a million stars for anna dressed in awesome. 
 i was so hoping to be scared by this book. the way i was hoping to cry reading a monster calls. and it is fine that i wasn't and that i didn't - apparently i have no discernible human emotional response except an ability to become enthusiastic over well-written prose. and that's enough, for a life. 
 i don't even care that this book wasn't scary - it was so fun, and that is usually all i need to be riveted. did it have flaws? sure! were there things in the book that occurred that made me pause? naturally. but overall, i found her voice so refreshing and her characters so likable, that none of it matters. this is a well-told story. 
 i thought this was more beautiful than scary. really, karen? even with all the ripped-up corpses and blood everywhere?? yup! i really did. i read it as a ghost who had a shitty life, and couldn't even get any peace after she was dead, and a boy who was missing out on his childhood because of an overdeveloped sense of justice and revenge. and of first love and first friendship and faith. secular faith. and there were so many genuinely funny moments (i do love this kid), and one terrible thing (view spoiler)[ nooo, not tybalt!! why?? (hide spoiler)]. definitely a well-executed book, and there are more to come?? sign me up right now. 
 a note on cursing. i am no lady, i am pretty comfortable with a wide range of salty talk. and sometimes, you can tell that some teen fiction is just dropping its f-bombs to shock or titillate its audience, all commiserating "oooh - don't tell the grownups!!" this was a book in full control of its potty mouth. a rainbow of expletives, masterfully handled. it brought a tear to the eye to see such a well-developed sense of vulgarity. again, not for shock value, but just the way kids curse. only funnier. and more elegantly. it is an art, after all. most kids use it as a weapon. 
 so between that, the maroon type (sucker for that), and the pathos and humor, this was an easy five-star book. i may never be scared of a book again,but at least i can still be entertained.