Generation Dead is a book you should not judge by its cover. I hate the cover; it makes the book seem like stupid meaningless zombie fluff about dead cheerleaders. First of all, as far as I could tell, none of the main characters were cheerleaders in life or death, only a tiny insignificant alive character. Second of all, this is not meaningless fluff! It’s seriously awesome. But, yes, there are zombies.
In this book, there is a strange new phenomenon discovered in American teenagers. Some of them have started to come back to life after dying. Not all, and only Americans, and only teenagers. These “differently biotic” people (as is the politically correct term) are slower to move or speak than they were in life, but they’re still sort of alive. They don’t need to eat and their organs don’t work, and they are officially dead (and therefore not able to have library cards or driver’s licenses or vote or anything). Nobody knows why this is happening, but these kids, as anyone does who is in some way different, face a lot of prejudice, everything from being called names like “corpsicle” to being burned alive–or undead, as the case may be–something there are no laws in place to prevent.
Phoebe Kendall is a living student at a school with a comparatively high number of differently biotic students. Some of them can hardly walk and function, while others could practically pass for living, but no one knows why these disparities exist. As with everything else about the differently biotic, it’s a mystery. Anyway, Tommy Williams is something of a leader among the dead kids, or zombies as they sometimes call themselves, and when Phoebe starts to notice Tommy, to dare to speak to him and then tell him he’s brave when he goes out for the football team alongside all the living kids, she has really opened a can of worms. Her friends Margi and Adam can hardly believe it. Phoebe, with her goth wardrobe and tendency to be a little anti-social, was already on the outskirts of her high school’s social order, but she’s seriously becoming a target if she keeps hanging out with the zombies. Because of her, Phoebe and her friends get involved with an organization whose purpose is to help integrate the differently biotic into society, as well as with many of the dead kids themselves. This organization might be a little fishy, though, and hanging out with a bunch of zombies could get them into more trouble than they bargained for…
Okay, that might not be the best summary ever. But I think it’s better than the summary on the back of the book, which is nearly as bad as the cover. Anyway, I adored this book! It’s really original and witty and interesting, and seriously unputdownable. I loved the characters, living and undead. This book is quite thought-provoking, too; it brings up some serious issues about the treatment of minorities. Daniel Waters‘ first novel is funny, smart, and just plain awesome. It’s got romance and zombies and great writing and fantastic characters and, best of all, it seems like it’s set up to have a sequel! Read this book as soon as possible. It’s available in bookstores near you right now.
May 8, 2008 at 11:48 am
Well, your review makes me want to read it much more than the cover does. :)
May 8, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Omg I saw this in Borders yesterday! But I was like, “nah, don’t wanna read about dead people.”
Also, I say omg too much.
May 9, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Hey Jocelyn,
I just emailed you my address for the Tara Altebrando contest, but my email account is always always always getting spam filtered on gmail, so please check your spam filter!
Steph
May 9, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Oh no, I like the cover. What does that say about me?
May 13, 2008 at 4:58 pm
i read it because i hate cheerleaders no offense thier just soooooooo preppy !!!! i was a little dissapointed when karen wasnt a cheerleader !!!! the cover dosent even have a chareccter on it lame !!!!!!!
BUT TOTTALLY READ IT AWSUMM BOOK
May 22, 2008 at 8:56 am
i like the cover cuz i’m a cheerleader… =]
September 1, 2009 at 9:15 pm
you like dead zombie cheerleaders. im a football player and i know i wouldnt want some dead looking girl cheering for me
September 28, 2009 at 8:34 pm
you wouldn’t care if the skirt was short enough
October 3, 2009 at 3:49 pm
ya ur prob rightt(;
May 23, 2008 at 9:57 am
Jocelyn – Great review! I agree about the cover, but I did really covet the boots and the eye shadow! Since I had an advance reader copy of the book I felt obligated to read it and – WOW! I was so pleased with how the author blended zombies, high school, romance, and xenophobia to both entertain the reader and shine a bright light on issues of tolerance and religion in a multi-cultural society. I am recommending this book to all my students and every book lover I know. Can’t wait for the next one! There’s more to Karen that I need to find out and WHAT IS the Hunter Foundation up to??? Would Tommy have “awakened” like Sleeping Beauty if he had only gotten that kiss? If you are looking for recommendations for more great books like this one, find me at shelfari.com/LouanneJacobs
May 25, 2008 at 12:00 pm
omg i read this book and it was awesome! when i finished it i was like there has got to be a second book! he has got to make a sequal!!!
June 4, 2008 at 10:52 am
[…] Teen Book Review […]
July 12, 2008 at 7:34 pm
OMG I JUST GOT THIS BOOK , CAN’T WAIT TO READ IT BECAUSE IT SOUNDS GOOD AND IT GOT A LOT OF POSSITIVE REVIEWS!!!!!
