Review--GENERATION DEAD

Review For:
Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters
ISBN: 9781432109211, Publisher: Hyperion Books

To summarize Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters in one word- Clever! Daniel Waters resides in Connecticut with his family. Generation Dead is his first young adult novel.
All over the country an unusual phenomenon is happening. Some teenagers who die are not staying dead. Isolated strictly to the United States and to teenagers, these young adults are labeled differently bionic or living impaired. All they are trying to do is fit into a society that doesn’t want them and doesn’t understand. The kids at Oakvale High School are no different. They don’t want to eat with them, talk to them, or sit in class with them. They just want them to disappear. Phoebe has never been part of the popular crowd, not with her goth looks and attitude. So when she falls for Tommy, leader of the dead kids, no one can quite believe it. Margi, her best friend, has a fear of the living impaired which is rooted to an incident from their past she’d rather ignore than face. And Adam, her next door neighbor and star of the football team, has recently realized his feelings for Phoebe go much deeper than the girl next door he always thought she was. But what if all Adam can do is protect Tommy to make her happy?
I only have two criticisms for the book. One, there were a few errors, but I had the advanced reading copy which is not the final publication draft. And two, I was sad when it ended, as I wanted more.
Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters is clever, witty, and downright genius. How on earth he came up with this idea I’ll never know. But I am so very glad he did. He was able to get into the minds of teenagers and know what they are thinking, feeling, and their reactions to the world around them. Targeted for young adults ages twelve and up, I think parents and adults would benefit from this read, as they just might finally get into their teenagers psyche. From the star of the football team, to the cheerleader who seemingly has it all, to the lost soul who hides in the corner… every character is believable and convincing. The plot flowed well and was exceedingly difficult to put down. In my opinion, the greatest part of this story was the way Daniel Waters was able to throw out any and every notion we have about zombies. You won’t find flesh eating monsters and gore beyond nightmares, but rather a brilliantly funny adaptation of what a world might be like should this phenomenon every occur. Impressive, very impressive!

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer