After Tom and Stanley Ryder’s mother died, their father sank into a depression that left him withdrawn and mean. In the spring of 1917, Tom serves Britain on the front lines in France. Left at home, Stanley becomes the sole object of his father’s wrath. After Da drowns Stanley’s pup, Soldier, Stanley lies about his age and enlists in the army. His only goal is to find Tom. Stanley enters the training program for the British Army’s Messenger Dog Service and is paired with Bones, a Great Dane. On the front lines, Bones will be expected to carry messages across “no-man’s land” and return to Stanley. The training proves rigorous, but nothing can prepare Stanley and Bones for the reality of trench warfare- claustrophobic underground trenches, water, mud, artillery barrages, and mustard gas. When Bones dies, Stanley decides to tell his real age. He would rather go home than endure the pain and hardships of war. Instead, Stanley is given a new dog. So he stays, and in staying, finally learns about Soldier’s real fate and gains a deep understanding of his father’s grief.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

Not quite as heart-wrenching as Martin Booth's War Dog (McElderry, 1996) but nonetheless an elegantly written, completely engrossing story. A great novel to recommend to readers who enjoy Michael Morpurgo's War Horse. ( )

In “Solder Dog,” readers are introduced to 13 year-old Stanley. Stanley’s mother passed away, and he lived with his fierce and uncommunicative father. He loved dogs and missed his older brother Tom who was in the Army. After his father takes his favorite puppy, Soldier, and drowns him, Stanley decided to run away and join the Army to find his brother.

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Oh my goodness, where do I start? This is quite simply the best book I have read in a long while. Although recommended to me ages ago, I've only just got round to reading this, as it's one of the two books I'll read this month for the bookclub I'm a member of.

I'll admit that I was initially a bit put off this book by the front cover picture and description on the back cover, as I'm not very interested in books about war and fighting. However, although it is set during the first world war and a lot of the scenes take place close to the front lines in France, this story is so much more than just a war book.

Fourteen year old Stanley is the main (human!) character and he is endearing and well written. The supporting characters (human and canine) spring into life from the pages and managed to bring forth just about every emotion in me. Happy to angry, frustrated to sad, i finished this feeling wrung out and left me an emotional wreck!

This book is extremely rare in that I didn't pick up a single grammatical error whilst reading. I have to say I can't honestly remember when that last happened. The use of vocabulary is wide and the descriptive language fantastic.

This is a tale of love, betrayal, hurt, pride, family and, most importantly to me, it depicts the level of emotion that I feel for my dogs like nothing else I've ever read. A true masterpiece that I'll be recommending to all my friends, especially my fellow dog lovers. This book just made me want to cuddle my hounds all the way through. Brilliant brilliant writing. ( )

I received a physical ARC from the publisher. It was one I had agreed to take despite it being about a human-animal bond during wartime, which more than likely means said animal will die. I was prepared. I made it about halfway through.

Really, the writing was almost like a fairy tale, very soft and non-threatening yet not dumbed down. I think my younger self would have enjoyed it. I think my older self would have enjoyed it as well, had I been in the right mood and not so irritated by certain misconceptions I had had when I started reading. I require the back copy of a book to match the story waiting for me inside. If the back copy presents a plot that only takes up a tiny piece of the actual plot, I become cranky.

I'll try again later with altered preconceptions and selective amnesia in regards to the back cover.

READ THE ORIGINAL REVIEW AT: http://shelversanon.blogspot.com/2013/06/three-dnf-reviews.html