Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake
Tom Doherty Associates Books, 2011. ISBN 9780765328656.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. With a raft of awards (Cybils Award Nominee
for Fantasy and Science Fiction (Young Adult) (2011), YALSA 2012
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers (2012), and YALSA 2012 Best
Fiction for Young Adults (2012)) Anna dressed in blood is an
ideal book to get teens reading. Cas Lowood kills the dead. He is a
ghost hunter like his father before him. When his father is cruelly
murdered, he inherits his strange athame, and goes around the
countryside with his mother, a white witch, looking for ghosts to
lay to rest. Arriving in a new town, searching for the ghost called
Anna dressed in blood, Cas finds a ghost, dripping blood, who spares
his life even though she has killed countless others.
I enjoyed reading this ghost story, which is written in the first
person in the voice of Cas. Cas is a wonderful narrator, who gives
the reader an in-depth insight into what he is feeling about the
ghost hunting that he has to do and the loneliness he experiences as
he and his mother move from town to town. He has no time to make
friends and to be a normal teenage boy. When he enrolls at Sir
Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational high school, he finds
that he can't shake either Carmel or Thomas, who are determine to
befriend him and help him in his quest. Both of his friends grow and
begin to value themselves by the end of the story.
There are many exciting and gruesome scenes, which will be enjoyed
by those who like some bloodthirsty action in their reading.
Suspense is built up throughout the book, culminating in a thrilling
ending that left me wanting more.
Cas's feelings for Anna are pivotal for making the story
interesting. As a reader I became fascinated by the relationship
between the two, which seems to be doomed. However there is another
book in the pipeline, so it will be interesting to see where this
talented author goes with the sequel.
Recommended for reluctant readers and those who enjoy a well written
paranormal ghost story.
Pat Pledger