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.