The Ash House

 

Truly creepy - part Lord of the Flies, part Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde.  Totally messes with your head and possibly leaves you with more questions than answers.

Ever since the death of his parents in a fire Sol has been suffering from horrible, unexplained back pains and been shuffled from one foster home to the next and also from doctor to doctor.  One night a man comes to the hospital and drives him to a place where he will get help - the Ash House.

There he is greeted by Dom (Freedom) and introduced to the house and the other boys and girls who live there.  He learns about the mysterious headmaster whom they haven't seen in 3 years but who calls every day with instructions... or at least he used to, until Dom appeared.  As Dom tries to make sense of the routine, the birds (drones), the chores, and so on, Sol tries to get the others to accept Dom.  But when Dom's back problems cause the Doctor to show up, all sorts of secrets come to light.

A lot of middle grade "scary" or "horror" stories aren't really that scary...  this one was really creepy and also messes with your head enough to appeal to those kids who always want more edginess.  Loved it.

Amari and the Night Brothers

 

When you are a black girl living in a housing development you get used to people making assumptions about you.  What Amari hates is the assumptions being made about her brother now that he's missing.  People think the money he was sending came from illegal dealings and that it caught up with him.  But Amari knows it's not true and that he is out there somewhere.  When she gets a mysterious summons that originates from him she knows she has to take advantage of it and try and find him.  What she discovers is not what she expects at all - supernatural beings, magic, and a battle between good and evil.  But who can she trust?

This was a really great fantasy - loved the characters, the internal conflicts, and the set up for future installments.

The Box in the Woods

 

When I read Truly Devious a few years ago I knew it was something special.  While it was too YA for my middle school library and for the award committee I was reading for, I myself was hooked.  Last year, during a lag time on the committee, I reread Truly Devious and read the other 2 books in the series - and bought them for myself (I don't buy many books for myself really).  So, when I saw this on the Goodreads of a friend I rushed right over to Amazon to get it.  Drat - not published yet, so the next best thing - get it on NetGalley and read it.  Don't worry - I will be purchasing it for myself.

After solving the Ellingham mystery Stevie has time on her hands and no plans.  When she is invited to work at a summer camp where murders took place in 1978 she jumps at the chance to work on another mystery.  But for a long time she is stumped - was it a drug deal gone bad, a serial killer called the Woodsman, or something else entirely?  Maybe it's just enough to find a mysterious missing diary of one of the victims... except that the diary is dangerous and could expose everything.

Loved this - favorite characters back, good mystery, and just darn good overall.  Now I think I may need to read more by Maureen Johnson.

Red, White, and Whole

 

Reha feels caught in the middle - between the 1980s lifestyle of her friends and the Indian traditions of her family.  She especially feels disconnected from her mother.  But that all changes when her mother gets sick.  Soon the things Reha was caught up in don't seem as important.  She even goes so far as to volunteer to be a bone marrow donor for her mother even though she is terrified to the blood work she will need.  Can Reha help restore her relationships and feel whole?

What there was oh the book I enjoyed.  As a poetic narrative it moved along quickly.  I read it as an eBook and I was a bit taken aback when I went to finish it tonight and saw I was already 85% done.  I wish there had been more to the story!

The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden S (As Told To His Brother)

 

This is going to be one of those books that is hard to categorize.  Is it realistic, magical realism, or just plain fantasy.  I wasn't even sure when I was almost done and for that reason I would probably go with magical realism.

Aiden disappeared for 6 days.  There was no trace.  His family and friends searched everywhere.  Then he reappeared in the attic with a strange story.  He said he had gone through the dresser into a land called Aveinieu but was sent back because the people there thought he might carry a disease.  But his story was unbelievable right and no one believed him.  So what does he do?  Continue to tell the story or make something up that people might believe?

This was pretty interesting and certainly gave some food for thought...