BY THE WAY, I KIND OF THOUGHT THAT THE COVER WAS A LITTLE STRANGE NO OFFENCE!!!!!!!!
July 30, 2008 at 8:58 pm
ok…im a cheerleader n i luv the book…..im a kinds misfit n i am ubsessed with death now….tommy reminded me of edward n phoebe as bella…sorta…{twilight series]…except this was better…..im passin it on to my frinds now:)
November 1, 2009 at 2:18 am
why, oh why, would you ever compare Generation Dead with Twilight? Not cool!
May 21, 2010 at 2:20 pm
ur right not cool to compare the 2 books. no offense
October 24, 2010 at 11:42 am
shut up
October 24, 2010 at 11:43 am
shut up she can do what she want to do
October 24, 2010 at 11:39 am
thats right
December 11, 2013 at 2:21 pm
leave her alone, twilight is awesome
August 2, 2008 at 6:37 am
YOU HAVE TO WRITE THE SECOND BOOK!! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHICH ZOMBIE SHE CHOOSE!!!!
August 5, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Hey daniel. I agree with summer. you have to write a second book. I just finished generation dead for the 22nd time. All of my friends loved it and can’t wait for the sequal. Please,please,please!!!!! My friends wanted me to tell you that based on what you wrote tommy is hot, it was a sad ending for adam, will pete ever actually get julie back or at least not get scared of her?? Please email us. We’ll be waiting in the spirit of the haunted house!!! jk
August 13, 2008 at 3:09 am
I think that Mr.Water is a truly inspirational writer with an amazing knack for character development. Another aspect I was fond in the plot was the way in which he was able to portray the possible reactions of a society that is faced with such a phenomenon. The characters were beautiful people each with qualities that made them distinctly beautiful and human. It furthermore did not subscribe to the commonly written formula for a teen book with a romantic drama. However, I did not approve of the treatment of Adam, a young football player with love problems, a newly developed sense of honour and a desire to improve his lot in life. While I can see the possible parallel in his having destroyed a life to his fate in the end, I do not approve of the ordeal he will have to face or the fact that he ‘dies’ unfulfilled. He will face only more difficulties in his new life and some of them may even be insurmountable. I am not saying that a happy ending was necessary or that all the loose strings had to be tied at the end as that would have ruined the integrity of the story and stripped the plot of its realistic quality. I simply do not believe that a character with whom the audience becomes so endeared needs to suffer as he most likely will. Excellent writing, terrible ending. I can honestly say that it entirely ruined the book for me.
November 1, 2009 at 2:17 am
i agree with you completely. how can such an amazing book have such a horrible ending? once you get this, i hope that you have read Kiss of Life and realize that Mr. Waters has a great talent for writing, but has stupid endings.
August 28, 2008 at 7:17 pm
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! That was the most awesome book i have ever read. Usually i really dont like to read but when i picked it up i could not let go. It is so datailed and stuff seriously who ever thinks about reading it, READ IT!!!!!
September 13, 2008 at 10:28 am
i loved this book it rocks out loud i hope she has more like this book im reading it for my 3 time
October 4, 2008 at 10:34 am
Hey Hey,
I finished the book in a day I just couldn’t put it down!! We have a different cover from the US in the UK. We have a red cover with a black rose on the front. When I saw the cover with the cheerleader I was confused as there are no cheerleaders that a main characters…..
I finished the Twilight seris a week ago and I now think it was poor compared to Generation Dead.
Read it, its totally awesome you won’t regret it!!!
October 4, 2008 at 10:40 am
Oh and just to reply to Sasha O’s comment….I thought it was a fab ending…you needed something like that to happen otherwise the book would have been to perfect. Bad things happen in life, not everyone has everything they want. What made it worse for Adam was that he only had football going for him and now he’s in a worse situation…but sometimes that’s just the way it is.
October 21, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I love this book ther should be a sequal or even a movie on this book. Love it!
October 21, 2008 at 6:56 pm
You definatly have to write a sequel I want to know what happens to Adam and if Phoebe will stay with Tommy or with Adam.PLEASE WRITE A SEQEUL!
October 27, 2008 at 7:57 pm
This book is like so awesome I couldnt stop reading it omgosh its so awesome and I like the cover even though I am a cheerleader
November 3, 2008 at 12:19 pm
You really need to make a Generation Dead Book 2 because you just left everyone, who has read the book hanging. I want to know whats going to happen next.
November 7, 2008 at 8:10 am
I love this book! But what happens at the end?! Daniel Waters, email me and tell me if a second book to this will come out! I need to know what happends!
