Complete Anna Series

There was a lot of hype around this book, so its a good thing it wasn't terrible. But it wasn't tremendous either. It was good, clean fun - quick-paced, likable characters, punchy action. Not really memorable though, and aside from one instance, not really scary. Three stars feels a little mean, but four just doesn't seem justified.

I think my favorite part of this was all the horror references, but this is YA, so pretty much all of them are called out, which was a little disappointing. I'm a big kid, I know my horror, I like to be able to spot the references to Poltergeist, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Exorcist, The Shining etc on my own, thanks. But that's what I get for hanging out in this shelf so much.

I don't think I've read from the perspective of a modern teenage boy in....checks read list ok, just about never, so this was refreshing. Cas is smart, witty and admirable. The set of friends he develops is a unique one - a queen bee who isn't vilified and acidic, but rather revered for the value of her social skills; the awkward psychic who proves himself to be a capable witch and rather heroic as well; and then there's the frenemy, Will, who is smart enough to recognize trouble when he sees but not enough to get out of the way when he should. They're interesting, and well-drawn and they're played off Cas really well.

I didn't really get why he loved Anna though. But I never really get why anyone loves anyone, so maybe I should stop complaining about this. But you figure, she's dead, that should shut off the inclinations towards potential love interest. I suppose its like that time I developed a crush on a flamboyantly gay friend, and knowing he was gay only allowed my brain to tuck my sad sad crush into a hidden corner of my mind, showing up every once in a while to make me blush and leave me confused. Parts are parts, I guess, regardless of orientation and apparently, even if you're dead. So they love each other, and they're interactions and affectoin were really cute, but it didn't have much draw other than that.

Speaking of deadness, the lore in this is skimmed over at best, probably in order to maintain the pacing. The whole time I was wondering what the hell an athame is but was too lazy or too into it to bother Googling it. The ghosts are American Horror Story ghosts - fully corporeal, but either locked in a state of mind or place - which I typically can't stand. It kind of ruins the creepy vibe when the ghost can help the main character's mother unpack the car. Likewise, a lot of the horror elements didn't shock or scare or even unsettle me, and for the record, I am not completely desensitized, Rick Yancey frequently makes me jaw drop. A lot of it seemed way too similar to popular scare tropes used in movies and TV these days, like a ghost's flickering image (guys, seriously, that worked in The Ring because she manifested through a videotape, it doesn't really make sense in other instances).

So it was fun, and I'll read the sequel because Cas might be fun to see angst-ridden and pining for his dead girlfriend, but its really not anything extraordinary.