This book scared the crap out of me but it made me realize the importance of life and opened my eyes to something I never really thought of, be aware that you will cry at some points and be scared at others.

I enjoyed this a lot. Being Dead is full of short stories about ghosts and being haunted. A light quick read for Halloween.

Most of the stories in this book are straightforward and well-done ghost stories -- "The Ghost" is obvious but amusing, "Shadow Brother" and "For Love of Him" are creepy as advertised, and "October Chill" and "Being Dead" are touchingly sad. "Dancing with Majorie's Ghost" is silly, and not as interesting as the others."Drop by Drop" is horrifying. Not terrifying. When you get to the end of the story (or near enough to put the end together) and realize what's happened, it's horrifying, of the put...

A chilling book of seven short stories, each a little different. The cover is enough to give you nightmares. I'm not a fan of short stories, I am a series girl, but for some reason I picked this one up and so glad I did! Drop by Drop is a 60 page tale of a young girl and her family moving to the country. Once arriving only Brenda seems to be having visits from something beyond this world. Once she realizes just what, or should I say who it is it'll leave you stunned.Dancing With Marjorie's Ghost...

Easy read of many short stories about death. I think the first one in the last one are the best first one was about a little girl haunting a teenager and the last one was about a paperboy hunting his boss who stoled his paper route money. Why these were good stories they weren't as breathtaking as I wanted them to be like the poor girl who was battling a tumor who sadly froze to death so she could be with the ghost she liked.

I really enjoyed this book, but I wish there weren't seven stories. It was very interesting to be able to get to read a different variety of stories, but it would be better if it was less then seven. Overall the book was very intriguing and mysterious, and do recommend if you like to get a little scared.

Rarely do I enjoy every story in an anthology, but every story in Being Dead entertained me in one way or another. Some stories were terrifying, some touching, and some hilarious. My favorite is probably the short and simple story "The Gost."SECOND time reading it:Oh my gosh I love all these stories so much. I could remember how all of them were going to end, so I kind of wish I could go back to that state of shock and awe that is so rare when reading a book. But I still got to relive all of tho...

This collection of short stories, some scary, some not, investigates that mysterious boundary between life and death. Vivian Vande Velde uses surprise, intrigue, fear, and even a little humor to entertain her readers. The first story, "Drop by Drop," is by far the stand-out: a teen girl, depressed at having to move with her family into the country, discovers a ghostly visitor upon their arrival. The ghost, a little girl, makes herself known only around water. When she appears, she is also drench...

Melissa WickelhausShort StoriesBeing Dead by Vivian Cande Velde contains seven short stories about death, ghosts, cemeteries, and other such dark things. One story follows Brenda, a teen who moves to country with her family and is haunted by the dripping wet, bloody ghost of a young girl riding a bicycle. After a few days of being tormented by the ghost, Brenda realizes that her involvement with the young girl is much more serious than she thought. Another story tells of a man who never treated

Warning: Not creepy at all. Drop by Drop: liked, was clever (view spoiler)[ with an unreliable narrator (hide spoiler)], left me feeling sad Dancing with Marjorie's Ghost: was okay, but I feel like I've read this type of story before Shadow Brother: my favorite story of the collection, really liked, the narrator was insightful and there was a depth to this story The Ghost: was okay, cute story about a prank loving ghost For Love of Him: liked, boy gets caught up with ghosts in a cemetery

A collection of short stories I picked up to start my Halloween tradition of reading scary stories. Was not impressed. A rather dull, confusing first story that leaves me with no desire to finish the book. :/ I think it's just my intense dislike of short stories coming through, because the actual novels I've read by this author I've liked. Not this. I think I'll go try a zombie apocalypse book now.

Creepy collection of short stories. The first story, "Drop by Drop," was my favorite. Brenda is sullen and unpleasant to be around when her parents decide to move to a new house in a tiny little town. Brenda's mood does not improve when a dripping girl who no one else can see appears in the house. Not gory, just creepy.

Being Dead, another book of creepy short stories by Vivian Vande Velde, will not disappoint the many fans of her horror fiction. Ghosts are the theme of each of these seven stories -- ghosts who may or may not really want to haunt the living. And the living are (mostly) not thrilled to be haunted. This is one of the author's best efforts.

this is like one of the best ghost story books i read. some actully sounds so real that it give me night mares. but it is a good book after all. so if you are not sacred of reading scared things or love to read scary things, you should go pick up one of this book and read it yourself. you can read it to your friends as ghost stories and get them sacred!

I enjoyed this book very much. My favorite stories were "Drop by Drop," which had a fantastic teen voice that reminded me of the YA I'm writing, and "October Chill," which was a very cool teenage-girl-in-love-with-a-ghost story. All of the stories were creepy and very well written. I'd recommend to anyone who loves a good ghost story! :)

I just finished a scary, mysterious book called Being Dead by Vivian Vande Velde. This book tells some scary, short stories. They are all about people finding ghosts in there houses, ghosts talking to people and more. I really like scary or mysterious stories, hopefully you do to if you are thinking about reading this book.

I'd recommend this book to middle school aged children who are wanting to read ghost stories. It is comprised of several short stories that are interesting to read. There's nothing really gruesome in the book and there's no vulgar language. The stories are entertaining and could be creepy to younger readers. I enjoyed the book.

LOVED it. The short stories were wonderfully written, and most had some very unexpected twists to them!

this book is really scary but cool and its wow now im in the begin of the story but its sound so good to read tonight

As usual in a short story collection, there were ups and downs, but Vande Velde is such a good author there were far more ups than downs. Drop By Drop - 3.5 stars. I doubted it would be any good until the end, when the twist punches you in the kidneys. I wish there had been a bit more foreshadowing but yikes. Dancing With Marjorie's Ghost - 3 stars. Very short, basic ghost story. Shadow Brother - 4 stars. Content warning for suicide but SO GOOD. The Ghost - 4 stars. THE TWIST WAS SO GOOD. Anothe...

The book I read was a Children's literature/Speculative fiction book called “Being Dead,” by Vivian Vande Velde. The story I chose to write about was “Drop by Drop.” In the story, there was a main character named Brenda who had just moved from Buffalo. She is constantly vistited by a young dead girl who never spoke to her, but always showed up when Brenda was near water. Brenda tries to help this little girl and wonders why she keeps following her. In the end, Brenda finds out the real reason wh...

Drop by Drop was by far my favorite of all the stories,i thought it was pretty sad and i liked all the plot twists.The ending of it really put the whole book together.It must’ve been pretty scary if it happened irl,If there was ever a part 2 I’d read it.The ending of it was really different,i was suprised when they said the main character unknowingly killed the little girl.This genre is horror.The authors writing is easy to understand but very descriptive.The reading level might be a little high...

I picked up Being Dead from the school library shelves, with the intention of screening some chillers for my 7th graders. This one is a keeper! Keep in mind this book is a collection of short stories. As I read Drop by Drop, I thought that it was a little outdated for today’s students... until I came to the end. After that, I had an idea of where VVV was going. Great fast read, with more than one shocker.

I had read this book when I was in eighth grade and it had a huge impact on my life and the way i create stories. Every story in this book captivates you and presents a world you can see clearly in your mind. The story that stuck out in my mind was October chill and in the last thirteen years i think about it once a week. If you want to be transported into a world you had no idea existed then this will be the best book you will read all year.

Another collection of short stories from Ms. Vande Velde, yet this one is enough to have you seek out all the lights and open all the closet doors. Definitely deserves the statement "It'll make you want to sleep with the lights on!"

A collection of ghost stories with surprising twists. A teenager is haunted by a little girl she accidentally and unknowingly killed in a hit-and-run. A narrator turns out to be a ghost. A bereaved father is haunted by his son who died in the Vietnam War.

I love a good ghost story, but not one that relies on gore or strong language, which aren’t my thing. Velde does a great job of bringing an eerie feeling without grossing me out. A couple of stories, particularly Drip by Drip will stick with me for a long time.

3.5 stars

I liked it a lot

The first short story is excellent. It's downhill from there.