Being Dead

Description

A sixteen-year-old will give anything to be with her true love--even though he died two hundred years ago. . . . A sopping-wet little dead girl stalks a teen who had nothing to do with her death--honest! . . . A heartless man dances with his wife--after she's passed away.
From the hilarious to the horrific, master storyteller Vivian Vande Velde explores the world of the dead--and the undead--in this surprisingly moving collection of unnerving tales.

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Customer Reviews

Entertaining Way to Pass an Evening
THREE QUICK POINTS
*Point 1: The cover is creepier than the stories.

*Point 2: The book is a mixed bag. Some stories are little more than incomplete thoughts while others are quite moving.

*Point 3: The prose is smooth and it makes for easy reading.

STORY BREAKDOWN
Being Dead is a collection of seven short stories: Drop by Drop, about a teenager and her family moving to a new home; Dancing with Marjorie's Ghost, about a man being visited by his late wife; Shadow Brother, about a father's spiral into madness; Ghost Story, about collegians moving into a haunted house; For Love of Him, about a young boy entranced by gravestones; October Chill, a romance between a terminally ill girl and a colonial soldier; and Being Dead, about the experience of a young depression era boy and his family.

MY THOUGHTS
This book was a mixed bag of stories. A couple of them amounted to no more than incomplete thoughts with unrealized potential. Shadow Brother and For Love of Him fall into this category. A few were simply mediocre, or rehashed versions of older ghost stories. Drop by Drop, Dancing with Marjorie's Ghost, and Ghost Story fall into this category. I will say, however, that these three stories were entertaining and what relegated Drop by Drop to this group was its ending, which was trite. But a couple were truly works of art. October Chill and Being Dead, the two final stories in the book, fall into this category. In fact, these two stories alone bumped this review from three stars to four. Both of them left me with a desire to read more, but I didn't feel as though I didn't know enough and both managed to tug at my heartstrings. With Being Dead, my favorite of the bunch, I felt myself gasping at times and laughing at others; there's also a fun twist. (I won't mention it because it would spoil the story.)

Overall, this is a great book to pass some time with. There's nothing overtly frightening about it, but a few stories may give you a goose bump or two, especially younger readers. The gore and explicit situations are also kept to a minimum so I wouldn't have a problem recommending it to younger readers.

2010-03-25 (USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Scary and fun to read!
This was one of my first book purchases for my new Kindle. What a fun read! All the stories are different from each other in terms of style and most have a twist of some kind. I really enjoyed them and several stories definitely gave me the creeps! It was a pleasant surprise that the author lives in Rochester and mentions some places in Central New York. I'll be looking for more of her writing.

2010-02-26 | Mango's Mom (New York State) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Wide Spectrum of Ghost Stories
(3.5 Stars)

Being Dead is a collection of seven ghost stories which range from creepy to funny to poignant, but I should also warn you that you won't find too much to keep you awake with fright between its covers. (It doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.)

Drop by Drop tells the tale of a teenage girl, moving to a rural area with her family, who becomes haunted by a young girl. There was one section in the story which made me gasp because, despite knowing I should have, I didn't see it coming. The first three-quarters of the story was a great lead-in for the climax, but that's where it died. The ending was predictable if not the twist; there's an important lesson in there that I daresay seems disjointed.

Dancing With Marjorie's Ghost is a cautionary tale that reads like something familiar (woman comes back from grave at the request of her "grieving" husband). It's main tenet is to be careful what you wish for (and watch out for karma). Despite its seeming familiarity, it was a simple, quick, and fun read.

Shadow Brother is the story of a family torn apart when the eldest son, Kevin, is drafted for the Vietnam war and dies in battle. Stricken with grief and guilt, his father spirals downhill. A ghost is alluded to, but at the end, it's still a question. Unfortunately, this story fell apart for me partly because of the characterization--they didn't seem entirely believable, especially the relationship between Sarah, Kevin's younger sister and the story's narrator, and her cousin Dwight--and because it seemed more like a patchwork story than a well-flowing one.

