Books like Twilight

Dead, Dying and the Undead

(a list from YALSA)

Death can be an adventure, but not everyone lives to tell about it.  Join us in exploring the often mysterious world of death and those who experience it.

Anderson, M.T. Thirsty. 2003. Candlewick. 978-0-763-62014-1 $7.99
Chris is your typical guy:  annoyed with his parents, irritated by his friends, ignored by girls…and rapidly turning into a vampire.

Brook, Kevin. Road of the Dead. 2007. Scholastic. 978-0-439-78624-9 $7.99
When their sister is murdered, Ruben and Cole travel to the village where she was killed to claim her body.  There the boys discover brutal and close-minded villagers determined to cover up the cause of their sister’s death.

Cabot, Meg. Shadowland: Mediator Book One. 2004. HarperTeen. 978-0-060-72511-2 $7.99
Suze is a mediator — forcing ghosts to move on from this world — whether they want to or not.

Caine, Rachel. Glass Houses: The Morganville Vampires. 2006. Penguin Group. 978-0-451-21994-7 $5.99
Claire attends college in a town run by vampires, who would leave you alone, unless you get on their bad side.  Claire’s friends already have issues with the local leaders and soon Claire finds herself mixed up in trouble, danger, and possibly immortality.

Colfer, Eoin. The Wish List. 2004. Scholastic. 978-0-439-44336-4 $6.99
Meg was killed while committing a crime, so to get to heaven she must first go back to Earth and complete a task.  Unfortunately, hell has sent someone back also.

De la Cruz, Melissa. Blue Bloods. 2006. Hyperion. 978-1-423-10126-0 $8.99
The Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires, thought they were invincible until something starts hunting them.

Delaney, Joseph. Night of the Soul Stealer: The Last Apprentice Book Three. Illus. by Patrick Arrasmith. 2008. Harper Trophy. 978-0-060-76626-9 $7.99
Tom Ward, apprentice to the Spook who gets rid of witches, must this time face a rogue Spook turned necromancer.

Draper, Sharon. Tears of a Tiger. 1996. Simon Pulse. 978-0-689-80698-8 $5.99
A drunk driving accident causes the death of Robert Washington, captain of the basketball team at predominantly African American Hazelwood High.  New articles, dialogues, and other innovative formats show how the student body reacts to the tragedy, and how Andy Jackson, who drove the car, is pulled down by his own feelings of guilt.

Freyman-Weyr, Garret. Stay with Me. 2006. Graphia. 978-0-618-88404-9 $8.99
After Leila’s sister commits suicide, Leila’s anxious to learn why and what that means to her.

Gaiman, Neil. Death, the High Cost of Living. Illus. by Dave McKean, Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham. 1994. DC Vertigo. 978-1-563-89133-5 $12.99
Death takes a holiday with a suicidal teen.

Green, John. Looking for Alaska. 2007. Penguin. 978-0-142-40251-1 $7.99
Smart loner Miles, whose hobby is to memorize famous people’s dying words, leaves home for boarding school in search of a “Great Perhaps.”  There he meets his first close friends, including enticing but screwed up Alaska Young, and experiences his first great tragedy. 

Hicks, Faith Erin. Zombies Calling. 2007. SLG. 978-1-593-62079-0 $9.95
Joss’s friends think her obsession with zombie movies is ridiculous, but when their college campus comes under attack they’re glad she knows the rules.

Hino, Matsuri. Vampire Knight, Volume 1. Illus. by Matsuri Hino. 2007. VIZ Media. 978-1-421-50822-1 $8.99
Yuki Cross lives at Cross Academy, where she is caught up in the struggle to keep the peace between the Day Class of humans and the Night Class of vampires.

Howard, Josh. Dead @ 17. 2006. Viper Comics. 978-0-975-41936-6 $14.95
Nara may be dead, but she’s the last hope her town has of surviving the zombie invasion.

Kagesaki, Yuna. Chibi Vampire. 2006. Tokyopop. 978-1-598-16322-3 $9.99
Karin is the middle child in a family of vampires.  She is an unvampire producing blood instead of drinking it.  The Vampires in this manga don’t really drink blood; they drink basically sin in the blood (i.e. lies, stress, and misfortune).

Kotegawa, Yua. Line. Illus. by Yua Kotegawa. 2006. ADV Manga. 978-1-413-90249-5 $9.99
Chiko found a cell phone and now it’s up to her to save the lives of suicidal people calling with one last plea. 

Kubo, Tite. Bleach, Volume 1. Illus. by Tite Kubo. 2004. VIZ Media. 978-1-591-16441-8 $7.95
Ichigo can see ghosts, but he’s unprepared when he is forced into the world of Soul Reapers — warriors who fight Hollows, evil spirits who prey on human souls. 

Leavitt, Martine. Keturah and Lord Death. 2006. Red Deer Press. 978-0-889-95370-3 $11.99
Lost and hungry after following a stately hart through the forest, Keturah encounters Lord Death, who is ready to take her.  Using her storytelling skills, she persuades Lord Death to set her free if she can find her true love in one day.

McKinley, Robin. Sunshine. 2004. Jove. 978-0-515-13881-8 $7.99
Sunshine, a young woman with powers yet unknown, must pair up with an ostracized vampire to help defeat an evil force in a post-Voodoo Wars world.

Marrone, Amanda. Uninvited. 2007. Simon Pulse. 978-1-416-93978-8 $8.99
Jordan’s ex-boyfriend keeps trying to get in her window at night — she’d be thrilled, if he wasn’t dead.

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. 2006. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 978-0-316-01584-4 $10.99
Bella moves from Phoenix to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward.  Luckily for Bella, the vampires in Edward’s coven only drink the blood of animals, not human blood.  While their passion for each other grows, so does the danger when another vampire coven passes through town setting their sights on Bella.

