The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer

 

Published: August, 2012

How do you pick out a book to read?  What attracts you?  Is it the author?  (This book is the first by a new author.)  Is it the title or the cover?  What moves your hand on the shelf to grab a book and look at it?  Personally, I’ve always loved a good title.  I still remember reading a long list of possible books to read and grabbing for “One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies” by Sonya Sones.  How can you beat that title?  I joked that it might be a Disney-made book.

With a daughter living in Italy, the Italian city in the title caught my eye.  The cover made it look interesting.  But, I really have no idea what the cover art has to do with the book at all.  The dress really doesn’t make sense.  But it doesn’t matter.

Mia is an American teen in an American town who is suddenly inhabited by a demon.  Her long-lost Italian (from Milan!) relatives come to her rescue, exorcise the demon and take her quickly back to protection in Italy.  Mia is suddenly in a foreign land, with relative strangers, speaking only Italian and an overriding fear that the demon will come again.  Mia encounters ghosts, demons, and family as she makes her way.  As the book progresses, so does Mia.  Her gradual transformation from young and scared to more confident and mature is natural and not forced.  And it’s interspersed with Italian food and customs.  As Mia is introduced to Italy, so are the readers.

While the book is a good story itself, it does leave a lot of dangling questions.  I look forward to reading the next one.

Recommended: Grades 7 & up

P.S. to Laura:  The book has a one paragraph explanation of the Christmas Witch!  I was very excited to learn more!

The Gift by Andrea J. Buchanan

(via NetGalley)

Daisy has moved schools frequently, but she’s really just trying to fit in.  Okay, so only her best friend knows she lives in a trailer.  And, maybe she has a little problem with electrical components like cell phones, etc.  The electrical surge in her tends to fry the electronics.  It’s weird, but the really weird is when she discovers Vivi trying to overdose to get to her ghost lover.  Daisy, her best friend Danielle, and Vivi are tied together dealing with a ghost.  A real ghost who uses Daisy’s “gift” of electricity to “break through”.  But everything is not what it seems.  The handsome senior, Kevin, is interested in Daisy. Vivi has a ghost boyfriend and Danielle’s on the outside.  Yet, there’s more that ties the three girls together.  Can Daisy get control of her “gift” in time to make a difference?  Does Daisy have what it takes?

This is a fast paced book that handles the pathos that is high school while exploring the ties that bind over times or even over lifetimes.

Recommended: Grades 7+