Want to Go Private by Sarah Darer Littman

Published August 1, 2011 by Scholastic Press
4 Stars

Goodreads Review

Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school—it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke—he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

Review:  This is a hard book to review.  Want to go Private is an intense book. I want to say it should be read by older teens, but no. This is a book middle schoolers need to read because the dangers really do start that young, as much as I hate to admit it. I went onto a chat room for the first time when I was in 5th grade (I was only 10 years old, I was put in school early). The dangers are out there, and not only do parents need to educate their children, but they also need to educate themselves. I was worried this book was going to be all shock factor, but it really covers a lot of facts and offers some very useful insight into internet predators. I was very impressed. 

Sidenote: I've read reviews that say that Abby was asking for it for being so stupid and she deserved to be raped. No girl deserves to be raped, and no girl ever asks for it. If you believe that then you can go fuck yourself. 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

#1 in the Anna series
Published on August 30, 2011 by Tor Teen
5 Stars
DAC 2011

Goodreads Review
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered 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: track, 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, now stained red and dripping with 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.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Review:  Anna Dressed in Blood is an excellent and creepy ghost story that is sure to thrill readers.  It's a perfect book for the Halloween season.  This mystery is excellent for anyone interested in ghosts and their motivations for haunting and how the living can help them.

I seriously loved everything about this book.  First off, the title is perfect.  Man I love a good title.  Also the setting is fantastic.  The descriptions of Anna's house is so freaky and just the perfect place to be haunted.  It really adds to the mystery of the whole story, and I really liked the history of the house.  The house is even more scary once you learn what happens in the house while people were still alive.

I also really liked Blake's writing style.  The pacing of the book is very well done.  The way the mystery unravels never feels forced nor predictable.  I was constantly guessing what was going to happen next, and in a mystery/thriller that is a MUST.  If I can guess what's going to happen within the first 50 pages you're doing it wrong.  I really enjoyed the humor in this book as well.  It's subtle and well placed.  The overall tone of the book is firmly on the dark side, but the instances of lightness really help maintain my interest in the book.  

The other thing that I really appreciated was the Wiccan and witchcraft aspect of the book.  Cas's mom is a pagan who does things like cleanse tools used to hunt ghosts, purifies their home and casts protection spells, and creates candles, herbal mixes, and other items that are infused with a specific intention that are sold online and at various metaphysical shops.  What I loved about this is the fact that what Cas's mom does IS REAL WITCHCRAFT.  This is what real witches do.  They don't fly or turn into cats or shoot lasers of the their eyes (oh wait that was x-men).  I loved how the witchcraft in Anna never goes into the made up "Hollywood" witchcraft that is in pretty much every book about witches ever.  It's real, and I loved it.  

I'm very excited there's going to be another book because I am not ready to let go of Anna and Cas.  The ending of Anna Dressed in Blood is exciting, suspenseful, and fairly cliff-hangery so I definitely want to read more.  

Off the Shelf #11

  Hello everyone and welcome to Off the Shelf!  This is my way of sharing any new books I receive or buy as well as let you all know what my reading plans are for the week and what I hope to get off my TBR shelf.

This past weekend was Dewey's read-a-thon and while I didn't do really awesome, but I did get a couple of books read and I had a lot of fun with all of the mini challenges, as you can tell from the flurry of blog posts :)

Finished Reading:

Want to go Private?  by Sarah Darer Littman

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Currently Reading:

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Up Next:



Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

(yes I know it's not a horror book, so sue me I want to read it!)

Mini Challenge: Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

2. How many books have you read so far?
Only 2, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm looking forward to re-reading Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
ha no the opposite.  I had to go into work for the first five hours of the challenge.  I usually don't work on the weekends.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
My interruptions were 5 hours of work, an hour of of working out, and an accidental 2.5 hour nap (oopsies!).  So I've only been reading for about 3 hours.  I guess I just keep reading when I can, and try and get as much in a possible.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I'm surprised at how fast it's going.  All of the mini challenges make it really fun and fast paced.  I was expecting some more comments though.  It feels like everyone is writing their mini challenges and updates without reading anyone elses.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I'd say try and find a way to encourage more interaction between the readers.  Maybe make greater use of twitter.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Not work for the first five hours?  lol that's about all I can think of really.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
No, but like I said, I've cheated.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I think just read books you find really exciting and interesting.  Books that make you want to keep reading.  Now is not the time to suffer through a reading of War and Peace (unless you like that kind of thing).

