Midnight at the shelter has a distinctive doggy voice. This is a middle school age chapter book. Told from the voice of our main character a dog. The dog is owned by a vet and before this the three-legged dog had not had a good life. A town stray, he was captured along with his other doggy friends and thrown in a truck, the truck is in an accident, and he is the only survivor but loses a leg in the process. The vet who cares for him adopts him. The vet gives medical care to the animals in the shelter so they can be adopted. The dog tells the story of some of the animals in the shelter waiting to be adopted. The book is really hard to read as it describes the depression the animals have for being at the shelter for so long and the abuse and neglect, they have had before they came to the shelter. Though it's sad it's also realistic and this is why I think it's a good thing for children to read. Maybe after reading this, children will think not to abuse an animal because they have feelings too and animals not being treated right have long term consequences from abuse and neglect sometimes to never recover.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I've been recommending this title to all my animal loving readers. It's not too babyish for even the older middle school crowd.

If it is dog book, my readers will devour it! This was a cute middle grade read that will be a great addition to my library.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

This is a wonderful middle grade book told from a dog's perspective. It is both heart warming and heart breaking by tunes . I highly recommend this for children and even animal loving adults. The characters are well developed as is the plot line. The ending is awesome as well. It is thoughtful and winsome. It teaches children about the value of pets and to think carefully about what happens when pets don't work out .it is based on actual vet and her experiences so the scenarios are realistic except for the parts that reminded me of 1001 Dalmatians and the like where the animals work cooperatively. A wonderful selection for a school ,Publix or family library. I highly recommend it.

This book will touch your heart and soul. It's a heartwarming story that hooks you on the first page and doesn't let go. I loved how the author draws attention to all the animals that needs rescuing waiting at animal shelters everywhere. I loved this book and highly recommend it to animal lovers of all ages.
I received a complimentary copy from HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Told in the voice of Mahdi the rescue dog, this book tells the story of his life and the good work he does with his person MomDoc. Together they match rescued dogs and cats with families who need them and ultimately helps save some rescue animals from an animal hating employee. Reminds me of Because of Winn Dixie.

This heartwarming story is told from a dog’s point of view. A little three legged dog named MahDi helps his owner, MomDoc, with her veterinary practice. MomDoc also provides medical care for a local animal shelter.

There are so many beautiful dogs and cats who are waiting to find their forever homes with loving owners. In their spare time, MomDoc and MahDi help to place the animals in good homes.

One evening while MomDoc is away, MahDi uncovers a sinister plot taking place at the shelter. With the help of his dog friends from the neighborhood and one elderly cat, they attempt a daring rescue!

This wonderful story is based on true events that the real “MomDoc”, Dr. Heather Carleton, has encountered in her own veterinary experience. Seeing all the lovable animals in shelters who are waiting to find loving homes, she has become an avid promoter of shelter pet adoptions.

Adults as well as children would enjoy this story of kindness, love, and loyalty!
Thank you to author Nanci Turner Steveson, Quill Tree Books, and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this very enjoyable book.

The cover is what drew me in and I'm glad I was able to read this. It worked so well as a children's novel, the plot was a well done story and had interesting characters. I enjoyed what was going on in this story, it brought me back to a time when I was a child and I appreciated reading this.

"Riding in the doggie-pack was the most fun trip to the shelter I could ever remember. Ozzie loved the way the wind blew his hair and ears away from his face, and he didn’t try to jump out even once. But when we got to the shelter, Huck was sitting outside and the fun part was over. He had dark circles under his armpits again and stank like a swamp. Little beads of sweat dripped from his forehead."

this book was really sweet and adorable. I really enjoyed it and reading most of the books from Di's point of view made this book feel really unique. I really loved all the animals in this book and I wanted to rescue them all.
This book also did a really good job of pointing out how important shelters are and how they could be fixed without preaching. Stevenson perfectly weaved the message into the story.
I will say i did find some of the side stories to be a bit allover for children. They seemed erratic even to me and I'm an adult.
Overall this book was a great story with a really great message. I definitely would have loved this as a kid, heck I loved this now and I'm an adult. If you are an animal lover you will love this book too.

Great cover. Unfortunately, the book falls short.

The main character is a dog named Mahdi who hangs out at an animal shelter with his owner, MomDoc, who's the vet. He talks to the animals who come in, reassuring them that it's all going to be ok. Some are there for vet services and some are strays waiting to be placed in a home. There's a couple of prominent humans. One is Toby, a kid volunteer, who loves animals. He helps care for the animals at the shelter and watches MomDoc's pets when she goes out of town. Another is Huck, a temp employee who hates animals and thinks undesirable dogs should be euthanized. There are lots of dog stories. The best one is about how Mahdi ended up at the shelter and why he has only three legs. It has a feel good ending when Mahdi and friends break into the shelter at night to rescue a bunch of dogs and find them homes. Hence the title and cover illustration.

I'm not sure if kids will read this. It's mainly a look at the workings of an animal shelter. There's lots of dogs who make fleeting appearances just to illustrate all the different reasons animals end up at shelters. There's little in the way of well-developed characters and well-defined plot. Entire chapters could be eliminated and they wouldn't be missed. It's not a book you can't put down until you finish. My kids love The One and Only Ivan, so I know they like books written from an animal's perspective, but Ivan is in another league. There's no comparison. I think I will pass on this one.

Midnight at the Shelter by Nanci T. Steveson was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. Generally, I choose to read and review horror books. Sometimes I want to change up with a young adult-type book and I am glad I chose this one. Written in the sense that a dog is telling the reader the story, if you read to your children before bed, or want to start doing so, this is a excellent book to read. As always I will not go into the plot, as most every other reviewer does that, but this book moves along, rarely drags down in useless dialogue and is a quick read. With the holiday season fast approaching, this book could be a good stocking stuffer.

4 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book.

This book will be perfect for lovers of animals and animal stories!

This heartfelt and joyful story definitely has some dog voices, MahDi and Ozzie, telling us what’s going with their owner vet MomDoc. They help her when she goes to the shelter when she checks on other dogs. When MahDi and Ozzie learn that there will be a temporary caretaker,Huck, at the shelter, the other dogs let them know they don’t have a good feeling about him. When there’s a fire at another shelter, more dogs come to where Huck is and he becomes angry and more nervous. He lets the extra dogs know he wants to get rid of them. MahDi and Ozzie find out (they know everything) and come up with a plan, Can they pull it off in time?