YOUNG ADULT REVIEW: Generation Dead series - Daniel Waters

Generation Dead:
All over the tri-state area, something strange is happening. Teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they come back different - they stutter and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed 'living impaired' or 'differently biotic', there are lots of conspiracy theories to explain this new phenomenon. But as their numbers keep on growing, so does the discomfort of the living people in the community. When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, her best friend and star of the football team, Adam, has conflicting emotions. And when Tommy decides to try out for the football team, it sets off a chain of events that escalates into deadly violence.


REVIEW:
When life throws a curved ball your always left wondering how others deal with their misfortunes. Rather than concentrating on the beauty or the typical gender/race issues that many face, what Daniel has done is dress up the real dilema’s with a touch of the fantastical as Zombies return to life. But not just standard slow shuffling brain eaters but Teenager who not only have to face their previous biotic classmates but the predjuices against them for their lack of life. Well written, beautifully crafted this tale will appear to both genders as each character is taken upon a rollercoaster which leads to many highs and an equal number of lows both emotionally and physically as each comes to term with events as they unfurl.

A cracker of a series and one that will cause many readers to consider life choices making this a great addition to the Young Adult bookshelf.


Kiss of Life:
When Phoebe's best friend Adam takes a bullet for her, it proves everyone right - Adam is in love with her. And now that he's come back to life, Phoebe's presence may be more important than ever. They say that a zombie can come back from death faster if they're loved... and kissed - which means Phoebe has to say goodbye to Tommy Williams, the other zombie in her life. While coaxing Adam back to reality and fending off Tommy's advances, Phoebe continues to carry on as if everything's normal. But normal has been different since American teenagers started rising from their graves. Although some try to bridge the gap between the living and the differently biotic, there are scores of people who want nothing more than to send all of the undead back to their graves. And the dead kids in Phoebe's school don't like that one bit...


REVIEW:
The second novel by Daniel, which equals, if not supersedes, the reader’s expectations from his original novel, Generation Dead. Faced again with more life (or unlife) changes, the original cast return to face their own personal emotional as well as physical proverbial demons as fate and mankind throw some low blows at them all. Again, it is well written, the cast continue to grow and above all it’s a story of love conquering all as everyone struggles with the confrontations presented to them. Be it a fresh look at past historical events or even just plain emotional heartache, Daniel does it well leaving the reader wanting more.