Velveteen

by Academic Clinical Fellow Daniel Marks

"Velveteen was murdered at 16, but that's not her real problem. Life in purgatory is hard work when your side job is haunting the serial killer who killed you"--

• ISBN10: 0307974324
• ISBN13: 9780307974327
• Publish Date: 10 May 2014 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I don't usually read books about serial killers, but I loved this idea of the ghost coming back to kill their murderer. Velveteen was killed by a man known as Bonesaw, a lonely butcher who likes to bring his work home with him (in the form of drugged up teenage girls, of course). She wants revenge on him even though she knows it's against the rules of the afterlife, but when he brings another girl home to terrorize, Velveteen knows she can't stop until he's dead. So, Velveteen sounds really great, right? Well, this serial killer, ghost, revenge plot is about 5% of this 500 page book. Shocking, I know.

Velveteen really let me down. When it opens, Velveteen is vandalizing Bonesaw's home, and she's doing a pretty great job at it. Then I had a thought. Why isn't he dead already? She said she's been there a few times, even rescued a handful of girls. She also came close to burning him alive, but his smoke detectors saved him. It seems like she's had plenty of time to do it, especially since she can grasp objects even if she cant possess people. If she can untie girls kept in the shed, why can't she stab Bonesaw with one of his precious tools? Why didn't she set HIM or his bed on fire when she tried to burn him before? It makes no sense.

After that introductory chapter, Velveteen returns to the afterlife where pretty much the rest of the book takes place. Velveteen is very much not a book about a girl ghost exacting her revenge. It's all about some plot against purgatory, which is causing it to crumble. I did like the way purgatory was explained, but I really did not care about this revolution that was coming. Velveteen and her team are sent to investigate a trapped soul, which of course ends up being a super hot teenage boy. But they can't be together, because he's now her co-worker and it's forbidden, but they kiss and stuff anyway, and he can't stand to be away from her. And then they kill Bonesaw in ten seconds and save the afterlife together. The end.

Velveteen was super boring, and not at all what the blurb promises. Bonesaw is in the opening chapter and then doesn't appear for another 300 pages and is gone super quick. The destruction of the afterlife main plot was dragged out and slow, although it could have been interesting if Nick hadn't entered the picture as the insta-love interest who has to save Velveteen, even though she was perfectly capable of carrying out her mission herself. Whatever.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Amber]

Danny mentioned the booktube community in the acknowledgements. *sobs*

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/10/velveteen-by-daniel-marks.html

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Much like Anna Dressed in Blood, this is a tricky book to review. To try to get past that, I've broken this review up into two easy-to-read sections, just like I did in my review of ADiB. Can you let me know what you think of this format? I received some positive feedback on that first review, and if enough people like reading my reviews like this then I'll do it more often.


Things I Liked:

Velvet. She was snarky, bitchy and a little hot-headed and I loved her for it.
The original setting. The whole purgatory thing was intriguing, and I loved the idea of their being a place for all the 'rejected' souls to go. I wish we had been able to explore it a bit more, though.
Daniel Marks's writing style. I'm not sure if I need to elaborate or not, but I will anyway. The writing style was sophisticated, engrossing, and pretty much totally awesome. I wasn't a MASSIVE fan of this book, in the sense that I'm not going around fangirling about it, but I will definitely be picking up other things that Danny comes out with because his writing was something that I loved.
Third person point of view. I get sick of first person quite easily, since I read so much of it in YA nowadays. While I think Velvet's voice would have been great in first, third person really worked with the story and Danny's writing style. Fabulous.

Things I Didn't Like:

The unexpected lack of focus on Bonesaw. I wanted more mass murderers and less ghostly antics, to be honest. I know, what was I expecting in a book about purgatory, right? But I admit I don't like reading synopses about books I'm going to read, and so I honestly thought there would be more torturing and evilness, like there is in Kimberly Derting's Body Finder series.
Nick and the romance in general. He was boring, and the romance was a little instantaneous. That said, I liked Velvet's approach to it. Again, Velvet is awesome.
Confusing beginning. This may have been because I haven't been getting enough sleep/I'm sick/there's been family drama, but the beginning of the novel really confused me and I don't know why. I just had no idea what was going on, and this makes me feel really stupid, but it's true.

