in a sentence or so: The differently biotic (more commonly known as zombies) are becoming an increasing presence at Phoebe's high school. Already a little different herself, Phoebe decides to align herself with learning more and advocating for zombie rights - despite a growing threat from those who would wish them to die...again.Phoebe is your typical goth girl - dark hair, dark music, dark poetry. Her secret best friend, Adam, is the hunky boy-next-door football player who is clearly in love with her. Well, clear to everyone BUT Phoebe, of course. Then there's Margi - Phoebe's best goth gal pal. Between the three of them, they are carving out a pretty typical high school experience. And by typical, I mean questioning the social structure, the basis of their relationships with people outside of their trio, and trying to do what is right even when it is extremely unpopular...and potentially life-threatening.
When an opportunity from an institution claiming to promote the differently biotic rights arises, Phoebe, Margi, and Adam all sign up - albeit for very different reasons. What results is an increased awareness for all of them about the zombies - who they are, where they live, what life is like for them - as well as social shifts in their school and threats on their lives they could not have foreseen. As if aligning with zombies isn't dangerous enough for them, Phoebe and Tommy Williams (zombie hottie #1) begin dating...
Ultimately, this beginning to the series is a balance of teenage relationship drama with prejudice and acceptance of outsiders. Clearly, there are some similarities between the zombies and other groups that have been discriminated against in the past - and I believe that is the author's intent. While not the highest caliber of writing, the author did hold my interest and helped me invest in the characters he created. Not surprisingly from a male author, I appreciated the voice of Adam the most and thought his humor and charisma shined.
I really dug the love triangles, the family dynamics, the social commentary, and the way the tension between the supporters of the differently biotic and the zombie-haters amplified to a gasp-worthy conclusion. I will definitely be checking out the next books in this series.
Fave quote: "Was it possible for any girl, living or dead, to be sane for more than a few hours at a time?" (254)
Fix er up: There were chunks in the book where I felt like the story wasn't progressing as quickly as I would have liked...but it did allow for the author to more deeply develop the individual characters and their home lives.
Title: Generation Dead (Generation Dead Series #1)
Author: Daniel Waters
Genre: Drama, Zombies, Problem Novel
