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  • Good Dog

Good Dog

Publication Date
June 25, 2019
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  4th − 5th
Language
English
Good Dog

Currently out of stock
Description
From the acclaimed author of "The Honest Truth." Brodie was a good dog. And good dogs go to heaven. Except Brodie can't move on. He can't forget the boy he left behindEthe boy who's still in danger. So Brodie breaks the rules of heaven and returns to Earth as a spirit, determined to find his boy and to save him.
Publication date
June 25, 2019
Genre
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781338528756
Publisher
Scholastic Press
BISAC categories
JUV002190 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Pets
JUV002070 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dogs
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV069000 - Juvenile Fiction | Ghost Stories
JUV067000 - Juvenile Fiction | Thrillers & Suspense

Kirkus

Starred Review
Action-packed, highly suspenseful, and deeply moving. Perfect.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5--A good-hearted mutt named Brodie awakes from death to find himself in an idyllic landscape, surrounded by other dogs with nothing to do but run and play. As memories intermittently return from his life, he realizes dimly that he must go back to the cold and perilous world to reunite with his loyal boy, Aiden, and protect him from an as-yet-uncertain threat. Along with a Staffordshire terrier called Tuck and an irascible cat named Patsy, Brodie puts his soul at tremendous risk, battling roving hellhounds and learning to navigate the confusing realm of life after death. When he finds Aiden and seeks to confront the boy's abusive father, known only as "the monster," it takes everything Brodie has left to avert disaster. The narrator's voice, apparently omniscient but eventually revealed to be a character in the story, quickly becomes obtrusive and distracting, characterized by stylistic tics such as frequent repetitions of "Believe me" and constantly framing exposition with a sort of rhetorical inquiry ("Because Brodie? His heart had a compass needle that never lost its way."). Despite its mawkish pageant of souls and angels, this novel provides enough dramatic tension and narrative twists to carry dog-loving readers through. VERDICT A secondary purchase for elementary schools and some middle schools where animal stories are in demand.--Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Animal lovers will embrace this tale of canine dedication with a twist, told from the point of view of the dog. The twist? The dog, a mutt named Brodie, has died and returned from the "in-between place"--despite strong warnings not to do so--in order to save his boy, Aiden, from a frightening, unspecified fate. Both hampered and helped by his ghostly state, Brodie teams up with two other spirits, terrier pal Tuck and Patsy, a rough-talking cat, to find Aiden. Brodie and Aiden's deep bond and Aiden's precarious home life are depicted through flashbacks; discussion of souls abounds as does Gemeinhart's skill for creating page-turning chases and battles--a trio of evil ghostly dogs is trying to steal Brodie and Tuck's souls. Despite a somewhat jarring turn at the very end when a first-person narrator suddenly appears to help Brodie achieve his well-deserved peace, this emotionally driven fantasy about change and loss keeps its focus solidly on Brodie, credibly rendering the dog's loyalty, love, and determination to follow those instincts. Ages 8-12. Agent: Pam Victorio, D4EO Literary. (Mar.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Dan Gemeinhart

Dan Gemeinhart is the # 1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Midnight Children, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, The Honest Truth, Some Kind of Courage, Scar Island, and Good Dog. A former elementary teacher-librarian and lifelong book nerd, He lives with his wife and three daughters in a small town in Washington state.

ShinYeon Moon is a New York-based illustrator. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, where she has also taught. Her work has been recognized by various illustration publications. She is also the illustrator of Laolao's Dumplings.