Mini Challenge: Hodge-Podge Proposal

This is a mini challenge from Erin Reads.  The first thing is to thing is to answer these three questions:

1. The first name of any character in the book you’re currently reading (or just finished)  (Scarlett)
2. The make or model of your current car, whichever you like better (if you don’t have a car, use one you’ve had or would like to have)  (Honda Accord)
3. A job you think would be especially fascinating  (video game tester)

Numbers 1 and 2 become the first and last name of your new character, and 3 is his or her occupation. Now briefly pitch me a new series in the genre of your choice based on this hodge-podge character.


So, here's my proposal!


Scarlett Accord is a tester.  She links into the system and allows the mainframe to run its experiments, new tweaks in advertisement and entertainment that will eventually be downloaded to every citizen.  But hey, it's money right?  So she has to deal with some crappy ads and play some obnoxious farming games.  It's really not a big deal.  Scarlett's never found her job dangerous, that is until she was "randomly" selected to participate in Beta X.  Quickly Scarlett realizes that this isn't a normal test and she'll have to start taking life a lot more seriously if she wants to find a way out of the system alive.

Mini Challenge: A Musical Bath

What song does the book I’m reading right now remind me of?


I'm currently reading Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce and I'm reminded of Dead is the New Alive by Emilie Autumn.  It's Scarlett's fighting music.



What song does my favorite book remind me of?


I'm not sure I have a favorite book, but Oh My Love by Bearfoot really reminds me of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  I know this song isn't french, but I love it so much.




Can I find a connection between one of my favorite songs and a story I like?


One of my all time favorite songs is One Day by Matisyahu, and I think this song applies to any book about exploitation, war, hate, and discrimination.  I absolutely love this song.  





And one final song is Gravity by Sara Bareilles.  I always associate this song with drug addiction (thanks to so you think you can dance).  Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Shine by Lauren Myracle come to mind.

Mini Challenge: Top Five

What are the 5 books you are looking forward to in the next few months or really into next year?


Oh this is hard, there are SO many!  I'll try and pick just five for you all.  Some of these are out and I just haven't read yet, and some of these I'm anxiously waiting for their release date.

Mini Challenge: Book Puzzle

Here's the next book challenge for the read-a-thon hosted at One Librarian's Book Reviews.  


For this challenge, you will be creating a Book Puzzle.  Essentially, this is a series of pictures, graphics, or photos that you put together that will describe a book title.  Mine may be easy, but I hope you can guess it!

The

 Of

and

Mini Challenge: Character Photo

This mini challenge is for participants in the 24-hour readathon by At Home With Books.

Take a photo of something that represents a character in one of the books you are reading for the readathon.

For halloween this year I dressed up as Scarlett March from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.  No one at the party I went to understood who I was (a "pirate witch" and "are you red riding hood? OMG what happened to your eye" were some of the guesses).  I don't mind though because I was still cool.  To me anyway.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: Hour 1

The read-a-thon has begun!  I'm updating from my phone because I had to run some software tests this morning so this post is short.  It will also be missing correct capatalization and punctuation (I've gone through and fixed this now) because for whatever reason I can't do that on my phone.

Anyway here are my answers to my introduction questions.

1. Where am I reading from?  Dayton, Ohio in the US
   
2. Three random facts about meI have a bachelors of science in electrical engineering.
   I was in marching band for nine years.
   I have been to England, Spain, France, Italy (twice!), Canada, and China
   
3. How many books are in you TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
   I have four books I'm current reading and my goal is to finish them. They are Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (a re-read), and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
   
4. What are my goals for the read-a-thon?
   My only goal is to stay up for the full 24 hours, which will be a challenge but I can do it!
   
5. Are you a veteran reader and do you have any advice?
   Nope!  This is my first time doing Dewey's read-a-thon but I've done other ones in the past.  I would say just read what you want.  Don't force yourself to read a book you aren't into.  

