Poppet Cycle

YA dystopian, 14+

Ellie must choose between a life of wealth and greatness or her own forbidden love for her undead poppet servant Thom. Her choice will change the world. Ellie learns the poppet trade, and her family business isn’t as harmless as everyone led her to believe. With the help of a boy from the wilds named Moze, she tries to change the tragic system from within.

"In a disturbing, all-too-possible near-future USA, the dead are harvested and reprogrammed as slaves to the living, with debutante Ellie DesLoge heir to the corporation that made it all possible. That is until, like Moses, a boy comes preaching a different story. This stark yet richly layered narrative, the first in Munro's anticipated Poppet Cycle series, is a study of privilege, persecution, and the power of love. A chillingly perceptive dystopia cementing Munro as an author of note, Revelation is a novel worthy of its title." (Lee Murray, three-time Bram Stoker Award nominee and author of Into the Ashes)

The world in this book really stands out - it's a mix of old-fashioned ideas like arranged marriages, balls, and proper etiquette with futuristic technology that creates Poppets, which are reanimated dead people that work as servants and laborers. Not to be confused with zombies as they are all chipped and programmed to obey, and they don't rot. 

"The questions about the poppets - Are they property or slaves? Do they have souls? - are ones the main character grabbles with throughout the book. This story also reminded me of Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Same creepy vibe, but completely different story." (Maria V. Snyder, New York Times best-selling author of the Sentinels of the Galaxy series)

"With this, the first book in her Poppet Cycle, Donna J. W. Munro has transcended the zombie genre to create something unique, strange, and disturbingly relevant. Think Dawn of the Dead chewing into The Handmaid's Tale." (Lisa Morton, six-time Bram Stoker Award winner)