Ghost Story is rather straightforward: Collegians start moving into a haunted house, then quickly move out. That's the entire story and it was a super-quick read to boot, but it had me chuckling by the end.

For Love of Him had plenty of unrealized potential. It's about a young man who becomes captivated by the historical gravestones of a man and woman who wouldn't have been much older than him when they died. His obsession soon takes a near deadly turn until the intervention of a mysterious almost-stranger. I wanted to love it--the atmosphere and backstory left plenty of room for growth, but it was vague in all the wrong places and it resulted in a highly predictable ending.

October Chill looks through the eyes of a young girl dying from a brain tumor who meets the ghost of a colonial soldier while working in a recreated colonial village and falls in love. By the end of the story I was wishing it were a full-length novel because I was intrigued by the young man's story and wanted to see more development between them; it all happened and ended too quickly although the story was certainly enjoyable. More heart-tugging than scary with a bittersweet ending.

Being Dead, the book's namesake, transpires during the great depression. A paperboy who meets with a fine piece of luck moments before his untimely death must find a way to deliver an important message to his mother and sister. The voice of the story is vastly different from the previous stories and may throw the reader off-kilter for a moment, but one can quickly acclimate. The story is smooth, poignant, and hilarious--I won't mention *how* the paperboy dies, but I will say I should have, but didn't, see it coming. The events following his death were enough to build the frustration and by the end of the story, when the final message is delivered, I was misty-eyed. By far the most well-balanced and well-written story in the bunch.

Despite not loving two of the stories and finding another two somewhat inchoate, the remaining stories (Ghost Story, October Chill, and Being Dead) certainly made the book a worthwhile read.

2009-09-02 | professional consumer (South Florida, USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Interesting Plot Twists; Dark but Funny
My favorite story in here was the title one: Being Dead. The one about dancing just struck me as too much like Poe's the Raven. Although dark like any of Vivian Vande Velde's works, this one wasn't particularly scary. I guess if I were 10 I might be creeped out, but I doubt it. The back of the book made it sound like the stories would keep one up at night. Maybe we're all just jaded these days. In any case, the books a ridiculously easy read and a nice way to spend an afternoon. I might even venture to guess that there's some re-readibility in a few of the stories.

2008-06-07 (NJ United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Being Dead
Do you enjoy feeling invisible fingers tickling their way up your spine? Or perhaps you like shivering in fright as beads of cold sweat trickle down your temples. Being Dead by renowned fantasy author Vivian Vande Velde will surely have you cowering beneath your bedcovers while you are reading any one of the seven stories in this anthology.

Being Dead opens with an odd tale. It tells the story of Brenda--a regular teenager who has problems with her little brother, parents, and the new town she's just moved in to. But when she meets a ghost, her life takes a turn for the worse. Each of the six stories after Brenda's tale all happen in their own particular setting, and themes range from love at first sight to bitter sorrow to false courage. Although I had trouble sleeping after I had finished the book, I still enjoyed it immensely.

Vivian Vande Velde's style varies from genre to genre, and from theme to theme. Even then, she continues to evaluate the setting her characters exist in and begins to form a particular voice from there. One can hear the distinctive tough-guy drawl of a Big Apple newsboy in the 1920s very well; the whisper of a dying girl in our present era is articulated just as carefully. Her writing is easy to digest and she does not overload on description like some authors of fantasy do.

I would recommend this book to an audience of an adolescent age. Adults may find the stories a trifle because most of the stories in Being Dead are about middle-to-high school age kids. I would rate this book four stars, omitting the last star because all of the seven tales seem empty in their depth and moral.

2006-11-29 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Dragon's Bait

Product Details

• Prepare: New
• Notes: BUY WITH Self-confidence, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and employ to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780152166632

Description

Fifteen-year-old Alys is not a witch. But that doesn't matter--the villagers think she is and have staked her out on a hillside as a sacrifice to the local dragon.
It's late, it's cold, and it's raining, and Alys can think of only one thing--revenge. But first she's got to escape, and even if she does, how can one girl possibly take on an entire town alone?
Then the dragon arrives--a dragon that could quite possibly be the perfect ally. . . .

