Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas exterminates, or kills, ghosts. He's pretty good at it too. His dad did it before him, until he was killed by one. Now it's Cas' turn, and he and his mother travel across the country, following leads.

They head to Thunder Bay, Ontario, to confront and put down a ghost most locals know as 'Anna Dressed in Blood'. Cas isn't sure what to expect, but he goes in, just to scope it out. Actually, two local teens knock him out and push him inside, trying to scare him even though they don't believe the story.

That is, they don't believe it until Anna appears and rips one of them in half. Cas isn't sure what to expect, especially since the next time he sees her, she beats him up. She's a ghost with extra super powers and for once in his life, Cas doesn't know what to do.

Gruesome and scary. The ending is definitely a twist. It's very enjoyable, despite a couple flaws. And spooky too!

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nailer works on light crew--crawling into the deep paths on the ships beached in the Gulf and pulling copper wires to cell. His life is hard and he almost dies more than once. He is afraid of getting too big to continue this job as well.

He and his friend Pima save a girl, Nita, whose father is very wealthy. Nailer's dad wants to ransom her, but Nailer just wants to get her to safety. So they run away.

On the run, they don't know who to trust. They'll have to start somewhere to survive.

A pretty good dystopia--has everything you'd want, including a little social commentary. Action, adventure, and danger to keep things moving.

Playing Dead by Tim Bowler

Blade has been hiding in London for a while, hiding from his past. It catches up to him though, in the form of thugs who are trying to capture him and make him pay. Blade is sure he can avoid them, but he'll have to leave London.

Then he meets Becky and gets tangled up in her life. Becky wants to escape the gang she belongs to--the same gang that beat Blade up before--and she wants Blade's help. What Blade doesn't expect is Becky isn't straight up with him. Not even a little. And the two of them end up kidnapping someone's kid because of it.

It took a long time to figure out what Blade is saying; the British slang is very heavy here. I wasn't really a fan of the story at all. Blade talks to the reader, like we're on the run with him, which is a nice device, but I found I didn't care too much. I'm sure I'm just an anomaly.

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora

Zachary and his dad move to Falls, Connecticut, to start over after Zachary's mom left.

Life in Falls, Connecticut is very different. First, they live in a house and not a trailer. Everyone knows everyone else. And then there's Rachel Spinelli. Rachel, her dad, and her brother Teddy live across the street and Rachel wants to make sure Teddy is treated nicely by Zachary and his dad. Teddy is "special" and Rachel doesn't want Zachary being mean to him. Zachary is actually happy to be friends with them both.

Nothing happens the way he expects, even when his mom shows up.

A times funny, heart-wrenching, and always enjoyable, this is a realistic story of a high school freshman settling into a new start. Highly enjoyable.

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

Ava has no memory of her life. She wakes up in a strange bed, a strange home, a strange world. All she knows is...nothing. Not even her name.


Memories start to return, but not easily, and they do not belong in the world she's living in. She doesn't remember Jane, the woman who says she's her mother. She doesn't remember her friends--well, she does, but not the same as they appear now.


There's a guy she does think is familiar--Morgan. Ava knows him better than she knows herself. He is the catalyst to bringing back her memories of another world, another time, and another place entirely.


Morgan, however, doesn't belong in this new world and risks fading away completely to find Ava and get her back.


By the time the story ended, I was enjoying it. Getting there took some time...the story is confusing from the first page. Ava is also confused for most of the story, so you're just right there along with her. An interesting premise though.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Chloe can see dead people. Or rather...their ghosts. When they realize she can see them, they do anything to get her attention--even making themselves as frightening as possible. She freaks out at school one day and gets herself sent to Lyle House.

Chloe's aunt is the reason she goes to Lyle House instead of any other home. But everything there is strange. Her roommate Liz is sent away. The staff seem to be waiting for her to do something supernatural as well. When she gets locked in the crawl space under the house, it creates stunning results--she wakes up the dead. Literally.

With the help of Simon and Derek, foster brothers who also have supernatural secrets, Chloe knows they must escape.

Not a bad start to this supernatural series. Chloe has a clear voice, most of the time.

Misfit by Jon Skovron

Jael Thompson has a huge secret. Her mother, who died when she was a baby, was a demon. Her father, an ex-priest, moves them around constantly, to protect Jael from forces that would try to either kill her or use her for evil purposes.

When Jael turns 16, her dad gives her a necklace he promised he would. With that gift, everything changes. Her dad doesn't want to tell her anything, but before long, he has to. Her demon half is making itself known. She can't control her emotions and the demon who killed her mother is now after her.

The story starts a little slow, but that's only the first chapter. Flashbacks and memories surface through the book. Lots of dialogue, action, and a little romance round out this supernatural story. There's some mythology as well.