November 29, 2008 at 2:09 pm
This book was great to read (: The ending was really sad though :( Poor Adam… I really want there to be a sequel though :]
December 11, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I enjoy books about teenagers…but not sci-fi books. This book changed my perspective on sci-fi. I absolutely loved the way it was written. If I hadn’t been in school when I read it, I probably would have cried. I am pretty sure the sequel is coming out May 12, 2009. I was sad that it is going to be so long for it to come out but very happy when I discovered there will be a sequel!
Every time one of my classmates asked me about it I had to explain that the cover isn’t relevant to the story, and then I’d tell them all about the plot. =]
December 11, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Oh and the sequel is called Kiss of Life.
May 21, 2010 at 2:21 pm
i soo want to read that book but my local library doenst have the book):
December 12, 2008 at 1:53 am
I got the book during the summer but lent it out right away and now i finished it in two days and oh my god am i sad i need the sequel
December 12, 2008 at 1:54 am
when do you think the sequel will be done??
December 16, 2008 at 6:04 am
I really want to read this book and think the british cover is better it has a black rose on it http://img.tesco.com/pi/Books/L/73/9781847383273.jpg
December 21, 2008 at 9:24 pm
OMG I JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK. i chose it for my independent reader book for english. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
there needs to be a sequel, and i need to read it now.
this book is AMAZING!!! :)
December 22, 2008 at 12:40 pm
oh my goth!!!!! The book was awesome i have no words to express it but Mr.Waters you are a genius!!!
May 21, 2010 at 2:23 pm
total genius
December 22, 2008 at 12:43 pm
oh my goth!!!!! The book was awesome, I have read it three times.There are no words to describe it but Mr.Waters you are a genius!!!
When will the sequel be done?
Once again it was a fantastic book!
January 23, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Actually, I really loved the cover. It was more whimsically morbid than it was given credit for.
February 6, 2009 at 11:24 am
OMFG I LOVED THIS BOOK. I CRIED THE WHOLE TIME. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
February 6, 2009 at 11:55 am
Does anyone know were i can find a list of charcters from the book?
February 18, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Wow, I love this book! It’s probably one of my top ten books. I finished it yesterday after a non-stop marathon and it was awesome! I cried, got scared, and blushed alot too. If they come out with a second to this, I’m going to be one of the first to get it!
March 21, 2009 at 2:35 pm
OMG! Generation Dead is one of the most AH-MAZING books ever!!! The cover’s weird, but i don’t think it’s as bad as everyone else says. Maybe it shows what Karen looks like inside her head and what she doesn’t show everyone else….or maybe not. But still, awesome book, awesome ending, awesome author!!!
March 23, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Not going to lie, I like the cover. And I have to agree, Daniel Waters is utterly amazing.
May 21, 2010 at 2:25 pm
i think the cover is really awesome. to me i dont see y people say bad things about the cover. also i thought the cover was karen.
March 23, 2009 at 8:50 pm
OH! ps. There is a sequel coming out in May. Its called Kiss of Life!!!
Are you as excited as me?
April 5, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I was walking around a book store looking for a good book to read about the dead and stuff because i am writing a book. So I found Generation Dead. I like it alot its great, just what I was looking for. I also like the cover. Keep writing so i could keep reading. Bye :)
April 30, 2009 at 2:47 pm
im a cheerleader and im not preppy to say to tht one chick…anywayz i read this book bc the girl looked like my bestie and so i was like thats kewl.
Dont let the cover trick you because this is a really good book:)
July 17, 2009 at 11:44 pm
wow this book is so amazing!!
i didnt think i’d like the book when i saw the cover but after being into the first couple chapter it was great.
i actually cried at the end to be honest!
the ending was so un-expected that the end was crazy random for me!!
wel not really cryng but at the end i was alittle tear-y eyed to say ..
haha
yup , it was a surprise to me
daniel waters i hope you get the chance to write another book related to this book !
i need to know what happened after adam died!!
from an extreamlly happy reader,
Sophia V
November 1, 2009 at 2:12 am
i cried when adam died also, so don’t feel left out. I hated Waters for killing him, but still loved the book. wait for Kiss of Life… you will be left speechless and wanting a third book!
August 17, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I am reading it right now…. Really good.. but everytime i pick it up the same question bugs me throughout the time i read. What character is on the cover?
September 1, 2009 at 6:09 pm
on the cover, there isnt i character, its just a random picccc.
November 1, 2009 at 2:10 am
i wondered the same thing. i felt so stupid when i found out it was no one in the book. but i wonder… why did he put random pics that have nothing to do with the book?????
September 2, 2009 at 10:05 am
[…] believe me? Jocelyn at Teen Book Review agrees with me about the book and the cover and Ameelia Ghareeb addresses the […]
September 25, 2009 at 2:18 am
I Loved the first book, and the sequel!!! Must be moreeeee!
