Review Detail

Not your ordinary pet adoption story. Jules doesn't exactly expect to win the contest, and she certainly doesn't expect the prize puppy to talk. Jules and Penny immediately become fast friends and together they navigate strange events, quirky neighbors, and certainly much more than the average suburban summer.

Pick this up for quicky fun, bursting with details. As a fellow oboist, I found the elder sister particularly endearing. "When the player blows it'll make a good quack." - truer words never said, haha. Oboes and instruments come up later, alongside a brief discussion of Claude Debussy and other musicians, and a host of other topics.

The opening chapters have some particularly long paragraphs and descriptions, but push through and the dialogue quickly picks up after that, and once Penny arrives, the story is truly off and running. In fact, given the amount of dialogue and quick chapters, it makes for an entertaining read-aloud book.