Ok that's it for now, more to come later!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

#1 in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series
Published on September 27, 2011 by Little Brown & Co.
5 stars

Goodreads Review
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a PERFECT example of paranormal romance done wonderfully right.  Everything about this book is fantastic.  The characters are all well developed and supported, the setting is imaginative and descriptive, and the plot is fresh and unique while still having the classic elements of the paranormal romance genre.

First let's discuss the characters.  The entire cast is charming, interesting, and very well written.  I absolutely love Karou.  I love her physical description with her blue hair and the double life she leads.  She's interesting and smart but still can make mistakes.  She goes through a lot of growth because she starts off very sheltered and a bit precocious and by the end of the book she has become a strong heroine.  I also liked Karou's love interest, Akiva, but not as much.  He was a bit more of a stereotypical paranormal romance "bad boy" but near the end of the book when we learn about his past he grows on me and I actually really liked him. 

As a bit of a side note, I really appreciated how the secondary characters (namely Karou's BFF Zusana) don't get forgotten about half way through the book when the romance starts to heat up.  This happens countless times in paranormal romance and it really grinds my gears.  I think the fact that Karou doesn't just forget about her friends is refreshing and shows her as a strong woman, capable of making decision and not defining herself by the man she is (or is not) with.

Now let's just talk for a second about my favorite character, Brimstone.  Oh my gosh, I loved him so much.  This could be partially due to the fact that I imagined him as the faun from Pan's Labyrinth:

Am I right?  Brimstone is hella awesome, I wish we had learned more about him from his point of view, not from other people telling us about him.  I LOVE his teeth collection and the magic behind them.  His home/workshop is just so creepy but at the same time the way Karou describes it makes it feel safe and secure.  Everything about Brimstone could be terrifying, but because we know Karou we see him as a fatherly figure.  He is an interesting character and despite what happens (no spoilers!) I really hope to see more of him in the next book. 

I was a little worried that this book was just going to be a run of the mill paranormal romance.  I had just read a book that I thought was going to be sweet but fell into that category, and I really didn't want to repeat the same mistake.  Lucky for me this was paranormal romance done so, so right.  I love the ending.  We get a lot of interesting back story which is almost a whole new book within a book (inception anyone?) but it never feels awkward or forced.  It totally fits the story and is integrated flawlessly into the pacing of the book.  (Dang writing this review is making me want to read it again lol)

Overall The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a fantastic fantasy that doesn't sacrifice any action or explanation of the mythology in order to have a spicy romance (and believe me, there is some fantastic romance too).  It's a perfectly paced and balanced story that does a great job of setting up the series story arc while still being an independent book in it's own right.  I highly recommend The Daughter of Smoke and Bone; it's in my top 10 for 2011 for sure :).

Waiting on Wednesday 10/19/2011

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
#4 in the Iron Fey Series
Publication Date 10/25/2011

 Goodreads Review

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.
I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.
My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

Friday Face Off (on Wednesday) Cover Reveal: The Fault in Our Stars

So yes, I know it is Wednesday and I know Friday Face Off (hosted by Misty at The Book Rat) is supposed to be on Friday, but this is breaking news that cannot wait.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green has a cover!  Here it is: 

I like it, but I have to admit I'm not in love with it.  I do like the simplistic nature of it and maybe once I read the book I'll like the cover more. That certainly was the case for Paper Towns so I'll keep an open mind.

I do have one massive problem with the cover though.  Why the HELL is Jodi Picoult quoted on the cover!?  First of all, Jodi Picoult is a lame-o lifetime movie-esque adult author, not a funny-as-hell-while-still-being-extremely-poignant YA author.  Second of all, just because Jodi Picoult wrote a shitty book about a teen with cancer that got turned into a fairly successful movie, she's the go-to default author on the subject?  I'm sorry but if The Fault in Our Stars is even one tenth similar to My Sister's Keeper I may just have to punch a baby.  (oh and for the record, the movie of My Sister's Keeper is totally different from the book and has much more believable characters and a way more logical ending...go movie people you got it right).  I'm really disappointed by this blurb and I hope this isn't final and the publishers will wise up and put someone else on the cover (or no one, that's ok by me) but I doubt it.

