Molly Horan

I love everything about this book. I have read a lot of great “I Want a Dog” children’s picture books but this might be my favorite one.

The illustrations are wonderful. I think that they’re perfect. I enjoy the way everything is depicted. The dogs, the people, the garden & all the nature, the building interiors and exteriors, the various activities. There is a lot to view, the pictures are fun and colorful and aesthetically pleasing. Even the doggie faces on the endpapers are enjoyable to view.

I admire how Zoe is resourceful and uses a lot of ingenuity as a way to get what she wants. It’s very sweet. I also love the other aspects of the story including the fun things done at home (music lessons, movie nights, pillow forts, family dinners) and in the community such as the community garden, the bookstore, and the outdoors birthday party.

It’s a huge plus that the cast of characters is diverse, the dogs as well as the people. I appreciate the inclusivity. It’s heartwarming how these neighbors in this neighborhood have created and foster a close-knit community.

This could be a satisfying book for children who long for a dog companion but can’t have one but maybe only if others in their neighborhood and/or family/friend group(s) have dogs with whom they can have relationships.… (plus d'informations)

This YA novel is told in the first person so readers are always in the head of the main character, Janey Grady. Janey has had a crush forever on Gwen, who is the cousin of her best friend, Algie, and, as the book opens, Gwen is coming for a visit. Janey has always assumed Gwen is way, way out of her league so when Gwen wants to spend time with her, Janey freaks out and has to remind herself to look at Gwen when Gwen’s talking to her – oh, and to breathe as well.

While Horan has Janey deal with a lot, including whether to contact members of the family who abandoned her in a train station when she was a baby, there’s not a lot of angst for readers to contend with. There are lots of moments that will undoubtedly take readers back to their own senior year in high school and how hard it was just being yourself – or even who you are. The dialogue is witty enough for any reader to get it and smile along with the characters.

The book is well written, and all four characters come to life. The book flows and doesn’t get hung up on angsty moments or get preachy. The fourth character in this quartet needed to be developed a little more than just telling the reader he was shy and nerdy and crushing heavily on Algie. None of the characters have issues with being lesbian or gay.

If you, regardless of your age, want to read a book about four high school seniors trying to figure out what to do and how to be as they begin experiencing first love, then this book is for you.

My thanks to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for an e-ARC… (plus d'informations)