Putting Makeup on Dead People

Putting Makeup on Dead People is a debut, by Jen Violi, that should have gotten so much more attention—so much more. Since her father’s death four years earlier, Donna has been just going through the motions; isolated from everyone with no real friends, without a real relationship with her mother, and with no idea what she wants to do after high school’s over.


That all changes, though, while at a classmates funeral. Standing by the coffin, Donna realizes there just might be something for her, comforting people in death. She just might want to be a mortician.

The discovery sets Donna’s new life in motion. She makes friends with a new student, notices a boy – who might be noticing her, too – and throws herself into mortuary show more studies. Despite what her mother will think.

By taking risks and doing what she really wants, Donna looks to discover who she really is – the girl who was hidden under all that grief for the past several years.


Putting Makeup on Dead People is a novel about transformation and self-discovery in possibly the most unique guise I’ve ever seen (or, rather, read). Jen Violi has found a super innovative way of dealing with death, grief, and moving on. It’s easy to get so wrapped in the story of what Donna wants to do, what she is doing, that you don’t realize it’s a story about her growth – it becomes simply a story about Donna.

Violi writes Putting Makeup so well that her prose seems easy. It just flows. Nothing’s choppy or stumbles. It’s …easy.

I really loved that Donna wanted to be something unique (to her and the characters) that actually was unique. There are times when someone in a book wants to be something that is supposed to be terribly different but really they just don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer, etc. Donna wanting to be a mortician actually is a bit different and I enjoyed that. I also enjoyed that it wasn’t treated as a joke and was researched, treated with respect.

Jen Violi’s debut was definitely a lot more under the radar than most its season/year but definitely not due to its quality. show less

Everyone who has seen me with this book in hand has commented on the cover. It's strange, right? Upside down face with flowers. Then you read the title: Putting Makeup On Dead People. And you think, what? That's a dead person on the cover! The title and the cover are both captivating. I was really excited when I won this book from April at My Shelf Confessions! Thanks, April!

Confession time: I lost my stepfather, a man who had been in my life as a father figure for a long time, when I was just 23 years old after four years of battling cancer. I think as we get older, we accept that our parents won't be around forever, but 23 is too young to lose a parent. Even when you've had time to prepare. Because no one is prepared. And to be quite show more honest, it's harder on the survivors than those who slowly pass away, because we have to live with the after. "After" can be quite a bitch.

And that's why Putting Makeup On Dead People sucked me right in. Told in the first person, it follows the story of Donna Parisi, a senior in high school, as she deals with the aftermath of losing her father four years earlier. She has friends, and yet she still feels lost and alone. She attends church with her mother and siblings, but she's a robot going through the motions. I identified with her on so many levels. Everything she felt, I felt. Jen Violi writes such a terrific, heartening story of finding oneself, carefully weaving the fabric of it for our own pleasure.
Violi MUST be Italian; she nailed the Italian-American family right on the head, describing the wails of loss, and family members virtually throwing themselves into loved ones' graves, not to mention the extended family dynamics. It all felt really, really familiar.
Putting Makeup On Dead People is excellent. More than just a first-person story, it also details the transformation teenagers go through as they reach through youth to adulthood and begin making their own decisions. Life's hard, and sometimes we don't realize it until we feel like we're all we've got, teaching ourselves self-sufficiency. Donna, in particular, decides to scrap University of Dayton, the institution where she has already been accepted, and attend mortuary school. Death fascinates her and I think she yearns to understand it on a level some of us never will.
I liked how each chapter ended: with a short memo of the funeral of the moment. Those were like little candies hidden throughout the novel, and I laughed at most of them, because frankly, people can really be that ridiculous!

If you enjoy Young Adult, and don't mind a slightly morbid flair, grab this right now and go read it. I promise you won't be disappointed. show less

Violi, J. (2011). Putting makeup on dead people. New York: Hyperion. 330 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4231-3481-7. (Hardcover); $16.99.*

Come on! Isn’t the title alone enough of a reason to purchase this one for your high school library? At the funeral of a classmate, Donna notices the eyeliner and pale eye shadow on the dead body. A bit later she meets Joe Brighton, the worker who put the simple base coat on Donna’s father when he died. If these two sentences seem off putting, avoid this book. If quirky dark humor appeals to you, if you are a fan of Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, you will enjoy this young adult version of Deborah Wiles’ Each Little Bird that Sings. Donna has melted into her grief after the death of her father. She virtually show more needs lessons on how to say hello and interact socially. Noticing the makeup on the corpse is the beginning of Donna’s new career goal to become a mortician. Violi has a wicked sense of humor that serves this macabre dead people fashion show story: “Linnie’s long hair hangs in green-and-black stripes—a little painful on the eyes right next to Snooter’s bright red spikes. It’s like Christmas and Death had babies.” (p. 163). In the midst of the dead bodies and burials, however, is a very sweet story of Donna learning, once again, to join the living, to take chances, to love, and to grow. show less