Top Ten Tuesday 10/18/2011: Top Ten Books Whose Titles or Covers Made Me Buy It

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish.  We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new top ten list complete with one of our bloggers' answers.  Everyone is welcome to join.  All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating.  If you don't have a blog, just post your answers in the comments.

TOP TEN BOOKS WHOSE TITLES OR COVERS MADE ME BUY IT

1.  The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - This book is because of the title.  What a perfect zombie book title!  It's chilling and violent and awesome.  Too bad the book didn't do as much for me as the title did.

2.  Wither by Lauren DeStefano - This book I knew nothing about other than the fact that the cover was amazing.  It's so, in the words of Tyra, FIERCE!  Again too bad the story inside of it doesn't live up to the awesomeness that is this gorgeous cover.

3.  Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - I haven't read The Wolves of Mercy Falls yet, but if the cover is indicative of the story within (and I have a feeling I'm going to like these books because I loved The Scorpio Races) it's going to be beautifully written.  These covers are so intriguing and unique, they really drew me to these books, even before I really got into YA.

4.  Possess by Gretchen McNeil - This cover is lovely and creepy at the same time.  I love how the girl looks a little Asian like Bridget (she's half Asian, half Caucasian).  I also love how the trees also kind of look like creepy veins.  In real life the cover has a really pretty shine that makes it extra pretty.

5.  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - I love how on the hard cover the title seems to disappear depending on how the light hits the cover.  I'm usually not a fan of headless people on book covers, but I think because of the fact that they're underwater it's ok.  I also really like the position of the man in this photo.  Is he helping her out of the water?  Or is he dragging her under?

6.  From Bad To Cursed by Katie Alender - I LOVE THIS COVER.  You can't really tell in the picture but the expression on this girls face is so creepy.  She looks straight evil.  I actually bought this book then realized it's the second book in a series lol.  Yeah the cover was that awesome for me.

7.  Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs - This book is a modern interpretation of the Medusa legend, and WOW was a perfect cover!  I love how her braid mimics a snake without actually turning into a snake (unlike some other book covers that take the whole modern Medusa thing a little too far).  I also love how you can see her bones at the back of her neck.  I don't know why, but I feel like they add to the other-worldly-ness of the book.  

8.  Firelight by Sophie Jordan - I have red hair, so I always love seeing fellow red heads on the covers of books.  I especially love what they did with this cover model, giving her golden scales and human-reptile hybrid eyes.  I think the red and gold coloring really lends to the title too, being fiery colors and whatnot.  

9.  Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev - I really like the almost anime quality of this cover.  I really like how it combines the fantasy elements of the book with the theater aspects.  Really the entire series has beautiful covers, but I really don't know what these books are about.  At all.  I just know the covers are lovely.

10.  Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - While I disagree with the title matching the cover (the cover of Pretties should be called Uglies, IMO) I think this cover is SO pretty.  I'm not a huge fan of the cover re-designs either.  I like the smaller version of these books and the face covers.  They're more unique and interesting in the original format.

Teaser Tuesday 10/18/2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• Share the title & author so others can add the book to their TBR list

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

I walk the rest of the distance to the couch and collapse on it.  Scarlett and Silas crowd around.  "Right.  Well, I was...um..." I sigh and look at Scarlett. My head has finally stopped spinning, and I suddenly realize that I'm going to have to explain the dance class.  "I was at this tango lesson," I say quickly, "And there was a Fenris --"

"Wait -- at a what?" Scarlett asks.

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

 Published October 11, 2011 by EgmontUSA
egalley for review from netgalley
1 star

Goodreads Review
A modern retelling of the German fairy tale "Tristan and Isolde," Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

Review:  Tris & Izzie is a first on a few different levels for me.  It's the first book I've ever read on my new Kindle, the first book I've ever received for review from netgalley, and my first ever one star review on this blog.  It's very rare for me to give out a less than two star rating, but there is nothing remotely redeeming about this book.  I'll try and hold in my negativity, but there's gonna be some snark and sarcasm.  Even I'm not that good.  (oh and p.s. this review may get spoilery, so if you really care (but why would you) you have been warned.)

