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Velveteen
by
Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.
The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s ...more
The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s ...more
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Hardcover, 447 pages
Published
October 9th 2012
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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I love this cover and I love this idea: a ghost trapped in purgatory getting revenge on the serial killer who brought about her early death. It should have been really exciting and dark and gripping, but the result was one messy disappointment made worse by frequently clumsy prose. If I get over half way through a book but don't finish it, I allow myself to leave a rating as long as I state that I didn't get to the end. And really, I feel I read enough to know that myself and Velveteen (the nove
...more

CAUTION: Long Review
I thought the story of 110,000 words was going to be a bloody tale of revenge but it wasn't. The blurb was awfully misleading:
I thought the story of 110,000 words was going to be a bloody tale of revenge but it wasn't. The blurb was awfully misleading:
Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days.Uh, no. Velveteen was actually about a bunch of angry, disillusioned dead people called Departurists who wanted out of purgatory and so they commit a series of terrorist acts in order to accomplish the ...more

Riddle me this: Why does a book description that goes off about a ghost seeking revenge against her serial killer, but is mostly about an uprising in the weirdest purgatory I've ever heard of, have so many good ratings? Answer: Hell's bells if I know.
Oh, yeah...there are spoilers ahead, because this book was just a modge podge of wtf-ery.
Velveteen started off so promising with Velvet using her ghost mojo to destroy things in the serial killer's home, and then realizing the sicko had collected a ...more
Oh, yeah...there are spoilers ahead, because this book was just a modge podge of wtf-ery.
Velveteen started off so promising with Velvet using her ghost mojo to destroy things in the serial killer's home, and then realizing the sicko had collected a ...more

Apr 19, 2011
hayden
marked it as to-read-via-netgalley-and-edelweiss
Dear Daniel Marks,
Please give me an ARC of this immediately because you are cool.
Thanks,
Hayden
Please give me an ARC of this immediately because you are cool.
Thanks,
Hayden

4.5 stars - Ah, what the hell - I'm rounding up to 5.
This book was long, and I wouldn't say this book was absolutely mind-blowing, but the writing as truly amazing. It was really sick an twisted, so disgustingly graphic, so mentally chilling - not usually my type of thing, but I was totally diggin' it. Just to give you a taste of what you would be reading: (view spoiler) ...more
This book was long, and I wouldn't say this book was absolutely mind-blowing, but the writing as truly amazing. It was really sick an twisted, so disgustingly graphic, so mentally chilling - not usually my type of thing, but I was totally diggin' it. Just to give you a taste of what you would be reading: (view spoiler) ...more

Crash out of purgatory so you can brutally haunt your murderer?!?
Has this been done before because it sounds freck'in awesome! Even Velveteen (I love that name!) sounds awesome in a slightly crazy bitch kind of way. I LOVE crazy bitches!

Sign me up!
Oh and the cover...
...
...
...
My whole brain shut down for a minute due to a short circuit caused by pure electric AWESOME!

Okay I'm done... ...more
Has this been done before because it sounds freck'in awesome! Even Velveteen (I love that name!) sounds awesome in a slightly crazy bitch kind of way. I LOVE crazy bitches!

Sign me up!
Oh and the cover...
...
...
...
My whole brain shut down for a minute due to a short circuit caused by pure electric AWESOME!

Okay I'm done... ...more

The beginning of this novel is so very awesome that I have to applaud Mr. Marks on it. I started the novel without rereading the synopsis so I literally walked in blind. And then as I started reading, I started frowning because what is this girl in some serial killer’s house, why is she not running for her life and why is she not calling the cops? What in the world is going on? And then, very slyly, the reader is hit with the information that changes things substantially. And then, we’re off. Ve
...more

With it's vivid world-building and intriguing characters, Velveteen is hauntingly beautiful and just as riveting, bringing new meaning to life after death!
Imagine dying, and landing, not in heaven, not in hell, but in Purgatory. the place where souls who are not quite ready to crossover, go. After being kidnapped and brutally murdered, that is exactly where sixteen year old Velveteen Monroe ends up. and in Purgatory, everyone has a purpose, everyone has a job to do. But Velveteen is angry, and s ...more
Imagine dying, and landing, not in heaven, not in hell, but in Purgatory. the place where souls who are not quite ready to crossover, go. After being kidnapped and brutally murdered, that is exactly where sixteen year old Velveteen Monroe ends up. and in Purgatory, everyone has a purpose, everyone has a job to do. But Velveteen is angry, and s ...more

May 11, 2011
Leah Clifford
added it
So freaking excited for this one!

Oct 11, 2012
Anzu The Great Destroyer
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
kids who are into gore and mushy shit
First paragraph:

Velveteen started out well. A morbid story about a murdered girl's ghost who's out for revenge on the person who took away her life.
I really loved the fact that even though sh ...more
When Velveteen Monroe pictured Bonesaw’s house—and she did, more often than could be considered healthy—blood striped the paint a muddy reddish-brown, internal organs floated in jars of formaldehyde, and great big taxidermy crows leered from branches that twisted from the wall like palsied arms.

Velveteen started out well. A morbid story about a murdered girl's ghost who's out for revenge on the person who took away her life.
I really loved the fact that even though sh ...more

Four stars: A book with a dark theme, incredible world building and an unexpected romance.
Velveteen once again returns to the scene where she was brutally murdered. Hoping that she can somehow find a way to exact her deadly revenge. Unfortunately, as a ghost she hasn't found a way to stop the insane murderer, Bonesaw. He is evil incarnate and he took her life. After flooding his kitchen, Velvet rushes outside to find that he has another victim tied up in his shed. Desperately, she tries to free ...more
Velveteen once again returns to the scene where she was brutally murdered. Hoping that she can somehow find a way to exact her deadly revenge. Unfortunately, as a ghost she hasn't found a way to stop the insane murderer, Bonesaw. He is evil incarnate and he took her life. After flooding his kitchen, Velvet rushes outside to find that he has another victim tied up in his shed. Desperately, she tries to free ...more

3.5! :D Mayhem, gushy, and fun.
Initial thoughts:
1. Velveteen is a BAMF. I like her violent, kick-ass style.
2. The LURVE. Okay, not love. I really liked how Velveteen didn't label her relationship with Nick, and saw it for what it was. Sexeh.
3. The overall plot was a bit overwhelming. Lot's of different elements going on, and happening too quickly. I wanted more time/info. to absorb the setting and what was going on.
4. Danny's personality and voice is infused into his writing. I really enjoyed t ...more
Initial thoughts:
1. Velveteen is a BAMF. I like her violent, kick-ass style.
2. The LURVE. Okay, not love. I really liked how Velveteen didn't label her relationship with Nick, and saw it for what it was. Sexeh.
3. The overall plot was a bit overwhelming. Lot's of different elements going on, and happening too quickly. I wanted more time/info. to absorb the setting and what was going on.
4. Danny's personality and voice is infused into his writing. I really enjoyed t ...more

3/13/2012
COVER! I love the font, but I'm not 100% sure about the models. I was expecting something more artsy, maybe more of a drawn cover and less of a fashion magazine style cover. However, I'm still EFFING EXCITED for this book and can't wait for it to release!
Update 3/27/2012
OMG I HAVE NEVER WANTED SOMETHING MORE FROM NETGALLEY IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
Update 4/25/2012
YESSSSSSSSS
Update 5/5/2012
OMG this book...I tell ya, it is so unlike any YA I've ever read. It's got all of the elements of YA books ...more
COVER! I love the font, but I'm not 100% sure about the models. I was expecting something more artsy, maybe more of a drawn cover and less of a fashion magazine style cover. However, I'm still EFFING EXCITED for this book and can't wait for it to release!
Update 3/27/2012
OMG I HAVE NEVER WANTED SOMETHING MORE FROM NETGALLEY IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
Update 4/25/2012
YESSSSSSSSS
Update 5/5/2012
OMG this book...I tell ya, it is so unlike any YA I've ever read. It's got all of the elements of YA books ...more

1.5 stars
I had a very hard time getting into this novel. I loved the synopsis and the cover, so I was really looking forward to reading this one, but in the end, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I really wanted to learn about Bonesaw, and I figured that a majority of the novel would deal with Velvet’s terrible death and her attempt to bring Bonesaw down. What I found, instead, is that the novel touches briefly upon Bonesaw here and there, but more often than not, deals with Velvet’s sexual f ...more
I had a very hard time getting into this novel. I loved the synopsis and the cover, so I was really looking forward to reading this one, but in the end, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I really wanted to learn about Bonesaw, and I figured that a majority of the novel would deal with Velvet’s terrible death and her attempt to bring Bonesaw down. What I found, instead, is that the novel touches briefly upon Bonesaw here and there, but more often than not, deals with Velvet’s sexual f ...more

Review originally written and posted to
http://yabookreads.com/blog/2012/10/0...
Characters: Velvet is the leader of her collections group. Possibly the most famous of her time, going on 56 souls rescued. She leads Quentin, Luisa and Logan into situations in which souls that have been captured need to be released. Her position as body thief or “body snatcher” is when she takes over a human body to help the group get in closer with the soul stealers and help rescue them, and bring them to purgator ...more
http://yabookreads.com/blog/2012/10/0...
Characters: Velvet is the leader of her collections group. Possibly the most famous of her time, going on 56 souls rescued. She leads Quentin, Luisa and Logan into situations in which souls that have been captured need to be released. Her position as body thief or “body snatcher” is when she takes over a human body to help the group get in closer with the soul stealers and help rescue them, and bring them to purgator ...more

Meet the strange and dark world of Purgatory in
Velveteen
. This was an oddly beautiful and fascinating story with a lot of depth and unique world-building. I went into this novel with a lot of excitement to begin with because I am a huge fan of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. So when I heard some of the comparisons that it was like reading a darker YA version, I jumped at the chance. I’d like to make a note now that in my honest opinion, it’s NOTHING in comparison to The Lovely Bones. It’s
...more

Set to blast onto the scene in October, VELVETEEN, by Danny Marks, is a rollicking revenge-tale horror-dramedy extravaganza. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC, and I have no doubt that this evil-puppy will be scurrying off the shelves come Halloween season.
Velveteen is out for blood, specifically the blood of her nemesis, the twisted serial killer Bonesaw, who was responsible for her all too early exit from the living world. She’s the sort of ass-kicking female protagonist that YA needs more of ...more
Velveteen is out for blood, specifically the blood of her nemesis, the twisted serial killer Bonesaw, who was responsible for her all too early exit from the living world. She’s the sort of ass-kicking female protagonist that YA needs more of ...more

I suspect that the tone she’s speaks will be a hit or miss with readers. Irreverent, she could be. Cheeky but perfectly aware of how unlikeable she was. Despite such an interesting character, the flow of the story felt choppy. With endings that served to emphasize how silly, horrific, stupid something was… the novelty of all those one liner endings eventually wore off because they cut off the flow of the story. Add the fact that it wasn’t that easy to get into at first. There’s little explanatio
...more

The story follows Velvet through purgatory. There are some glimpses into her past from when she was brutally tortured and murdered by a man named Bonesaw. At first I thought this book was going to be her haunting him but the majority of the book is her in purgatory. She is part of a kick-ass team who seem to help keep purgatory up and running by protecting it. On one of her missions she saves Nick who was captured in a crystal ball by a hijacker (a ghost who was commanding a living body). Nick e
...more

It takes a lot for me to say this, but this is my new favorite book. Of all time. Amazing isn’t enough to describe it. And it deserves way more than five stars. VELVETEEN was absolutely brilliant. Daniel Marks descriptions and world building are flawless. The dialogue is witty and natural. Velvet is one of my favorite heroines in YA books to date. Nick…oh Nick. What can I say? Funny, gorgeous, and dead. My kind of guy. This book was fantastically creepy. It had an almost Tim Burton quality that
...more

It’s unfortunate that Daniel Marks’ YA debut Velveteen didn’t get quite the attention it deserved when it first came out. Velveteen takes a walk on the macabre side and feels quite unprecedented in the YA market. It mashes up horror with paranormal, as the machinations of the residents of Purgatory are explored in this novel. While I am not usually one who LOVES weird books, I have to say that I was totally won over by Marks’ world building and prickly characterization. I definitely would like m
...more

Mar 29, 2012
Evie
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
loved-it,
review-copy,
miya-event,
pure-awesomeness,
ya,
horror,
creepy-as-hell,
supernatural,
october-2012,
2013-tbr-pile
Extremely creative and entirely compelling, Velveteen offers a devourable blend of fantasy noir and horror with a splash of dark humor and pinch of romance!
Velveteen Mondroe is sixteen and dead, her life cut short by a serial murderer named Bonesaw. Not being able to get over her brutal death and move on, she is now trapped in Purgatory (or the City of the Dead if you may). She occasionally sneaks out of there to haunt her killer, hoping to somehow prevent him from torturing and murdering othe ...more
Velveteen Mondroe is sixteen and dead, her life cut short by a serial murderer named Bonesaw. Not being able to get over her brutal death and move on, she is now trapped in Purgatory (or the City of the Dead if you may). She occasionally sneaks out of there to haunt her killer, hoping to somehow prevent him from torturing and murdering othe ...more

Mar 21, 2012
Steph Sinclair
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
ghosts,
come-out-already,
young-adult,
ebook,
edelweiss,
dat-cover-yo,
2012-release,
netgalley,
e-arc
I love this cover! I really hope I can score an ARC for this. ;)
GUYS! This is up on NetGalley right now!
GUYS! This is up on NetGalley right now!

This book had nothing that kept me interested.I don't even remember the male character.
...more

**originally posted at www.bunnycates.com/reading **
My Thoughts:
After taking a few days to gather my thoughts…
I should probably mention that I consider this author to be “an online friend”. I don’t know him in real life – only on twitter and the youtubes. Knowing him socially does not have any bearing on my review at all. If anything, I may be a little harder on this book because of it. I have high expectations for the folks I label in the “friend” category. lol.
“and now for somethi
...more
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 ...more
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 ...more

Originally reviewed on A Reader of Fictions.
Velveteen is another novel with a whole lot of hype surrounding its release. The premise sounds so insane and creepy that this should come as no surprise. A dystopia about the dead? Serial killers? Purgatory? Strong heroine? That's all kinds of awesome, right? Well, I definitely think so.
My first recommendation is not to come into Velveteen looking for a dystopia. There really isn't anything particularly dystopian here, although I do see some definite ...more
Velveteen is another novel with a whole lot of hype surrounding its release. The premise sounds so insane and creepy that this should come as no surprise. A dystopia about the dead? Serial killers? Purgatory? Strong heroine? That's all kinds of awesome, right? Well, I definitely think so.
My first recommendation is not to come into Velveteen looking for a dystopia. There really isn't anything particularly dystopian here, although I do see some definite ...more

Velveteen started off so promising! A spunky, take-charge heroine hell-bent on seeking revenge on her killer? Yes! But I quickly realized that Velveteen was going to be much more about the inner turmoil of Purgatory than about Velvet's thirst for vengeance.
Velveteen's opening scenes were brillant - frustrated over Bonesaw's nonchalance over being haunted, Velvet can't help but flash back to when she was being held captive. While flooding his kitchen, her worst fears are realized when she sees th ...more
Velveteen's opening scenes were brillant - frustrated over Bonesaw's nonchalance over being haunted, Velvet can't help but flash back to when she was being held captive. While flooding his kitchen, her worst fears are realized when she sees th ...more
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Daniel Marks writes young adult horror and fantasy, spends way too much time glued to the internets and collects books obsessively (occasionally reading them). He’s been a psychotherapist for children and adolescents, a Halloween store manager, a cafeteria janitor (gag) and has survived earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons to get where he is today, which is to say, in his messy office surrounded by
...more
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“She walks a tightrope between psycho and smokin'.”
—
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“So, wait. That's it? We make out and it was awesome and you make me feel things I never have with any other girl, and then you run? I gotta say, I'm feeling a little slutty here." -Nick”
—
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