Musk, Justine. Uninvited. 2007. MTV Books. 978-1-416-53827-1 $8.99
Kelly’s brother Jasper disappears after a car wreck that killed two other people.  One night, Jasper returns, but someone else has followed him home.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Jade Green: A Ghost Story. 2001. Simon Pulse. 978-0-689-82002-1 $5.99
Orphaned Judith gets caught up in a series of mysterious events which may be tied to a previous orphan who lived in her house — a girl who died by cutting off her own hand.

Nix, Garth. Sabriel. 2008. Eos. 978-0-061-47435-4 $9.99
When the dead cease to stay dead, budding necromancer Sabriel must take the place of her father, a necromancer who has journeyed too far into the land of the dead and becomes trapped.

Ohba, Tsugumi. Deathnote, Volume 1. Illus. by Takeshi Obata. 2005. VIZ Media. 978-1-421-50168-0 $7.99Light, a bored high school genius, finds a notebook that gives him the power of death. Soon he finds himself on the run from a special police task force, but they can’t prove that he’s the killer.

Peach-Pit. Zombie-Loan, Volume 1. Illus. by Peach-Pit. 2007. Yen Press. 978-0-759-52353-1 $10.99
When rings that foretell their death appear on the necks of two boys at Michiru’s school, she becomes caught in a struggle between the living and the dead.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life As We Knew It. 2008. Harcourt Children’s Books. 978-0-152-06154-8. $6.95
Tsunamis, earthquakes, massive floods, volcanic eruptions, increasingly hazardous air quality are just the beginning.  Millions of people just within the U.S. are dead in the first week.  With electricity completely off line and warnings of oil and gas shortages, Miranda and her family must depend on each other if they have any hope of surviving the record breaking cold winter to come.

Price, Charlie. Dead Connection. 2006. Roaring Brook Press. 978-0-312-37966-7. $7.99
A loner, who communes with the dead in the town cemetery, hears the voice of a murdered cheerleader and tries to convince adults of what happened to her.

Qualey, Marsha. Come in from the Cold. 2008. Graphia. 978-0-547-01439-5 $7.99
Maud’s sister died protesting the war, Jeff’s brother died fighting it.  Now they’re both trying to make sense of their world — and each other.

Richardson, E.E. Devil’s Footsteps. 2006. Random House Children’s Books. 978-0-440-23916-1 $5.99
Five years ago, Bryan lost his brother Adam to the Dark Man who haunts the town of Redford, England.  Now another boy has seen the grim legend come to life, and the teens team up to bring down the Dark Man for good.

Shan, Darren. Lord Loss. 2006. Little, Brown. 978-0-316-01233-1 $8.99
Grubbs Grady thinks he’s a normal middle schooler until he comes home to find his family killed by demons.  Suddenly, he’s plunged into a world of werewolves, magic, and horror.

Shiomi, Chika. Canon, Volume 1. Illus. by Chika Shiomi. 2007. CMX. 978-1-401-21163-9 $9.99
Canon survived a vampire attack that wiped out her entire class.  Now she fights the undead from the inside as one of them.

Shiomi, Chika. Yurara, Volume 1. Illus. by Chika Shiomi. 2007. VIZ Media. 978-1-421-51350-8 $8.99
Yurara thinks she’s alone in her ability to see ghosts.  When she starts high school, however, she meets two handsome guys who also have powers and discovers a mysterious protector living inside herself.

Shusterman, Neal. Everlost. 2006. Simon Pulse. 978-0-689-87238-9 $6.99
After dying in a car crash, Nick and Allie are on course towards an eternal light, but instead, they are detoured to a parallel universe known as Everlost.  Determined to escape, they have to enlist the help of shady and dangerous souls. 

Spears, Rick. Black Metal, Volume 1. Illus. by B.B. Chuck. 2007. Oni Press. 978-1-932-66472-0 $11.95
Metal head twins Shawn and Sam Stronghand are outcasts wherever they go, but the appearance of a mysterious sword shows that their rightful place is in the Underworld.

Stolarz, Laurie Faria. White is for Magic. 2004. Llewellyn Worldwide. 978-0-738-70443-2 $8.95
Seventeen-year-old Stacey is having nightmares again — creepy dreams where she is haunted by the ghosts of people who have been brutally murdered.  Dreams that can clue her into potentially saving the lives of others.

Takami, Koshun. Battle Royale. 2003. VIZ Media. 978-1-569-31778-5 $15.95
One ninth grade class, three days, only one can survive or else they all die.

Whitcomb, Laura. A Certain Slant of Light. 2005. Graphia. 978-0-618-58532-8 $8.99
Sex, drugs and restless spirits.

Willis, Connie. Passage. 2002. Bantam. 978-0-553-58051-8 $7.99
Dr. Joanna Lander is determined to figure out the truth behind why people have near-death experiences, but she never expected so many people to see the same thing…the Titanic?

Woodson, Jacqueline. If You Come Softly. 2006. Penguin. 978-0-142-40601-4 $5.99
Ellie is Jewish; Miah is black.  Both teens believe their love can overcome obstacles, even if their families don’t agree.  But after tragic, racially motivated violence, there are some hard truths to face.

Wright, Eric. My Dead Girlfriend, Volume. 1. 2007. Tokyopop. 978-1-598-16996-6 $9.99
Very much alive Finney falls in love with ghostly Jenny.

Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere. 2007. Square Fish. 978-0-312-36746-6 $6.95
Liz lives Elsewhere, aging backwards and waiting to be reborn.  Can she leave her old life behind and embrace the new one?

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. 2007. Knopf. 978-0-375-84220-7 $11.99
Death narrates the tale of Liesel and her experiences during World War II.