In the After, by Demitria Lunetta

     Book 1 in a series still being written, and another OBOB title for middle school for this season. I didn't see this book coming down the OBOB turnpike...a futuristic, zombie-like story that is pretty scary! Perfect for Hallowe'en, but I was a little surprised to see this listed in the middle grade category for OBOB...I think it's more of a high school book, in my pug opinion. Either way, Lunetta lays the groundwork in this first book of the series. Amy, the book's main character, is surviving as best she can in a world that was drastically changed when They took over the world. She lost her parents, her friends...existing day to day in the quiet and darkness required to keep from being eaten by some alien life form that has invaded Earth. In the After is divided into three sections, and by time I got used to the setting and story, section one ended, and sections two and three took me in a very different direction.

    If you liked Goosebumps but now want something more mature, or you like Stephen King but are okay with something less intense, this might be a series for you! It reminded me of Divergent in that it was a decent story but not exceptionally well written or thought out, but good enough to be really popular! I If you are pretty new to the horror or zombie genre, I think you'll like this. If not, you may like it, but probably won't love it. 3 paws and a wag!

How to Survive Middle School, by Donna Gephart

 Hello, Readers!  Sorry for the huge delay in my blogging, but thank you for staying with me! I've been busy helping my human get his school year started, so I'm a little behind in my reading, but REALLY behind in my blogging! What's a dog with a blog to do?!? Well, now I'm going to try and catch up - with the blogging, mostly, because I have been reading! You just wouldn't know it because I haven't put my paws to the keyboard in a while...

To start the new school year my human and I read How to Survive Middle School - great choice for the start of the year, right? Author Donna Gephart is a really good storyteller, and one my favorite books of hers is Lily and Dunkin. Surviving middle school is the story of David and his hamster, Hammy, who are becoming famous because of David's videos he makes and posts to YouTube, modeled after the real Jon Stewart. Stewart is a comedian who created The Daily Show, before it was taken over by Trevor Noah. Anyway, David is trying to survive his first year of middle school with the usual ups and downs, like bullies, crushes, family issues, fitting in, puberty...all the great stuff middle schoolers go through in life. Gephart tells a heartwarming story with humor and sensitivity, and How to Survive will make many of you laugh out and possibly shed a few tears. 

This is the third or fourth book I've read by Gephart, and I've enjoyed all of them, just some a little more than others. This is one of her stronger books. If you like Gordon Korman give this title a try - you'll probably like this, too! 4 paws!