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Customer Reviews

Tastes like Chicken
First off, I'm not a huge fantasy fanatic. I delve mostly into chick lit and YA romances, but this sparked my interest. Velde paints a wonderful and charming pictures of persecution, and the toils of revenge. The dialogue is quick-witted, the characters spunky, and the plot is quick. I wish she could've lingered a bit more on the character relationship between Selendrile and Alys as their friendship blossoms from a parasitic contract into...well, you'll see. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel, that's for sure!

If you aren't a huge fan of high-fantasy, at least give this one a try. Velde's writing is charming and cuts to the point. She doesn't over-flatter the reader with useless adjectives or page-long descriptions. She writes in a flow that's so quick, you find yourself turning to the last page before you know it!

Wonderfully written. It comes highly recommended by a non-fantasy bookworm!

2010-04-27 | Pash (South Carolina, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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LOVE it wish there was a sequel
i fell in love with this book when i read it. its one of those that i could reread over and over because it is entertaining.Very witty with subtle hints at a possible romance. the characters are endearing and wouldnt i love to find a guy like selendrile tho he isnt really human. It is a must read! you wont be dissapointed.

2010-03-29 (bay area) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Short and Sweet
I've read a few short YA books lately, most of which have been good. This one is the shortest of any of them, and it is also good, but lacks the depth that the other books have. The dragon character doesn't have much of a personality at all, and the girl accused of being a witch is driven only by revenge. I was waiting for the part where the girl realized that revenge doesn't make you feel any better, but I don't think she really got to that point, not truly. I still don't understand why the dragon is drawn to the girl, nor why he decides to help her with her revenge. Since he barely talks and has no feelings, I guess we will never know. Still, the book is enjoyable. It is so short that I had no problem reading it quickly, I finished it and thought it was okay. Nothing special about it at all that would warrant any rating above a three. There is no complexity, no excitement, just go from here to there, plot a bit of revenge, and move on. I know that YA can be deeper and better than this, but oh well. Dragon's Bait is an enjoyable little escape from reality, and to some it may be fun to see a girl reek havoc on her tormentors. To me it just felt shallow.

2009-11-24 | Ravenous Reader | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Great fantasy for anyone, though a little short
As a young teen, this book introduced me to the world of fantasy and dragon loving.

15-year-old Alys is falsely accused of witchcraft by a greedy shop owner who wants her deceased father's property. She is left out as dragon's bait and is convinced she's going to be eaten, but then the dragon decides on a whim to help her get revenge. Selendrile, as he calls himself in human form, helps Alys ruin the lives of the people who ruined hers. But in the end, she starts wondering if revenge is all it's cracked up to be.

This book has a great message about revenge and is highly entertaining. Just watching Selendrile trying to fit in with humans is reason enough to pick up this great fantasy story. I read it when I was 11 and almost ten years later I still go back and reread it. You won't regret buying this book!

2008-01-20 (Wisconsin, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Alys & Selendrile
I first read this book when I was 12. Years later, the characters and plot are still very alive in my mind. This is something to mention, due to my attention span (not really what you'd associate with a temperament of endurance).

I like books that are fast-paced, and that do not bog the reader down with too many unnecessary details. The way the romance played out in this book was done with much skill and taste. The author engages readers of all ages, which is both admirable and inspiring.

I found myself going back to Dragon's Bait, and many other books by Vivian Vande Velde, throughout my teenage years. That hasn't really changed now that I'm older. Her books lack yawn-worthy pretentious prose which I find all too abundant in many other books for Young Adults, which is of course just in my opinion, but also why I give this delightful book five stars.

--Jess C Scott, Author of EyeLeash: A Blog Novel

2007-08-22 (Outer Space) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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Never Trust a Dead Man

Product Details

• Demand: USED - Very Good
• Notes: BUY WITH Reliance, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and air force to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780152064488

Description

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Customer Reviews

Engrossing and Fun
This is a fun medieval fantasy. It has unique plot twists, though at times it's predictable. It makes us feel for the hero, hold our breath when he's in danger, and root for him. There is some great humor in it, maybe a little risqué for readers under twelve. For example, a young man is disguised as a young woman who left town for mysterious reasons, and is asked `when was your baby born?'
To add to the fun, the victim comes back to life, in the form of a very annoying bat that follows our hero around demanding people work harder to solve his murder.
The characters are well developed, some as likable, honest people, others as jerks, some as villans
If you want a short book that is full of suspense, mystery and laughs, this is for you. Recommended especially for young teens, though older teens who want something light will enjoy it too.

2009-12-21 | SR | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Well Written, Well Done Medieval Mystery/Fantasy Book
Vivian Vande Velde is a terrific writer and writes great young adult books. This is the second book of hers that I have read and it is just as wonderful as the other. The story takes place in Medieval Britain. A young man who is disappointed in love becomes accused of the murder of another young man who is going to marry the girl the other young man loves. This accusation causes him to receive the death penalty - to be entombed with the young man's body forever. A witch steps in and saves him for a price - years off his life span and allows the dead man's spirit to guide him in the form of a bat. There is humor, adventure and mystery in the story as well as fantasy. I don't think anyone but Vivian Vande Velde can bring it off so well. She's a great writer and better than most young adult writers. I think she is highly underappreciated. Hopefull she will be recognized soon.

2009-01-05 | The ESOL Teacher (Webster, NY United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Dirty Laundry
One day while removing stumps from a field, young Selwyn finds out that he is being accused of the murder of a semi-rival. The both were trying for the hand of the same girl and Selwyn lost. Now that his rival is dead, Selwyn is believed guilty as a matter of course. Before he even knows what is happening, he is officially found guilty and imprisoned in the burial tomb where the dead rival is being laid to rest. All seems hopeless until Selwyn gets a visit from a witch looking for some hair from a newly dead man. Selwyn now has a chance of survival and that means a chance of clearing his name.

Clearing his name is not a simple as Selwyn thinks it should be. To do so he will need help from the witch and that will cost him time in her service. One of the things he needs is to contact his dead rival who's soul is then brought back into a bat. At every turn Selwyn finds himself deeper in debt to the witch and no closer to his goal. His new bat companion is a real jerk and Selwyn keeps uncovering details conveniently not mentioned previously. As the plot progresses, the number of suspects continues to grow as the deceased was not exactly liked. How Selwyn manages to complete his task in the little time he has makes for a fun story.

Part of this book reminded me of the film Drowning Mona where the question isn't so much who committed the murder but who didn't. It is fun to see the town's hidden scandals and secrets revealed as Selwyn tries to figure out who the murderer is. A fun and fast-paced tale full of magic, mystery and scandal. Check it out.

2006-06-13 (Chicago, IL United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Lilliths review
sewlyn is accused and stuck in a cave to die. elswyth an old witch helps him out but he has to pay a year for it he alsoasks her to bring back farolds soul so he can help find who might have killed him. They go back to the town as a pilgrim a bat and are ran out by orik the tavern owner. the next time they go back he is disguised as kendra, oriks daughter, and a golden finch for farold. during this time they find out that anora was mad at kendra because she had farolds baby. thats why kendra was sent away. then she comes back while sewlyn is at farolds uncle and still disguised like her.

2005-12-16 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Fun read
Young adult book about seventeen year old, Selwyn Roweson. The story begins with Selwyn being accused and convicted as a murderer. It's kind of hard to protest when they've gagged your mouth and you have no say in the matter. Because there is no executoner in the small town and the townspeople don't want to have to wait for the authorities, they decide to bury Selwyn with the dead body in a local burial cave. The dead, Farold, was never a friend of Selwyn. As a matter of fact, the two boys were both vying for the hand of the same pretty girl. (She chose Farold.) But when a strange witch shows up inside the dark cave and shows Selwyn the way out (after agreeing to payment), Selwyn finds himself with a chance to find the real killer (with the help of the witch and the dead Farold).

