Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: May 10th, 2011
Pages: 344 pgs
ISBN: 9780062004017
Genre: YA/Paranormal

Rating: 4 stars

Summary from GoodReads:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

My Review:
There has been a lot of hype about this book so when I was approved on NetGalley to read this book I was excited. The book has a unique take on the zombie/paranormal genre. Plum introduces us to Paris and the world of revenants. Revenants are a type of paranormal entity whose primary goal is to save people. When a person dies in place of another, they may become revenant which means they wake up 3 days after they have died. They spend their days saving others from death and as a result they are always dying and regenerating. They come back at the same age they were when they originally died otherwise while they are alive they age like humans do. I really liked this idea and I think Plum did a good job describing revenants. It was refreshing and exciting to read. I also liked the relationship between Kate and Vincent. Plum described instant attraction but Kate doesn't just fall head over heels for Vincent regradless of the consequences of his lifestyle. Kate actually takes a break from all things Vincent and revenants after a particularly tramatizing event. Many paranormal books have girls who follow the guy they like regardless of the danger they are put in. They don't seem to think about the consequences of that particular lifestyle and that can frustrate me. Kate doesn't do this and I have more respect for her character for that very reason. I also like the Vincent is willing to sacrifice a bit to be with Kate as well. He is willing to go against his instincts to save others and stop dying so that he can age with Kate. Plum's writing style is fluid and easy to read; she draws in her reading with an air of mystery and keeps them entertained with character development and exciting plot twists. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.