Die for Me

March 28, 2011
Angels? Zombies? Ghosts? The revenants in Plum's first novel lay claim to all three titles at one point or another, and 16-year-old Kate Mercier isn't sure she's equipped to solve that riddle. She's recently lost her parents in a car crash, and although she has a warm relationship with her sister, Kate and Georgia couldn't be more different. So Kate is on her own in the museums and cafes of Paris, caught up in an awkward pas de deux with the devastatingly handsome Vincent. Their sweet flirtation goes on for a whileâand therein lies a weakness. Plum's pacing is slow, focused on the angsty interior life of a heroine who is not unique. Kate thinks she's not pretty (even though everyone assures her otherwise), she's grieving, she's socially awkward. It's standard stuff, though Plum's conception of the revenants, conversely, is fresh, and once Kate sees Vincent's bluff friend Jules killed by a Métro train, only to encounter him in a museum weeks later, the narrative picks up speed. The lush Parisian setting and gorgeous characters make this an immersing, franchise-ready story. Ages 14âup.

Starred review from May 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-One might think that it's hard to find anything fresh and new in paranormal romance, that it has all been done. But Plum has succeeded. Revenants are undead who have died and been awakened, or reanimated, and they are immortal. They are not ghosts and would rather not be referred to as zombies. They also tend to be extremely good-looking, and each time they die, which happens frequently since their mission is to save humans, their age is halted once again so they also tend to be fairly young, in a manner of speaking. Kate Mercier, 16, and her 18-year-old sister have just lost their parents in a car accident and moved from Brooklyn to Paris to live with their grandparents, whom they have spent summers with since they were very young. Kate meets a young man and her breath is taken away by the feelings he evokes within her. It so happens that Vincent died for the first time in 1940, and he has been dying and saving lives ever since. Just as they are beginning their relationship, they discover that the numa, the evil revenants, are plotting an attack on the good revenants of Paris, and Lucien, their evil leader, just happens to be Kate's sister's new boyfriend. Action and drama abound. Plum has done an excellent job of setting up the rules for her creations and following them closely. Fans of this genre will have their appetites reignited by this new addition.-Genevieve Gallagher, Charlottesville High School, VA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011

Boy meets Girl. Boy turns out to have a deep--nay, otherworldly--connection to Girl despite being the loneliest member of a family of immortal, sexy, good-hearted monsters.

Newly-orphaned Brooklynite Kate Mercier is now living in Paris with her grandparents and sister. She's grateful for anything that breaks the constant tyranny of her depression, even the weird obsession she's developing with Vincent, a hot Parisian she's seen in her favorite café. Vincent is equally obsessed with Kate, but after a few dates his secret is revealed: Vincent is a revenant, driven by some mystical force to give his life to save others again and again, constantly reborn as an 18 year old with rippling "rock-hard abdominal muscles." Along with his revenant family (one father figure, several extremely sexy pseudo-brothers and a teenage girl to be Kate's friend), he rescues at-risk Parisians while fighting off the revenant's evil counterparts among the undead. Kate and Vincent are, of course, drawn to each other, miserable with despair when apart. When they are together, it takes all Vincent's willpower not to molest his beloved; readers of Twilight and its ilk know the drill. But wait! Evil is afoot, and perhaps it will spice up their love life!

Those obsessed with paranormals won't dislike anything here, but everyone else should give it a miss. (Paranormal romance. 12-14)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2011
Grades 8-11 Move over, Bella and Edward. Zombies replace vampires in this well-crafted paranormal romance. After the tragic death of their parents, Kate and her older sister, Georgia, move to Paris. Georgia fits into the party scene immediately, but Kate continues to grieve and brood until she meets the dashingly handsome Vincent. Although their attraction is immediate and intense, Kate is uneasy, even wary. Through a narrative that alternates between romance and violence, Kate and the reader are introduced not only to contemporary Paris but to a war-torn netherworld populated by zombies who save people from death and other beings who plot to kill them. In her debut novel, Plum deftly navigates the real world and the fantastical. Her characters are authentic, and their romances are believable. Plum introduces a world and a story that are sure to intrigue teen readers and will easily attract fans of the Twilight series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)