Die for Me

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