To start off, I have not read much middle grade recently and this is one of the first middle grade novels I have picked ip in awhile. I always enjoy the easy flow of middle grade books and they are normally pretty fun, quick reads. What I enjoyed about this one, is i feel like there was an underlying message to all middle grade readers and that they could all relate, in some way, to David, our main character.
In this novel, we follow David and his mom as they move to a new house in Baltimore right after his mom and dad become separated. David is forced into new situations, a new house, a new school and some not-so-nice new classmates. As a middle school student, David starts to struggle a lot with his Anger and controlling his emotions, which I think a lot of middle grad students could relate to. I know, when I was younger, I really had a hard time with my anger as well.
David makes a new friend, Libby and she is about the only person in the school who is not afraid of David or thinks that he is weird. Libby is a quirky character herself and I really enjoyed her in this book. After David gets in a fight and school, he discovers an old room in his house that has some mysteries to it. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the bringing in of some Historical Fiction as well.
Once David finds this room, some strange things start to happen that he cannot explain and everything seems to be pointing back at him. Now David has to figure out what is going on while keeping his name clean.
Besides the aspect of Historical Fiction in this novel, I really enjoyed the setting and scenes that were in here, I found myself actually getting a little frightened while reading this, especially during David's dreams. Also, David and Libby;s relationship was adorable and I loved their friendship.
I so have a few complaints for the book as well. My main complaint is that the dialog is kind of all over the place and difficult to follow at times. Also, some of the scenes in this were very graphic and I think maybe a little to violent for middle grade readers.
Other than those two main complaints, I really did enjoy reading this and I flew through it!

Great book for middle grade, it touched on a lot of things that I felt needs to be talked about with your kids.

Take one part Edgar Allen Poe, one part haunted house tale, one part new-kid-in-town story and a soupçon of Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls, and what you get is Ronald Kidd’s totally original middle-grade page-turner. Adults and kids alike will become engrossed in the story of David Cray, a 13-year-old boy who moves to Baltimore with his librarian mother when his father ditches the family for New York and a cutie named Gretchen. David’s new home, a ramshackle Victorian, turns out to have a secret room, a mysterious trunk and very creepy carved raven. David and his classmate Libby Morales team up to solve — well, to reveal what would be to spoil the fun.

Kidd has woven a suspenseful tale with just enough of the supernatural to be spooky rather than corny. He also deals believably with David’s simmering anger — anger at having to leave suburbia and his friends, at his abandonment by a father in full midlife crisis mode, at the bullies at Marshall Middle School. A fabulous story readers won’t want to put down. Highly, highly recommended for all ages.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company in exchange for an honest review.

David Cray and his mom have just moved into a really creepy old house. They had to leave their old house because dad left and they could no longer afford it. Now they live downtown close to David's new school and his mom's work. David discovers a secret room in the house that had been blocked off. Once he enters the room he seems to be overcome with an energy and writes tons of scary stories. David is also dealing with some anger issues. When one of the school bullies tries to mess with him, David beats him up pretty badly. After that David starts experiencing strange dreams. Then a mysterious Raven shows up at school and starts hurting those that hurt David. David and his new friend Libby must figure out what is going on before someone gets really hurt.

This was a super creepy and a really fast read. I loved the incorporation of Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death and his stories. It added a bit of authenticity to what may have just been a regular horror story. Even if you are not familiar with Poe's work, as most kids probably aren't, I think they will still appreciate the horror and creepiness of this story. It is a winner.

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley.