Putting Makeup on Dead People

Title: Putting Makeup on Dead People
Author: Jennifer Violi
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: July 26, 2011

Donna comes to a startling revelation at the funeral of a classmate. She wants to be a mortician. She hasn’t cared about much since her father died four years ago but she can feel that this is something she really wants. She has just been going through the motions with her friend and family but with this decision, everything in her life starts to change. There is a quote from Rumi in the book that says, “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Donna decides to try to find her way to do that, whether it is spending time with her new Wiccan best friend, learning to “love the whole person” in mortuary school, being with her new artist boyfriend, or just finding out who she is.

Right after reading this book, the grandmother of someone close to me died. I was always horrified by the idea of looking at dead bodies and had always managed to avoid it in the past. I’m so glad I read it because it really helped me understand that the funeral, the makeup, the viewing, they were all for us, the people who were still living. And the people who do the work behind it are giving dignity to our loved one and the chance to mourn and say goodbye for us. This was the perfect book at the right time for me. Even without this, it is an excellent story.

The Bottom Line: Putting Makeup on Dead People is an excellent book about finding yourself in the face of what other people think is right for you. And you can find out a little bit about being a mortician along the way.

The publisher provided me with an advanced reader’s copy of the book for this review. Putting Makeup on Dead People has an expected release date of July 26, 2011.

Pretty Dead

Title: Pretty Dead
Author: Francesca Lia Block

Reading Level: Young Adult

Location: YA Block

Fans of Twilight will most likely pick up Pretty Dead as a read-alike. Sadly, many of those fans will be very disappointed. Francesca Lia Block is a talented writer who revolutionized both the fantasy and LGBT genre for teens in the 90s and 00s. When I heard she wrote a vampire story, I had high hopes. I read the book in one day but didn't realize until after finishing it that the reason I was flying through it was because I wanted to finish and read something good.

Quite different from the heroines of other vampire books, the beautiful 100+ year old Charlotte Emerson is constantly in a state of sorrow, despite being immortal, beautiful, well loved and extremely wealthy. It’s as if Block read Poe and Plath and transferred that melancholy into a vampire story, minus the good execution. Charlotte has seen everything from the bombing of Hiroshima, to Woodstock, to September 11th- all at the age of seventeen. She is immortal and perfect in every way. However, she is overcome by her constant wallowing of her immortality. She has a very close relationship with her brother (some scenes suggested a little too close, which was creepy). When he dies in the early 1900s, she tries to continue her life, despite being devastated.In present day when her best friend Emily dies suddenly, she starts to turn back into a human. Things get even weirder when her maker (and decades long lover) William comes back into her life after separating years before! The ending is extremely anti-climatic.

The reader will most likely not connect to the characters. The flowery, pseudo-intellectual prose will not be appreciated by teens looking for a fun vampire story or characters they can identitfy with. Although there are a few interesting moments, it’s obvious that this contrived story was simply Block trying to market off the vampire craze. Instead, it reads like terrible fan fiction you would find on the Hot Topic message board.

Bottom Line: Judging from this letdown, Pretty Dead sounds less like a book title and more like Block's (once present) storytelling ability.

My Soul to Take

Title: My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Location: YA Vincent
Reading Level: Young Adult

The main character, Kaylee, has these "panic attacks" - meaning that she has this uncontrollable urge to scream when she sees a person "with a dark shadow". She knows they are going to die soon. A new friend, Nash (a football jock who is gorgeous), helps her through her screaming urges, and helps her learn about who she really is. Cute romance included.

The main climax of the story is that healthy young girls are dropping dead with no apparent reason and Kaylee and Nash want to find out why. They even get help from a grim reaper. Very exciting.

Bottom Line:
The cover of this book drew me in and I ended up enjoying myself with the story. It was a quick read, and the author is very descriptive in her writing and she kept the story flowing. If you're interested in the paranormal genre - and want to start branching out from the usual (vampires, werewolves, etc.), then this is a book for you! This is starting a new series (Soul Screamers) and I'm hooked!

Ghostgirl: Homecoming

Title: Ghostgirl: Homecoming

Author: Tonya Hurley

Reading Level: Young Adult

Location: YA Hurley (will be released July, 1 2009)

This review discusses major plot points from the first ghostgirl novel. If you have not yet read Ghostgirl, skip ahead to the bottom line.

At the end of the first Ghostgirl novel, it seemed as though Charlotte’s afterlife was really looking up. She graduated her Dead-Ed class and was moving on to what she thought was the final stage of her journey. Instead, Charlotte and the rest of her classmates end up in a phone bank where they act as a conscience for teens making tough decisions. Charlotte quickly becomes frustrated over this unfortunate turn of events and with her lack of phone calls and visitors, she turns into her old, insecure self. However, when Charlotte’s friend, Scarlet, needs some ghostly help for her ultra popular, self-absorbed sister, Petula, she turns to Charlotte for help. Will Charlotte be able to come up with a plan to save Petula and Scarlet? Or will the two sisters be the newest students to Dead-Ed?

Ghostgirl: Homecoming was another exciting, humorous romp with Charlotte as she wades through her insecurities and gains a better understanding of herself. The writing is not amazing but it is adequate and can be quite creative at times. The language of the teens, both alive and dead, is accurate and not overdone. Even though most of the characters are one-dimensional, they manage to feel very real and their relationships with each other are wholly authentic. The plot is intriguing and has an ending that is touching without being overly sentimental. Even though the story had some minor flaws, it was still a pleasure to read and Ghostgirl fans should love this latest tale about the afterlife of Charlotte Usher

The Bottom Line: With this sequel, Ghostgirl is really turning into a wonderful series for teens. With its unique, exciting storyline and fun characters, it has broad teen appeal, but I think it is especially good for younger teens. Ghostgirl: Homecoming is a sequel, if you have not yet read the first Ghostgirl, pick it up before starting this one.