First let's talk about the few things I did like about this book.  The cover is beautiful and it's what drew me to the book in the first place.  Not like I could see the pretty cover on my Kindle, but I could imagine it.  Ok, the other things I liked about this book are.....um....well there was....I liked the part where.....did I mention the pretty cover?

Let's talk about the characters.  Every single character in this book has bi-polar disorder.  One minute they're professing their undying love for each other and then not even ten pages later they're punching each other in the face.  No seriously, a boy punched his girlfriend in the face.  And she was cool with it.  I'm sorry but if my boyfriend punched me in the face I wouldn't be ok with it, I would be lying on the ground sobbing in a pool of my own nose blood.  Izzie is probably the worst.  She decides that her BFF Branna is too depressed and mopey and the best way to fix it is to give her an irreversible love potion with a guy they met literally TEN MINUTES AGO.  AND this was after Branna said she didn't want a love potion, that she wanted her love to be real.  Wow, some friend no?  And then when Mark (Izzie's "perfect" boyfriend (he's the one that punched her in the face)) almost drinks the love potion instead of Branna what does Izzie do?  Drinks it instead.  She doesn't, oh I don't know, pour it ON THE GROUND!?  No she has to drink it and then she acts all pissed off about being in love with a boy that's not her boyfriend.  Hum, maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to trick your best friend? 

These characters play musical chairs with their relationships.  They swap partners faster than the cast of Jersey Shore, I'm not exaggerating.  Mark goes from being in love with Izzie to Branna in literally five minutes.  Izzie goes from loving Mark to thinking that she never really loved him and that he and Branna are a much better match, even though earlier in the book she was super pissed that Branna had a crush on her boyfriend.  Tristan is just an idiot.

AND THEN there's the "magic" in this book.  It makes no sense other than to provide a greater enemy than this weird-o love square.  It's poorly supported and even more poorly executed.  The enemies and fight sequences are frankly, lame.  The ending made me want to gag it was so happily ever after.  I wish it had been like the real Tristan and Isolde and everyone had just died. 

Sigh.  Ok, end rant.  As a side note, if the author/publisher/editor/anyone involved with this book ever reads this, I don't mean to be a douche.  Promise.  But I just really disliked this book (ok loathed may be a more appropriate word), and I'm not going to try and sugar coat it.  Hope you're ok with that.

Off the Shelf #10

  Hello everyone and welcome to Off the Shelf!  This is my way of sharing any new books I receive or buy as well as let you all know what my reading plans are for the week and what I hope to get off my TBR shelf.

This week was Amanda has ADD week haha.  I think I've started a hundred different books and only finished one.  Do you guys ever have that kind of a week?  Where you want to read ALL THE BOOKS NOW!  That's how I was this week, so I have a bunch to finish before Dewey's Read-a-Thon this Saturday.

Finished Reading:

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Currently Reading:

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Up Next:  Actually I have no idea.  Whatever I feel like reading for the read-a-thon which I haven't decided on yet.  Stay tuned for read-a-thon updates to find out what I'll read next!

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: Girl of Nightmares

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

I recently read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and fell in love with the story.  It's a great scary ghosty mystery book with a lot of gruesome deaths and  freaky ass dead bodies.  The cover for the book is perfect for the overall tone of the book.  The black and white lends to the mystery of the book and the house in the background is exactly what I imagined Anna's house to be like.  I also love the red at the bottom of her dress and on her legs.  It's a very clever design.

Recently the cover for the second book, Girl of Nightmares, was released.  For the people who have read Anna and know how that book ended, I think this cover is perfect.  It fits the tone of the end of Anna very well and also shows how Anna has grown as a character.  I love that her hair has a similar shape but this time she's turned out, facing the reader.  I also love her posture and how her hand is giving a"follow me" gesture.  Also, do you see those freaky red people grabbing for her legs?  Holy shit that's creepy.

For everyone that's read Anna, did you have a particular image of her in your mind?  I am an avid video game player and as I was reading this book I kept imagining Alice's hysteria mode from American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns.  What do you think?

Yeah, I think that's about right.