Dead is the New Black

Title: Dead is the New Black
Author: Marlene Perez
ISBN: 9780152064082

Other Books in Series: Dead is a State of Mind, Dead is So Last Year, Dead is Just a Rumor, Dead is Not an Option.

Plot Summary: Daisy Giordano, a teenager growing up in the quirky California town of Nightshade, is the only "normal" member of a family with psychic and telekinetic powers. When Samantha Devereaux, a classmate of hers, starts looking distinctly vampirish, Daisy comes to realize that there is far more supernatural activity going on in her little town than she previously realized. Even worse, though, is when young women start turning up dead and severely wounded, the victims of a frightening new breed of vampire. Daisy must solve this mystery, along with her friends and would-be boyfriend, while simultaneously dealing with romance, sibling rivalry, her own suddenly extant powers, school cliques, and the unspeakable horror that is being on the cheerleading squad.


Critical Evaluation: Perez writes in a casual, chatty conversational style, quick and easy to get through even for reluctant readers. She weaves the mundanities of average teenage life into supernatural elements which, in the greater context of the Nightshade environment, seem practically normal. Daisy squabbles with her sisters Poppy and Rose, but her anger stems from their using their psychic powers to read her mind without permission. Samantha complains about a girl she didn't get along with at Cheer Camp who just showed up, quite undead, to the pep rally. There are some inconsistencies: Nightshade, although a small town, is apparently large enough to warrant its own UC campus.


Reader's Annotation: Life isn't easy for Daisy Giordano, a teen growing up in the odd little town of Nightshade, California. She's the only non-psychic in her family, a new kind of vampire is killing people all over town - and as if that weren't enough, she has cheerleading practice!

About the Author: Marlene Perez grew up in Story City, Iowa, the youngest of twelve children, and currently lives in Southern California with her family and pets. Her Young Adult works include the Nightshade series, The Comeback, and Love in the Corner Pocket.


Genre: Fiction, Horror, Comedy

Curriculum Ties: Folklore

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: Samantha and Daisy used to be friends in the sixth grade, but Samantha betrayed her trust.
Approach: Character and plot-based
Ideas for Booktalk: Samantha appears to be friendly to Daisy one moment, catty the next. Daisy feels it depends on whether or not Samantha needs something from her. When Daisy's father disappeared, Samantha told everyone he'd left Daisy's mother for another woman. Dangers of believing rumors, impact on their friendship. Daisy couldn't forgive Samantha, but her mother has. Why?

Hook: Psionic vampires
Approach: Plot-based
Ideas for Booktalk: Instead of blood, these vampires drain peoples' life forces. Unlike "regular" vampires, who are on the Nightshade City Council and abide by local ordinances, they have started to kill members of this already small community, as well as attacking people in nearby Santa Cruz (fictionalized as Santa Carla, "Murder Capital of the World," in the movie Lost Boys). Victims see a white light before they are attacked; the attack leaves a white streak in the hair.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 7-12


Challenge Issues: Witchcraft, sexual content.
Characters with supernatural powers in this book are not presented as inherently evil; the danger in powers of any sort lies in how they are used. Daisy experiences her first sexual feelings - as well as her first feelings of sexual jealousy - but does not act on them besides extended make-out sessions. Overall, the danger this book presents comes from those with bad intentions not those who look or act out of the ordinary.


Why I Chose This Book: I have always enjoyed supernatural stories, particularly about vampires, but tend to like them better if they don't take themselves and their characters too seriously. Perez's book indulges my twin loves of vampirism and teen comedy that makes its story entertaining without coming off as too self-consciously quirky.