The Forest of Hands and Teeth-- Carrie Ryan

Imagine that your whole life was confined to a medieval-like village surrounded by a series of gates and fences that confine the Unconsecrated to the massive forest beyond. What would it feel like to know that the survival of your village rests on your ability to reproduce, as fire and disease has lowered the birthrate dangerously? What would life be like if the entire existence of the remaining human race was sheltered within those fences... would you try to escape? Would you risk becoming one of them, one of the Unconsecrated, just to see what else is out there?

Mary has lived her entire life within these confinements. When her mother becomes one of the Unconsecrated and no man speaks for her, Mary is required to live with the Sisterhood (a group of holy women who protect the village from the Unconsecrated who live in the Forest of Hands and Teeth just beyond the fences). Mary wants more than confinement and religion in her life. She wants love, she wants freedom, and more than anything, she wants to see the ocean. Mary grew up listening to the tales her mother wove about the world beyond the fences, and it's thoughts of the ocean that help Mary manage her burdens.

But one day, the Unconsecrated break through their barriers and Mary is forced to make a choice: should she stay and fight or flee to discover freedom for the first time in her life?

Oh, and what are the Unconsecrated? They're ZOMBIES of course!

While I won't say this is the finest piece of literature I have read, there is something about this book that really stuck with me. I find that although I finished it three days ago, certain aspects of the plot keep jumping to mind. I think teens will like it, and it's a little bit fantasy, a little bit horror and a great, classic tale of zombie. I would recommend this to teens who like futuristic dystopias, zombie books, or tales of unrequited love.

To be published April 2009.

Kiss of Life-- Daniel Waters

So, if you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember my review of Daniel Water's Generation Dead. Kiss of Life is its sequel, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon an Advanced Reader's Copy of the book! Oh, the perks of being a librarian! The publication date on Kiss of Life is May 2009.

Kiss of Life features our same cast of characters: Phoebe the goth chic who dates zombies, Margi her sex obsessed friend, Collette the differently biotic gal who lives with Margi after her parents disown her, etc. This book picks up right where Generation Dead leaves off... and I won't go into it that much because I don't want to spoil Generation Dead for those who haven't read it yet!

This book mostly focuses on the emotional pull Phoebe feels between her exboyfriend Tommy and her best friend Adam. It also still deals with the way society reacts to the differently biotic (zombies), zombie culture and activities.

As a sequel, this book succeeds because I wanted to read more about these differently biotic folks. The idea that teenagers are raising from the dead and becoming zombies is just too fun for one lonely old book. However, I wish Waters had done something more with this book. Generation Dead was funny as well as touching, and Kiss of Life lacks the light-hearted humor the first book had down so well. Also, Kiss of Life relys on the fact that you have read the first book too much. All the character development that went into the first novel didn't find it's way into this book. The characters felt sort-of flat to me, and because of this I didn't have as much sympathy for their plight as I should have.

Still... if you liked Generation Dead, read this one too. I have a feeling a third book might be in the stars, and you know I'll be reading that one too!

Generation Dead-- Daniel Waters

Imagine you lived in a society where the dead don't stay dead. If you happens to die sometime in your adolescence, there is a good change you will return... as a zombie. Except here's the deal: don't call them zombies (unless you are a zombie yourself, of course). The prefered term is Differently Biotic, or Living Impaired. Basically these undead teens are just like any other teenager... except they no longer need to eat, sleep, breathe or do all those annoying human things that keep our bodies moving.

Phoebe is your typical goth kid... and she knows it. But just because she has long (dyed) black hair, wears Victorian inspired clothes with killer black boots, and goes through a black eyeliner pencil every week doesn't mean you can judge her by the way she looks. When the undead teens started showing up, everyone expected a girl like her to crush on one of the zombies... and she scoffed at the idea... until she discovers that she DOES like one of them after all. When some of her more closed minded classmates begin very violent attacks on some of the Differently Biotic, Phoebe finds herself in physical danger as well, and has to make some tough decisions about life and love.

Generation Dead is one of those hard to categorize books. Both boys and girls will like it because it is jointly narrated by a male and female character (and who doesn't love zombie books, hello?). However, the cover of the book will appeal more to girls. This book encompasses the horror, comedy, coming-of-age, and romance genres, mixing them all together in a fun and very entertaining way. Also, this book is a good one for sharing the message that stereotype and prejudice are not ok... even if the prejudice is against a member of the undead.