Overall, it was a good book. Nothing amazing, and the only things that stood out to me were the main character, Velvet *swoons*, and the writing. I'm undecided on whether or not I'll be reading the sequels. Time will tell. But lots of other people loved it, so give it a go if it sounds like your kind of thing. Especially as it's Halloween tomorrow!

[kimbacaffeinate]

4.5
You know that feeling you get when you first begin reading a book and realize you have stumbled onto something really good. When it grabs you at page one and you submerse yourself into the world the author has created? That is exactly what happened to me when I opened up Velveteen. Marks wicked imagination took me into the depths of purgatory, with beautiful, dark details and fascinating characters. With multiple plots weaved throughout this tale I found myself completely spellbound.

When we meet sixteen year old Velveteen Moore she is dead, and haunting the home of the man who killed her. When Velveteen died, she did not cross over into the light, instead she ended up in purgatory. Despite the risk of losing her soul, she keeps sneaking out to try and stop him. In this fascinating, dark, grey world she is the team leader of a group that protect those dwelling in purgatory. Recent threats and talks of the "end of times" have caused tension and disastrous events. When "Shakequakes" begin and souls are snatched, Velveteen and her team head through a crack to find the source of the disturbance. A new co-worker named Nick is about to shake Velveteen’s world up. The tale that unfolds is dark, gritty, humorous, scary, freaky, page-turning and at times deliciously romantic.

I really liked snarky protagonist Velveteen. She has attitude, and is a kick-ass leader for her team. Her outward image depicts someone who is tough, and untouchable. Inside, she cares… a lot. She worries about her team and saving purgatory. Thoughts of Bonesaw and revenge drive her. I loved how despite her own terrifying memories and overwhelming sense of fear that she tackles things head on. She fiercely protects her heart for fear of being hurt. When she lets people in she discovers something special. I loved how clever she was at piecing together clues and executing a plan. Nick was a drop dead gorgeous jock living with his overworked, underpaid Mom before his death. Now he is in purgatory and let’s just say death agrees with him. He has that messy never care hair you want to run your fingers through.(yum) His warm expressive eyes and crooked smile have all the girls swooning. Despite some of his libido driven conversations (rolls eyes) and puppy dog comments, I liked him. He looks out for his team; stand up for what he believes and totally has the hots for Velveteen. His feelings for her were kinda insta-lovey. Grr! Thankfully Velveteen had other ideas and we got to see things develop. She on the other hand definitely finds him oh so kissable, but as her leader he is totally against the rules and untouchable. It was fun watching these two interact and seeing her tough exterior crack. There were definitely some sweet, romantic moments. Other characters from the station manager to the origami maker made the tale interesting. Marks really developed all of the characters, giving them each a distinct personality and made them memorable. I love when even the secondary characters are fleshed out. Bonesaw and the villain gave me the creeps and added suspense.

Marks blew me away with his world-building and imagination. I loved the world he created and the details he used to bring this underground city to life. I love so many things about purgatory. Who would have thought? If Tim Burton were to create a movie about this dark, gritty, nightmarish place he need only consult Marks. I was completely enthralled with this world, from the trains and check in station to the dark streets and dormitories. I found the rules, hierarchy, jobs and traditions downright awesome. I was blown away by the author’s limitless imagination and could totally see this coming to life on the big screen. While I still have many questions about purgatory and the limited understanding of where souls go from here, I did enjoy all that we learned. I am hoping Marks tightens up these holes or provides more detail in the next book. Velveteen’s team and the missions they went on were totally cool. The way in which they captured souls and banished Banshees was freaky good. I completely immersed myself in the different plots and action scenes. From nasty souls, squeamish moments, zombies to a serial killer this book has it all. I loved the climactic battle and the interrogation scenes. I just want to spill my guts and talk about some of the fantastic, hilarious, gruesome, mind boggling stuff that went down. (Darn my self-imposed no spoiler rule..Grrr) The end tied up nicely, with just enough left unanswered to have me drooling for more.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I totally loved Velveteen!! I recommend you run to the nearest bookstore and purchase this one. For goodness sake hurry! I want to chat with someone about all of its dark gooey goodness and get your opinion on Nick. Marks is on my list of must read authors and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two which is not yet titled.

I want to thank Random House for providing this ARC, in exchange for my unbiased review.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer