Friday, March 9, 2012

Welcome Home review from Kirkus Reviews



"Veterinarian Tiner’s debut is a middle grade reader told from the dog’s point of view.
The book opens as Jake, a large, black mixed-breed dog, leaves his mother to move in with his new owner.  Jake is horrified to discover that his new master is an abusive man. He escapes to fend for himself on the city streets. But Jake has dreamed of finding a kind owner with a beautiful yard since he was a puppy, and he isn’t prepared to give up hope. As he searches far and wide, Jake befriends a homeless woman, fellow stray dogs Bo and Rico, and a feral cat and her litter of kittens. Though the violence that Jake suffers will be upsetting to young readers, Tiner avoids graphic descriptions; she writes, “Every day Joe would come out with the stick and beat Jake ruthlessly, and each time Jake just felt fear and confusion grip his heart.” The story moves along in episodic fashion as Jake and his friends struggle to survive in the city. In the spirit of such books as Black Beauty and Charlotte's Web, the animals can speak to one another; Chihuahua Rico's stilted dialog may have been meant to evoke accented English, but instead comes across as awkward, tripping up the reader's flow.  Occasional bouts of clunky phrasing also slow the pace of the story.  Finally, the author's failure to wrap up a few loose ends as the book draws to a close may leave readers wondering about the fate of Jake's friends. 

Young readers who like animal stories will appreciate this warm canine tale." Kirkus Reviews


Overall, I thought that the reviewer did a pretty good job.  They provided a very accurate description of the book.  However, I am really unsure what the reviewed means by, "The author's failure to wrap up a few loose ends as the book draws to a close..."  I don't want to give away the book's ending.  However, I will say that if the reviewer is referring to Jake's friends, Bo and Rico, then their story is wrapped up at the end of the book.  So, due to my confusion, I am asking for feedback from anyone else who reads the book.  Please let me know what you think the reviewer meant by "loose ends", because frankly, I think they just got that point wrong.

No comments:

Post a Comment