Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Theseus Cassio, known as Cas, is a ghost hunter.  He's not your run-of-the-mill Ghostbuster.  Rather, he kills spirits that have come back to wreak havoc on mortals.  Cas has been one of the world's only ghost hunters since his father's death, traveling around and slaying spirits.  When he hears about a ghost in  Canada known as Anna Dressed in Blood, who savagely kills runaway kids and homeless people who are unlucky enough to seek refuge in her house, Cas smells a challenge.  With the help of a teenage mind-reading witch and a prom queen, he tracks down Anna and prepares to send her back six feet under.  There's just one thing wrong: Anna knows what she's done, unlike countless other ghosts Cas has killed.  She has a conscious, and seems more human. For some reason, she can't bring herself to kill him.

This is a dark novel, that has just enough romance to accent the magic and mystery without overpowering it.  Anna and the other ghosts Cas encounters are not the friendly Casper variety, and will be sure to keep the reader up at night.  The style of writing hooks the reader in from the first page.  Prepare for a wild ride into Blake's brilliantly crafted supernatural world right to the shocking end

5 stars

The second book in the series, Girl of Nightmares, is due out August 7th, 2012.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

In a long ago kingdom, Princess Rose and her eleven sisters have a secret.  A secret that leads to their dancing slippers being worn out night after night after night.  They've been forced to keep this secret for six years, unable to reassure their worrying father the king.  When the king offers his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can discover their secret, not one prince can solve the puzzle.  A young war veteran, fresh from the war, befriends Rose and decides to try his hand at the task to save her.  The only tools he possesses are an invisibility cloak and some magic wool given to him by a witch.  He is determined to succeed, or die trying...

This was a brilliant retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."  Anyone who enjoyed the tale when they were younger will certainly appreciate this novel.  A bit darker than the original, some elements of medieval history are introduced, such as church members accusing people of witchcraft and the brutality of war.  If you haven't read the original fairy tale, check it out anyways.

5 stars

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

What would you do if there was a nuclear war? If you had forty minutes to live? In The Compound, Eli's billionaire father has been planning for a nuclear disaster for years.  In the forty minutes that they had, Eli and his family rushed to an underground bunker that is outfitted with everything they could ever need in the fifteen years they will have to stay underground.  However, six years after the disaster, there are problems with the food supply, and Eli's father seems to be hiding something...

The Compound is a fast-paced novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page.  It looks into the minds of the characters as well as questioning a few ethical issues.  The question here is, are Eli and his family really safer three stories underground?

5 stars

Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss

Poison Ivy is not your typical Disney Channel-esque bully novel.  The ringleader, Ann, and her two lackeys have mercilessly tormented a distant Ivy since her arrival to the town, dubbing her, "Poison Ivy."  When Ms. Gold, an American Goverment teacher, decides to hold a mock civil trial to try the bullies for their crimes against Ivy, things don't go quite as planned.

Koss tells a story that fits in with real life more than any happy-ending tale of the victims becoming the victors ever will.  Told through interviews with eight of Ms. Gold's students, the inner workings of Sea View High School's social hierarchy is revealed, as well as the minds of the students.

4 stars

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Set on an alternative Earth at the brink of World War One, Leviathan introduces two young characters: Deryn, a headstrong girl determined to join the British Air Service and escape her smothering family, and  Alek, whose royal parents were just killed in an act that will set off the Great War.  The two meet when the ship Deryn is on, the Leviathan, crashes near Alek's safehouse.  The two encounter German warships and other dangers, and must cooperate to survive, even if they are on opposing sides.

Leviathan is a great read.  Westerfield weaves a brilliant tale that mixes past customs with future technology.  This book introduces the rest of the trilogy in a way that will leave the reader itching for the next installment.

5 stars