Crystal Velasquez

The animal shelter is starting a new project where they invite local school classes into the shelter to read to the dogs. Being read to helps the animals feel calmer, which means they can be adopted faster. Madison is excited to help however she is not a good reader and she doesn't want her classmates and friends to find out. She doesn't want to be embarrassed. However Madison agrees to be a part of the project to help the class earn a participation prize. Madison gets paired with a very nervous dog. If reading aloud to him might help him, than Madison is willing to do what ever it takes to make this dog adoptable, even if this means that her secret of her reading issues are exposed.

Madison is a very relate-able character for many young readers. It's hard to be brave when you are not good at a task and it feels that everyone else so good. Throughout the book Madison navigates her world trying to hide her shortcoming. She is faced with reading aloud several times in many different situations. She eventually tells her friends that she sees a reading specialist and their reactions of love and acceptance area good message.… (meer)

**I received an ARC of this book via Goodreads Giveaways.**
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Four girls at a southwestern boarding school discover they have amazing feline powers and must unite to stop an ancient evil in this riveting adventure.
Ana soon learns that she and three other girls - with Chinese, Navajo, and Egyptian heritages - harbor connections to priceless objects in the school's museum, and the museum's curator, Ms.Benitez, is adamant that the girls understand their ancestry.
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I entered this giveaway in the hopes that I would get a copy of this book for my daughter. It is precisely the type of book she loves - paranormal, girl heroine(s), action, and... CATS! As predicted she loved the book, and had it read in a matter of hours - in fact she started reading maybe 5 minutes after I handed it to her!

Unfortunately, being a 12-yr-old who has never been given a book report as an assignment in school, my daughter keeps insisting she doesn't know HOW to write one. She does tell me that she loved the book, and primarily for the reasons stated above. I am hoping to find time in my reading schedule to get to it in the next month or so.… (meer)