Zana Fraillon

Trigger warnings: Physical injury, car crash, near death experiences

9/10, this was truly a masterpiece of a novel and I wondered what I would get from a middle grade verse novel about a dog but now I know and it was truly remarkable. The main character had to go through one of the toughest journeys I have ever read in a book and it was really heartbreaking to see him alone for the majority of the book. He tries to find his companion whom he calls Man-pup. They escaped together into the wilderness when he was hit by a car, the dog tried to warn him but it was too late and the companion was sent away in an ambulance which the dog calls the flashing metal beast. I could really feel the fear the dog felt when he entered the city and was overwhelmed at all the things happening within it. At least there were some joyful moments such as when the dog met some girl whose name I forgot and a bunch of other dogs and a fox and I enjoyed all their dynamics with these characters and I liked the ending as well since it was heartwarming. If you like verse novels pick this.… (mehr)

Get out your tissues for the ending which I did not see coming and SPOILER ALERT...NO, the dog doesn't die!
Awesome quick read told from the perspective of the puppy Scruffity from his birth in a puppy farm where his mother is taken from him at an early age and his only friend is Manpup. As he learns the "Way of Dog" ( aka how to live) Manpup steals him away from his evil master and runs away but with tragic consequences. Lost and alone, Scruffity must negotiate the scary world of the city as he tries to walk towards the sea where Manpup was heading. Along the way he meets kind and awful humans, a crafty fox, rough street gangs of dogs and all the while tries to avoid the clutches of the Rangers who will send Scruffity to the cages from which no dogs return. But finally he ends up in a prison and with one last chance to prove himself and learn the Way of Dog and Man, he can eventually find happiness.
Beautiful story with an authentic ring to it - sounds so much like the thoughts a dog might have. Shortlisted for CBCA Children's book of the year Younger Readers. ( Put Poetry as a tag but it is really blank verse )… (mehr)