Being Dead
by Vivian Vande Velde
Harcourt, Inc, 2001
Genre: Horror, Anthology, Ghost
Honors: ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALA Popular Paperback for Young Adults, IRA Young Adults Choice, New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Review: This anthology of seven horror stories presents diverse types of ghost pieces, each one different from each other with varying lengths. Some ghosts reveal themselves to the main character unknowingly, such as John Mellender, the young man from the time of the American Revolution, to Emily, a contemporary girl dying of a disease, in October Chill. Other ghosts scare the living as a means of communicating their other-worldly and urgent message, such as Leah-Ann, a child hit by a car, to Brenda, who is the only one who can help find her body, in Drop by Drop.
Opinion: These ghost stories were delightfully scary and chilling. I loved how the author wrote such different plots, and incorporated all sorts of ghost elements. Overall, the book was not too morbid, with each story concluding with a great ending, which I found very appealing.
Ideas: This book would be perfect on a display of ghost books during the month of October, for Halloween. It would also work well for a teacher trying to entice students to read during the season of Halloween.
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