Title: Anna Dressed In Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Edition: hardcoverSeries: Anna #1Released Date: August 30th, 2011Publisher: Tor Teen
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Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
Cas has spent his life chasing after the one thing that took his father away: ghosts. With a handy-dandy knife, his annoying cat, and caring mother, Cas ventures to find a ghost that's killed more than 20 teenagers. Anna Dressed in Blood is the one ghost you don't want to mess with, but with a few sidekicks, Cas starts to gets an insight on what Anna's life was like and begins to feel sorry for her.
First off, I love ghosts and horror stories. I've had my fair share of scary things, but nothing compared to to some of the movies I watch and books I've read. I was definitely interested in Anna Dressed In Blood when I heard about it's creepiness and it's plot revolving around ghosts. I was hoping it was going to be a bit more scary, but I was pleasantly surprised with the ghosts and gore it included!
As a protagonist, I look for a character that's witty and sarcastic; yet endearing. Most of the time when I think of characters like this, female protagonists pop into my head. After reading Anna, Cas may end up being the one character that I always picture - and he's a boy! Cas's character was very well developed and I found myself lusting after him a bit, just because of how well I felt I could connect with him, even though I've never hunted ghosts or lost a parent before!
What I loved the most about this novel, was the fact that Kendare Blake wrote from a guy's perspective so flawlessly! Almost all the time I read a novel from a male's POV, I have to remind myself throughout the novel: "wait, I forgot this guy is supposed to be a guy!" Cas was written like a guy should be written, and he wasn't just basic either. He was flawless!
I really enjoyed the supporting characters as well. Carmel became a good friend to Cas, and at first I thought she was going to be a total b-word, but I love how well she fit in with Cas and the ghost hunting and wasn't the stereotype popular girl. Also, Thomas was pretty cute because of his awkwardness. I hope he gets a girl, *cough cough, Carmel.*
Anna, Anna, Anna. I felt so bad for her since the beginning of the book. The way she spoke and she held herself through the novel made me feel sorrowful. I'm glad she was able to connect with Cas by the end of the novel! Their friendship continued to grow until they both figured out what they felt for each other.
The creepiness of this novel kept me on my toes, and I loved how it progressed. It wasn't as scary as I was hoping, but it still had it's freaky moments!
As you can tell, I loved pretty much everything out of this novel. This book pretty much defied all odds and Kendare Blake wasn't afraid to try something that wasn't popular in YA. She nailed the male POV, she created a suspenseful scary story that captivated audiences, and created an adorable romance that sparked at the end of the novel. If you pick this one up, you definitely won't be disappointed!
