Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: It's NOT Just a Dog

I enjoy reading dog books, so when I heard about this one, I wanted to read it! Luckily, author Pam Torres sent me a copy to review and invited me to be part of her blog tour.

Today’s Pick:  It’s NOT Just a Dog

by Pam Torres

Legacy Media Press, 2014

From Amazon:

In the second book of the Project Madison series, things get complicated as Madison and Cooper try to navigate their new relationship. School has ended and they're spending more time together, blogging, working at the kennel, training dogs—including Lilly. When Jonah, the new neighbor who has moved into Paige's old house, begins to spend more time with Madison, Cooper isn't at all happy.

Jonah's uncle, a Native American, shares his knowledge about Madison's power to see and feel canine memories and emotions. The mysterious white wolf returns and fills her mind with dreams and more questions. Madison starts a dog-walking business and discovers Ben, a crotchety old man whose dog is skin and bones. When the kennel receives a dog that has been brutally injured, Madison is determined to find out what happened. She and Cooper realize they're going to need Jonah and Donald to bust this investigation wide open and save the dogs. But getting to the bottom of the mystery will threaten not only Madison, but everyone she loves.

My Take:

I liked the concept of a girl being able to read the emotions and memories of dogs, and how it connected to the Native American culture. This was a unique idea which I haven’t come across before in any middle grade books. There’s lots of info about dog behaviour and dog training in this story, too, which I enjoyed.

Madison expresses some of her reactions as #hashtags, and I wondered whether readers of middle grade fiction would relate (that may just be based on my personal experiences, since my own kids scorn Twitter). But Madison’s adventures and the problems she has to solve opened my eyes to some of the things that happen to animals. This book makes you think about animals and how they are treated.

Opening Line:

“On a sticky-hot Saturday, Henry, my stepdad, was driving me to the Second Chance Dog Shelter to help with a new litter of pups—this was out of the ordinary since the whole litter had been left in a bag on Netta’s doorstep.”

Quotes:

“I remembered what Jonah had said about the land and the animals all having spirits. He’d said animals were here to teach us, and I wanted the answers.”

[I love the idea of learning from animals! It makes me wonder what my dog has taught me!]

Other Info:

Pam Torres was born in Logan, Utah and spent most of her childhood in Prairie Village, Kansas. Besides playing Dorothy during tornado weather and digging Peter Pan-like underground forts she also played piano and ran cross-country.

Ten percent of the author’s proceeds from sales of this book go to the ASPCA®, animal shelters and other programs to benefit homeless or abused animals.

Anyone who emails (torres dot pam3 at gmail dot com) a JPG of a tween holding her book, will receive a personalized letter from Madison and signed by Lilly dog.

Check back on Thursday for an interview with author Pam Torres about her writing process!

Other books by this author:

Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog

For more, visit Project Madison on Facebook. 

Looking for more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday books? Visit Shannon Messenger’s blog for a list of bloggers reviewing great books today! Shannon is the founder of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday and the author of the middle grade novels, Keeper of the Lost Cities and Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities #2).

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Midnight Tunnel

Today’s pick: The Midnight Tunnel by Angie Frazier

Scholastic, 2011

Publisher’s Description:

It is 1905 and young Suzanna works at her family’s inn in Loch Harbor, New Brunswick, where she is trained to be a well-mannered hostess and a charming lady. Suzanna has other ideas for her future, however—she wants to be a detective like her famous uncle, Bruce Snow from Boston, who regularly makes headlines in the newspapers for solving hard-to-crack cases. This summer seems typical enough for Suzanna until a young guest goes missing on a stormy summer night. When no clues turn up, Bruce Snow arrives to solve the case. But Suzanna learns that not everything is as it seems. With a little help from her friends, can she solve the mystery of the missing girl before her uncle gives up?

Fast-paced, absorbing, and wonderfully rich, The Midnight Tunnel: A Suzanna Snow Mystery is sure to keep readers following the clues until the case has been solved.

My take:

It can be hard to find a good middle grade mystery so I was happy to find this one. Even though it takes place in the early 1900’s, I could relate to the main character and girl detective Suzanna Snow. Her determination to solve the mystery kept me reading. The novel moves along at a good pace, and I liked the tension between Suzanna and her friends Lucy and Isaac, and her cousin detective-in-training Will. There are a few quirky hotel guests and lobster fishermen too, and a big change in Suzanna’s thinking about her idol and uncle, a famous detective.

I loved the way the setting was so integral to the plot and I could picture myself visiting the dewy field of wildflowers, the secret tunnel to the servant’s house, the musty attic storage room or the land bridge to the island that is only exposed during low tide. As a writer, I’d look to this novel to remind me how to bring the setting alive for my readers.  

 Favourite quote:

“I wanted to write down everything that had unraveled so that I would never forget each detail…”

Other info:

Angie Frazier lives in New Hampshire. The Midnight Mystery was inspired by a visit to the historic Fairmount Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada.

According to the author’s blog, Suzanna is “the me I wanted to be when I was 11 or 12. Writing her character and stories is such a treat.”

Angie Frazier gives a honest perspective on self-promotion in The Importance of Making Hope Happen over at Adventures in YA & Children’s Publishing, December 14, 2011.

Other books by this author include:

The Mastermind Plot (A Suzanna Snow Mystery), 2012
The Eternal Sea, 2011  (YA)

Everlasting, 2010 (YA)

For more, visit Angie Frazier’s website.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was dreamed up by the amazing Shannon Messenger. Visit her blog for an up-to-date list of all the bloggers who are participating and posting about middle grade books today!