FICTION

Rules of the Ruff

by Heidi LANG
256p. Abrams/Amulet. Aug. 2018. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781419731372.
COPY ISBN
Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Jessie pesters her way into an apprenticeship with a curmudgeonly dog walker during a summer with her suburban Ohioan family. Her cousin's mean-girl friend and an intriguing boy and his mom (who tries to co-opt clients for her own dog walking service) create additional challenges to merely mastering dog-walking skills. Written in scene-based chapters of uniform lengths and featuring a small cast with distinctive personalities and voices, Jessie's story is a light, predictable read. Jessie loves soccer and Die Hard movies and eschews dresses and romantic comedies. Dogs abound within these pages, but mostly as objects that further the plot as opposed to animals with whom the protagonist develops close relationships.
VERDICT Give this to dog lovers or readers seeking a light and breezy summer read.
Reviewed by Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC , May 01, 2018

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