Anna Dressed in Blood

About this book

From Kendare Blake, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns, a beautiful and haunting ghost story 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. Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood is a 2011 Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year title. One of NPR's Top 5 Young Adult Novels of 2011. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Censorship history

In 2024, "Anna Dressed in Blood" by Kendare Blake was banned at the school level in several districts across the United States due to concerns over its violent content. Notably, the book faced challenges during school board meetings in states such as Texas and Florida, where parents and local advocacy groups argued that its themes were inappropriate for students. The bans were upheld in some districts, leading to ongoing debates about the appropriateness of the book in educational settings.

Bans

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