September 27, 2009 at 7:55 am
i love this book so far i am only on page i dont know but the cover has nothen to do with the book onless i am missing something in the book that gose with the cover
i still am loving the book anyway
taylor.
October 3, 2009 at 3:38 pm
omg. this book is soo good at i didnt even finsh it yett.. its soo good that i bought kiss of life alreadyy. just becuase i love daniel waters workk! ahhhh goood boook deffenitly read it if you didnt yetttt(:
October 3, 2009 at 3:45 pm
this book wass really good. and whats wrong with cheerleaders im onee and i love it(: and just cause the cover is a cheerleader doesnt mean the book is bad it makes it has to do with the book cause the girl is a zombie and look the cover has a zombie i mean living impairedd.. haha but anyways amazing book. who cares about the coverr!? goodd work(:
<33333 Dana Marie Lynn!!
October 3, 2009 at 3:48 pm
what i wrote mad absolutly noo sensee, hahhaahaha.
October 8, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Good book. Great writer. I don’t think the critics give Mr. Waters enough credit for this novel. Especially since it was his first.
October 23, 2009 at 7:18 pm
im almost done with the book and its a really good book
November 1, 2009 at 2:06 am
at first, i hated the book and Daniel Waters after I finished the book because it was so good, yet had a stupid ending. but when i found out he was making a sequel, i took back everything i said. the cover of Generation Dead makes absolutely no sense at all, and neither does the cover to Kiss of Life (the sequel), but both books are fantastic (with weird endings) and i hope he makes abother book, and soon!
November 11, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I LOOOOOOOVED THIS BOOK!!!! AHHHHHH IT WAS AMAZING SOOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN THOSE VAMPIRE BOOKS!
January 2, 2010 at 8:57 am
This is book is awesome and really makes me think of Twilight. But of course there’s some difference between the two books.
April 4, 2010 at 7:25 pm
what are the age levels on this book?
What age would be able to read it
could a 11 year old read it
or is it dirty??????
so many questions I know but please help!!!!!
April 4, 2010 at 7:26 pm
how old r you people who are reading this book
April 4, 2010 at 7:27 pm
are all you guys teen that r readin this book
July 6, 2010 at 12:19 pm
i loved this book it was one of the best book ive read
July 22, 2010 at 9:23 am
I just finished the book. I loved it, I don’t read much. But this book, by far, is the best one I have read in a while. I am now buying the other two books that go along with it. I think more people should read it!
July 26, 2010 at 1:33 am
I actually loved the cover. It’s what made me want to read the book & I also liked the book. I am now on the sequel.
September 27, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Generation Dead is about to come to an end. I recently had a talk with Daniel Waters, in which he informed me that he believes his publishers don’t want any more Generation Dead books. I believe they are wrong, and I know alot of other readers agree with me. Help me get the word out about saving Generation Dead. If you want to help you can e-mail me at, Save_Gen_Dead@yahoo.com.
Thanks
Courtney Lozen,
October 2, 2010 at 10:30 am
I love this book i frist checked it out at the library and i loved it so i went and bought it it is even better than Twilight
November 1, 2010 at 7:13 pm
i read this book and finished today!this book was good! but i have read all the twilight books and i think they were better!but this book is good too!:)
March 21, 2011 at 6:52 pm
This book was WONDERFUL!!! The ebooks are coming out on March 22nd!
April 13, 2011 at 10:31 am
i love this book the book was very captivating
May 20, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I first bought Generation Dead at a store in 2008. I read the first 75 pages or so, and I just wasn’t interested. I left that book on my book shelf until early 2011, and then one day, decided to finish reading it.
I am so extremely glad I decided to pick that book back up! I absolutely loved it. I cried at the end of it, when Adam was killed. I don’t think it was a bad ending, because well, something had to happen to make you want to read more, right? I mean, of course it was extremely sad… but it was also amazing.
I ended up reading Kiss of Life and Passing Strange right after I finished Generation Dead. I have to say, they are all totally amazing, extremely well written books. Thank you, Daniel Waters, for writing them.
July 20, 2011 at 5:37 am
Nice sum up, and I agree totally about the book cover and summary on the back of the book.
:)
Luv Emma
September 25, 2011 at 2:12 am
Hey guys,
OMG!!! That book looks awesome, I would totally want to read it if i saw it in the shops and didn’t know what it’s about… But that’s just me… I am so retarted!!! I got the second book first… I am up to page 148 out of 410 and I read that in two days cause it’s majorly awesome… Now I have to stop and get te first one and read it cause it looks sooooo cool!?!?!
January 20, 2012 at 8:04 am
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