Paranormal is the New Normal: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

How would you feel if you went to school with zombies, or to be politically correct, the “differently biotic”? In Generation Dead, there is a new phenomenon where sometimes teenagers who died don’t really go away but remain as the undead. Just like living teenagers, they still go to school, but they don’t eat, their organs don’t work, and their brains take longer to process information. As such, they face significant discrimination in the high-school. With the gap between the living and the differently biotic, it is socially forbidden for a living girl to date a zombie, but Phoebe Kendall finds herself attracted to Tommy Williams, one of the differently biotic teens. Can true love break the barriers between the living and the dead?

This is a hard review for me to write as I did not particular enjoy this book. However, I firmly believe that many people would enjoy it. It is a very interesting plot with a young teenaged girl who falls in love with someone that she cannot have because of the social rules. It is a twist on the traditional Romeo and Juliet story, but with zombies. This book is quite thought-provoking, too and it brings attention to some serious issues including the treatment of minorities.

This book would be particularly interesting to readers who enjoy reading about the paranormal and supernatural, as well as anyone looking for a different twist on Romeo and Juliet. I think that it would be an interesting tool to use for grade nine students who have to study the Shakespearean play.