The Ether: Vero Rising by Laurice Elehwany Molinari

This book is in the same genre as "Harry Potter" and "The Lightening Thief". It stars a 12 year old boy who finds out he is different - in Vero's case, he is a fledgling guardian angel, and at times, he attends angel school - called C.A.N.D.L.E. and has life-threatening adventures with 4 other students who become his close friends. Unlike, Hogwarts, and more like Camp Half Blood, the fledglings are rarely at their school and are usually together fighting the bad guys who include Golems, Leviathan, and a type of demon called a Malture. The angels Uriel and Michael assist the fledglings as they battle the bad guys, and learn how to answer prayers. There is a Judeo-Christian theme, with God and angels referenced, and one of the fledglings is Jewish and has a Bat-Mitzvah, but there is no mention of Jesus. Kids who are fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson may also enjoy Vero and his adventures. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Ben Fox: Squirrel Zombie Specialist at Your Service by Daisy Whitney

This is a fabulously cute story for kids. When ten year old Ben Fox discovers that his sister's cat Percy has raised an army of zombie squirrels, he is alarmed. Then, he finds out that Percy is trying to make Ben's dog, Captain Sparkles, act like a cat. As his poor dog begins to rub up against his legs and behave in an increasingly cat-like manner and Halloween approaches, Ben realized he must stop the zombie squirrel army quickly. In order to do so, he must enlist the help of his six year old sister Macy, who, although she can be a bit of a pain, turns out to be incredibly helpful. This book is funny and cute and I think that kids ages 7 to 12 will really enjoy it. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Set in 1900 in the midst of the fight for women's suffrage - the right to vote, this book tells the story of 17 year old Olivia whose father wants to have her hypnotized so that she will see men and women as they truly are so that she will no longer want women to have the right to vote because she will see that their true role is to care for homes, husbands and children. When 18 year old mesmerist Henri Reverie tells her that she will see men and women as they really are and that she will no longer be able to speak her anger, her world is turned upside down. Eager to be cured from this curse, she seeks out Henri and together they plan to help her and the cause for women's suffragism. There is intrigue and a bit of romance and the book presents the women's suffragist movement in a way that young women today will be able to relate to. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I enjoyed it very much.

The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #3) by Michelle Hodkin

I waited almost a year to read this book wondering - is Mara insane?, who is alive and who is dead?, what on earth is really going on? Now, I have read the book and I know the answers. Everyone else who wants to know, will just have to read the book too. Like the second book, this one also has some rather graphic gruesomeness. It has crazy plot twists and turns and kept me reading - I finished it in two days. Was it worth waiting a year to read? Yes. Y'all have fun reading it!

The Twisted Window by Lois Duncan

I received a free copy of this book to review from Netgalley. It was originally published in 1987 and then re-introduced in digital form in 2012. I think they tried to update it some, because even though they were using phone books and the setting was obviously in the 1980s, at one point, Brad says he has no phone and there is no cell coverage where he is - which is odd since there were no phones or cell coverage anywhere then. The story is ok, rather twisted and creepy I suppose. Brad shows up at a high school, pretends to be a student there and talks Tracy into helping him kidnap his baby sister, who he claims was kidnapped by his stepfather. Quite a few of the facts don't add up and we later learn that Brad is not telling the truth about the matter. There is a bio about the author at the end of the book. The bio is nice. I was not thrilled with the book though, I found it to be rather boring.

Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga by Teddy Steinkellner

So, this book was just ok. I struggled to get through it and skimmed a lot. I did not like the parts that were written as if they were texts and facebook posts. I found them annoying and distracting and difficult to read. I think that will make the book seem dated very quickly. The middle school kids that I know use other forms of social media because their grandparents are on facebook. I also did not like Dorothy's stories very much and I did not like that they were in italics.
I found the characters to be incredibly, horrifically, insultingly stereotypical. I did, however like the way the book ended.
This book follows four students along with some of their friends in the text and facebook parts. Hannah Schwartz is in 8th grade and her brother Jake who is sort of the main character out of the 4, is in 7th grade. They are incredibly rich Jews. Danny Uribe is also in 7th grade. His parents work for the Schwartz's and they live in a house on the Schwartz property and because they have done so since the boys were 7, Danny and Jake have been best friends. This year, however, Danny gets involved in an Hispanic gang. Dorothy Wu is Asian, and dresses all in black and is into Pokémon and writing her own fantasy stories.
Perhaps middle school kids will enjoy this book. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

The Owner's Manual for Driving Your Adolescent Brain by JoAnn Deak, Terrence Deak

My daughter is in 7th grade and they are currently studying the human body systems. This book is perfect for this age group! The drawings are cute and the information is written in an interesting way and is just right for the middle school/adolescent age group. I think this book should be in all middle school libraries.