser

I'd originally planned to do my normal Tuesday Teaser, but you'll have to forgive me for deviating from my so-called "schedule" this week. Let's just say my writing simply isn't up to par with all the other work I have! Next week...or maybe later this week...we shall see!

First off, I have yet another award to give away!!! The adorable Kirthi gave this to me over at Pages, so now it's my turn to pass it along.

The Humane Award is the award that goes to the amazing bloggers that comment and continue following my blog. You make my day with your lovely comments, and I truly appreciate it! I'm going to cap the number at 10 blogs (though I'm thankful for ALL of you!)

1. Justine & Steff at A Bookful of Thoughts
2. Nikki at Wicked Awesome Books
3. Lisa & Laura at Lisa and Laura Write
4. Jenn at Books At Midnight
5. Sasha at The Sweet Bonjour
6. Adriana at Loves to Read
7. Lucy at Delightful Reviews
8. Maire at Monster of Books
9. Book Snob at Elegantly Bound Books
10. Juju at Tales of Whimsy

Ok, now for the review! I recently finished Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.



"All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occuring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. 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 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. Recently, Adam has realized that his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than friendship. He would do anything for her, but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?"

Hmmmmm...where to begin with this one? Well, Generation Dead follows Phoebe, a stereotypical goth student, her best friend Margi, and her friend Adam, as they explore high school with the living dead, or should I say "differently biotic." Phoebe and Margi's best friend, Colette, died about a year ago, then suddenly came back to "life," now roaming the halls with other DB kids like Tommy and Karen. The story follows the prejudice of the student body against the DB/zombies/living dead, and explores the relationship that Phoebe develops with Tommy, the attractive dead guy, even though Adam has clearly been pining for Phoebe forever.

That's basically the gist of the entire story if I don't want to give anything away. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I love the cover, Daniel Waters is amazingly talented, and the voice of this book is really great. And truly, he brings his characters to life (no pun intended) within the story. That said, I think maybe it's the material of the book that kind of throws me off.

Generation Dead almost romanticizes the concept of the dead. And yet, I find it hard to consider a living dead guy really hot...especially when he's stumbling around and has difficulty forming a coherent sentence. I don't know. I think it's that undercurrent of necrophilia that gets me. Mehhhh, I just don't think this book is for me. I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

The sequel, Kiss of Life is available now. I'm not sure whether I'm into this series enough to read it.