I'm probably the only person that cried over this funny, compassionate book about growing up, discovering yourself, and coping with life after the death of a loved one, but we all know that I am a huge weepy sap, anyway. I love character-driven stories, and while this one doesn't exactly go where I expected (because it is also largely plotless, with a lot of interesting avenues -- mortuary school classes, for example -- left unexplored), it also gave me a satisfying, meaningful experience. I connected with Donna's slightly off sense of humor, her observations of the people around her, and her frequent insights into her own life that still don't result in immediate changes in her thinking or behavior. Donna is confused and sad and show more hilarious and very real. Violi's writing is expressive and unique, and she does a great job conveying complicated emotional stuff in small, simple ways. There's some really great stuff in here and I can't wait to see what Violi does next. show less

Donna Parisi has been going through the motions of life since her father passed away four years ago. She has friends, but the friendships seem to be lacking. She has shut herself off from her mother, and she’s not very excited about going to the same college most of her friends will be attending, mainly because she has no idea what she wants to do with her life.

One day all of that changes when she finds herself at the funeral of a deceased classmate. While standing in the funeral home, she feels a strange sense of comfort there. After speaking with the funeral home directors, she decides to apply to become a mortician, against her mothers wishes. This decision finally gives Donna a sense of direction, and opens her up to new friends, show more new experiences and her first love.

I really enjoyed this book. It is told primarily from Donna’s point of view. The writing is very fluid and clever. I especially enjoyed the “funeral notes” that are wedged between each chapter and are based on Donna’s witty observations. The characters felt real, and there is a nice balance of drama and wit that carries the book forward. Though many might consider a book about a girl working in a funeral home a bit morbid, I never once felt depressed or that the book was morbid at all. In fact, I felt it was a nice departure from many of the cliche’s found in a lot of contemporary YA novels. There are a couple of intimate moments that are described pretty vividly (though not gratuitously), so it is probably better for older teens.

(Review based on an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley) show less

Donna has some serious issues since her dad died. Who wouldn't? Everyone in her family is dealing with it in a different way, and it's easy to see how she got left behind. Lucky for her, she found something to throw herself into - dead people. The book could have gone in so many directions, and I was expecting it to be slightly flippant, but was relieved when I realized just how deep and introspective Donna becomes. Congratulations to Violi for tackling the hard issues without the preaching that could have resulted. Donna's voice comes across as authentic as any girl in her position would, and the decisions she makes are natural and almost (but not quite) adult.

My one issue with the plot was that certain elements seemed too convenient. show more Befriending Liz, encountering J.B., the decision to go to mortuary school. These events happened fast, almost too fast, but each has an important impact on the story. show less

Summary: Donna’s father died three years ago, and she feels like she’s the only one still hurting. Her mother has moved on and her brother is always chipper, but Donna can’t let herself forget. When she attends the funeral of a local girl, Donna finds herself becoming interested in morticians and what they do. Soon, Donna discovers that being a mortician might just be her calling. But her mother thinks that Donna’s fascination with the dead stems from her inability to let her father go.

My thoughts: Putting Makeup on Dead People is a very realistic story about self-discovery. It also incorporates the theme of grief, and how one girl deals with it (namely, becoming fascinated with becoming a mortician). These subjects are not show more outrightly discussed, but Jennifer Violi expertly incorporates them into her somewhat sad, completely moving story.
Putting Makeup on Dead People moves at a pace much like real life—sometimes slow, sometimes quite quick. Somehow this pacing made the book really easy to get into. The incorporation of mortuary sciences added some extra spice, and it’s intriguing to delve into the world of morticians.

One of the best parts of the book, I think, is Donna’s evolution. She starts off as a timid, awkward little thing, but over the course of the novel she blossoms into a confident, self-realized character. It’s this type of growth that all teens wish for; that some day they’ll find their place in life. Donna really represented a teen’s ideal, and that makes her a most excellent protagonist.
That being said, Donna does make some extremely poor decisions, and there are moments when I, as a reader, felt like giving her a good shake. Still, these choices made her feel all the more real.

The side characters in Putting Makeup on Dead People are also enjoyable, especially Donna’s family and her friend Liz. Though they’re not as fleshed out as the protagonist, they still serve great purpose. Through interacting with her friends and family, Donna is ultimately able to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

Putting Makeup on Dead People is a poignant, engrossing read about grief and discovering yourself. Jennifer Violi’s debut novel will certainly be enjoyed by fans of contemporary YA. Though at times a bit slow, the messages the book delivers and the fabulous characters are well worth the read. show less