Storm Watcher

Gr 6–8—Thirteen-year-old Luke Riley is offered a summer job at Storm Watcher Kennel where he'll learn how to handle a dog for tracking and for show. In exchange, the owner, Willajean, tells him he can have one of the puppies. Financially pressed Jim Riley wants another bloodhound for his search-and-rescue operations, but his son is drawn to papillons. Luke has always been frightened by storms and is obsessed with the Weather Channel. He feels guilty and believes he is responsible for his mother's death in a thunderstorm. At the kennel, he befriends the owner's daughter, Megan, who is an outstanding dog handler, and learns about storms from Willajean. Luke's twin older brothers make snarky, sarcastic comments, and Megan's older sister is a verbal bully who bosses and belittles him. Luke eventually stands up to them and faces his fears and worries. There is always room on the shelf for another exciting boy-and-his-dog story, and this readable contemporary novel will appeal especially to youngsters interested in search-and-rescue training or meteorology.—Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego