Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi

Description:

In the spring of her senior year, Donna Parisi finds new life in an unexpected place: a coffin.

Since her father’s death four years ago, Donna has gone through the motions of living: her friendships are empty, she’s clueless about what to do after high school graduation, and her grief keeps her isolated, cut off even from the one parent she has left. That is until she’s standing in front of the dead body of a classmate at Brighton Brothers’ Funeral Home. At that moment, Donna realizes what might just give her life purpose is comforting others in death. That maybe who she really wants to be is a mortician.

This discovery sets in motion a life Donna never imagined was possible. She befriends a charismatic new student, Liz, notices a boy, Charlie, and realizes that maybe he's been noticing her, too, and finds herself trying things she hadn’t dreamed of trying before. By taking risks, Donna comes into her own, diving into her mortuary studies with a passion and skill she didn’t know she had in her. And she finally understands that moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting someone you love.

Jen Violi’s heartfelt and funny debut novel is a story of transformation—how one girl learns to grieve and say goodbye, turn loss into a gift, and let herself be exceptional...at loving, applying lipstick to corpses, and finding life in the wake of death.

Quote: 

"So here I am, the one and only amazing Donna, superhero of freaked out insomnia and proud owner of a team of unruly stallions. I should totally get a cape." p 284

Epic Wins:

• I love Charlie and I felt like he was the one she needed to be with even if she didn't know it. 
• The Brighten Brothers (the Funeral Home owners) are quite the duo. My Favorites. 
• The Silent Snark of Awesomeness, at least that was the nick-name I gave Donna.
• Confession: Once upon a time I was convinced I wanted to be a Coroner.  It was really neat to see a character who was as fascinated with it as I was.  It take the whole 'I see dead people' to the next level.
• I loved that the closer she got to being a coroner the closer she was to being herself. She sort of found herself by putting makeup on dead people. 
• She had such passion for being a coroner. It sort of oozed from her, she seemed most happy by  it. 
• The ending came together very nicely. 
• The magic one hold over there self. You can be down right awful or totally chill. Either way the power is in YOU. 
• Sometimes to be yourself you have to let go of somethings, mainly those things holding you back. 
• Message: Everybody dies. Yeah it sucks and no it doesn't go away but its what happens. 
• The galloping horses aka: The realization of her destiny. 

Epic Fails:

• Not exactly sex but still sort of out there. I took a break at this point I was mad at Donna but then I was like it is what it is. 
• Tim- No words in my arsenal to describe how much I hated him. I was already infatuated with Charlie and he was in the way. Sorry I didn't like him one bit.

Overall:

A silly story about how a girl literally deals with death by way of death. I'm a fan hands down. 

just saying, 

-Kare