Wittily told. I laughed throughout.

2005-09-19 (Duson, Louisiana United States) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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The Changeling Prince

Description

Welland was less than a slave. Slaves are human, and he was wolf,  allowed to assume human form only when it suited the sorceress Daria.

Daria kept an army of changelings -- mostly wolf but some lynx or weasel, a bear or two, and at least one rat. She used them to hunt and kill. And sometimes to pretend to be human, so she could pretend to be a lady.

Weiland hated the lie almost as much as he hated the truth. Then he met a burglar, a thief named Shile, who offered to help him steal what he had never owned. His own troubled soul...

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Customer Reviews

Would be Great if it had a Good Sequel
I have a lot to say about this book. It's companion `The Conjurer Princess' doesn't really act as a sequel to it, since it is about another character and the hero of `Changeling Prince' is only a supporting character.
One thing, I don't think the word `prince' is used once outside the title. There is no reference to the hero being a prince in the book.
This book is very dark, especially at the beginning. For the first few chapters I was wondering if there would be any funny or happy parts. There is a lot of torture and innocent people being killed. But a really scary villainess is a plus, and Daria is very well-done. The character of Weiland isn't always likable, but he becomes a very well-written, three dimensional and likable character. He's a young man who, despite a life of torture and misery, has compassion and some sense of self. His greatest hope, at the beginning of the book, is that he will die in human form, not wolf. The other characters are well-written and believable. I love how the characters that were humans that used to be animals behaved. The meanest of the lot being a bear was very realistic!
What I didn't like about the book was it ended too soon to be fully resolved. Plus, it is the prequel to the `Conjurer Princess'. I think it should have had a sequel that focused on Weiland's character, as well as the other characters. Weiland as a character has so much to heal from and so much to learn, there needed to be another book that wasn't as dark that directly continued Weiland's story, not with him as a supporting character. This would be a better book if it had a sequel. Not that this is a bad or good thing, but there are no vampires in it. Just wanted to clear that up since vampires and wolves are commonly put in the same books!

2009-12-21 | SR | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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The Changeling Prince
This is a good read, especially if you want something different from the usual were-monster stories.

2006-07-26 | raven d (michigan) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Pretty good
After only just discovering VVV recently, I've been working through her books. I find her to be an excellent writer with highly effective characterization. This book is no exception. The character of Weiland draws the reader's compassion. Especially after discovering how he was capture as a wolf pup and basically turned into a human and abused and tortured consistantly throughout his life. The author does not let the reader discover much about the interworkings of the evil Daria. We only know that she is evil and would not shy away from brutally and viciously murdering anyone (even her own family).

You can guess early on in the story (well, those older can) the truth about Weiland, although I was surprised in the end by something I had not even considered. (Of course, I won't spoil it). Overall, I think you will enjoy it, but I don't think it was as well written as some of her other works.

2005-07-22 (Duson, Louisiana United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Great Take on Shapeshifter Theme
What would it be like for a wolf to be compelled to take the form of a man? Starting with this premise, Vivian Vande Velde writes a riveting story about Weiland, who was captured by Daria as a young cub and raised mainly as a human. However, Daria, no matter how brutal her tactics, had not been able to destroy the basic decency of Weiland's nature.

Daria, who heretofore, had been content to live in the forest served by her transformed creatures, has decided to move to a townhouse in St. Celia's. Weiland is one of those who are to accompany her. In St. Celia's Weiland comes in contact with large groups of humans for the first time including a thief named Shile.

Through Shile, Weiland learns a great deal that he he never knew before about what it means to be a man.

Well written and compelling, Vivian Vande Velde draws the reader into Weiland's world with a sure touch. This one is guaranteed to appeal to adult fantasy lovers as well as younger readers.

2003-06-11 (It's a Toss Up Right Now) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Great Take on Shapeshifter Theme
What would it be like for a wolf to be compelled to take the form of a man? Starting with this premise, Vivian Vande Velde writes a riveting story about Weiland, who was captured by Daria as a young cub and raised mainly as a human. However, Daria, no matter how brutal her tactics, had not been able to destroy the basic decency of Weiland's nature.

Daria, who heretofore, had been content to live in the forest served by her transformed creatures, has decided to move to a townhouse in St. Celia's. Weiland is one of those who are to accompany her. In St. Celia's Weiland comes in contact with large groups of humans for the first time including a thief named Shile.

Through Shile, Weiland learns a great deal that he he never knew before about what it means to be a man.

Well written and compelling, Vivian Vande Velde draws the reader into Weiland's world with a sure touch. This one is guaranteed to appeal to adult fantasy lovers as well as younger readers.

2003-06-11 (It's a Toss Up Right Now) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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Cloaked in Red

Description

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Remembering Raquel

Product Details

• Notes: BUY WITH Aplomb, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and amenities to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780152059767
• Shape: New

Description

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Customer Reviews

Great customer service, thank you
Extremely pleasant to deal with this seller. Thank you for the great service and quick delivery. Definitely recommend them to others!

Warmly,

Jay

2009-12-17 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Fascinating & thoughtful book
"Raquel was never very popular, that is, until the day she died."

Huh? How can you not want to read a book that starts out like that? ;-)

This was a very interesting novella (it's short). I only took me a couple hours to read and that was during school, so less than that if I had read it straight through. It's about how people react to this girl's (Raquel's) death. She's overweight, unpopular, and plays online fantasy games, and everyone has a different reaction to her death.

Not only does this teach you a great lesson about "popularity" it also leaves you with questions: "How would people remember me?" "Is there someone I should be noticing more?" "How would I feel if so-and-so died?"

It was fascinating.

2009-11-30 | www.squeakybooks.com | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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How Raquel Is Remembered After Death By Those Who Knew Her In Life Is A Powerful and Surprisingly Good Read
A few weeks before her fifteenth birthday, Raquel Falcone stepped off a curb and into the path of an oncoming car. Was it a suicide attempt, an inadvertent shove or just a tragic accident that caused her to take that fatal step? Through the eyes of those connected to her in life--her father, her classmates, the witnesses to her death, and others--clues are dropped about what happened to lead to her death, although the reader, like the characters in the book, will never really know the exact truth. What they will see is a portrait of Raquel, a girl who was smart, wickedly funny, kind, a gifted artist and a fantasy enthusiast. She was also the school's fat girl, shy, largely ignored and unable to make friends among her high school classmates (her best friend since first grade, Hayley, went to a different high school).

I picked up REMEMBERING RAQUEL because I am a huge Vivian Vande Velde fan and have absolutely adored nearly everything I've read by her. Still, I was hesitant to read this novella, despite its slim size. I, in general, avoid tragic books, feeling that the world is sad enough without reading something that will only make me feel worse. However, in the end I'm really glad that I did read it. It's true that it's tragic--it deals with the sudden and violent death of a teenager, how could it not be?--but at the same time it is not unrelentingly grim. Vande Velde's clever writing and humor shine through, such as in online posts between Raquel and her friend Hayley about becoming a cat lady, where Hayley points out that cats "do not wait for a master to die, but will try to eat anyone who has stopped moving. This is why you should never let a cat sleep with you on your bed. Unless you're a restless sleeper, the cat is likely to mistake you for dinner." That line made me giggle, which surprised me, as I couldn't believe that a novella about such a sad subject would make me laugh as well as cry.

The structure of the book was also really interesting. Besides blog entries posted by Raquel before her death, we never get to see things through Raquel's eyes. Instead, it is how everyone saw her (or didn't see her, as the case may be). This turned the book into almost a puzzle, as my perception of Raquel, and her death, changed as I learned more about her with each chapter. It also made me like her more and more. Despite the fact that the public Raquel was almost a ghost in her own school, the private Raquel was someone who seems like she'd make a fun, great friend (unfortunately, Hayley seems to be the only to have seen this while Raquel was alive).

The other thing that makes this novella so powerful and so good is that it feels so true. Although Vande Velde writes so intelligently that I think a lot of the teenagers came off a lot smarter and more articulate than most teens actually are, the sentiments rang true, such as the terrible shallowness and self-centeredness of popular girls Zoe Kanisky and Stacy Galbo and the heartbreaking grief of Raquel's father. It is also the sad truth that there are Raquel Falcones--ignored outcasts--at a lot of schools. And, like Raquel, there is probably a lot more to them than a superficial first impression reveals.

I would not hesitate to recommend this novella. Despite the fact that it's a sad story, it's also filled with bits of humor and seeds of hope. And, moreover, it's very well-crafted and surprisingly absorbing.

2008-05-31 (Portland, OR) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Courtesy of Teens Read Too
The facts as we know them: Raquel Falcone was fourteen years old. She was the class "fat girl." She loved her father, and her father loved her. Her best friend was Hayley Evenski. She died when a car hit her as she was leaving the movie theater.

The things we don't know: Pretty much everything else.

Told in alternating chapters that are more like the thoughts and ideas of those who knew her (and those who really didn't), REMEMBERING RAQUEL is a short but powerful story.

We hear from Hayley, Raquel's best friend, who feels that, even though she didn't go to the movies with Raquel that night, she still should have been able to prevent her death. We listen to the girls who now remember themselves as Raquel's friends, even though they wouldn't have given such a fat, invisible girl the time of day in real life (who knew death was such a popularity booster?). We hear from the boy who might have, maybe, one day, asked Raquel out on a date, or to the school dance. We get a glimpse of the older woman, another movie patron, who fears she may have
been responsible for Raquel stepping into the path of that car. We kisten to her father, who had already lost his wife, grieve over the fact that his last words to his daughter were "Yeah, yeah," said in a "whatever" type of voice as his daughter left the house.

Vivian Vande Velde is a great author who has mastered the pace of writing a short, emotional story. It's passages such as the one from Nona Falcone, Raquel's grandmother, that make this book worth reading:

"I've watched Alzheimer's steal my husband's memories, one by one, from most recent to oldest -- so that at the nursing home he'll say, "Hello," as thought I haven't been holding his hand for the last half hour. He'll give the smile that won my heart in high school and say, "Thank you for visiting me. Do I know you?"

Oh, Raquel. Why did God bless him, and not me?"

Pick up a copy of REMEMBERING RAQUEL. You'll be glad you did.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

2008-01-03 | Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier. (All Over the US & Canada) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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short, moving piece about community
"How would you be remembered?" That's the tagline on the back of "Remembering Raquel" by Vivian Vande Velde.

In this short, quick novella, Velde paints a picture of 14-year-old Raquel Falcone, who dies in a car accident, from the eyes of her friends, family, classmates, and even the people involved in the accident. The book focuses on the events immediately leading up to the accident, the accident itself, and the funeral after. While people reminisce about Raquel and her life, readers get a sense that this "invisible" girl actually touched quite a few lives. Raquel's death is actually the birth of many new things, from new causes to new friendships.

Even though the book is a fast read (I flew through it in just a few hours), Velde does a great job with characterization, both of the late Raquel and the people she left behind. Throughout the book you feel the community of people is disjointed, but Velde neatly brings them together emotionally at the end.

The book also brings up some interesting questions - not necessarily the obvious, "How would you make your mark?" but more, "How do we get past our biases to see how people really are?" Peers, at first glance, remember Raquel as that "quiet, smart, fat girl," one even going so far as to say, "Now that Raquel's dead, I'm the class fat girl." But as the characters delve deeper into their memories and remove the social bias, they remember a girl who was dynamic, caring, and fun.

A thought-provoking read from a great author, and one I highly recommend.

2007-10-18 (USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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