Review for A Dog Of Many Names
I received this book from the publisher/author in exchange of an honest review.
HOLY, well, this was a sad/heartbreaking/depressing/can it please be nice again book! I was pissed at so many people, angry at what happened to the dog, and also so sad she had to go through all these crappy things. I am happy I had the chance to read this book. Yes, it made me sad, but it was so well-written and I am happy with a new book from an animal’s POV (which doesn’t always work, but in this case it worked so well).
Meet the puppy we are going to be following and the names she gets. Names from her families but also names of her own as she wanders the streets and woods alone. From being called Rascal to Ilse to Artemis. All sorts of names pop by. It starts with Rascal. A perfect and sweet home, but as her girl (as Rascal likes to call the kid in the family) grows up and tension builds in the family due to money and stress things start to go darker. And that is the start of the story. The start of a Rascal who gets new names, new homes, finds places, tries to hunt. The start of the tears and confusion for both me and Rascal, but also anger from me for all the humans who dared to hurt this adorable and sweet ball of fur.
I mean, hello, I get that you are having stress, I get things got out of hand, but that is no excuse to just throw your puppy on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Or that guy with the other dogs who seemed to be nice (given the reactions of the vets) but who turned out to be a huge fat bully. A lot of the humans that Rascal meets aren’t nice. I was thankful that she did meet some people, but I could also understand her reaction. She has been damaged by all that happened, all she had to go through.
The story becomes darker and more grim and I just couldn’t stop reading. I just had to know if our puppers would survive. If she would find a place of her own, preferably with a sweet human or a couple of humans. I was just so hoping.
The ending was just beautiful and I was crying so much. The Author’s Note (which I rarely read but this time I was curious) was a perfect addition to the ending/to the book.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book, but be sure to bring tissues. This book will break your heart.
2 thoughts on “Review for A Dog Of Many Names”
Dear Mehsi / Twirling Princess –
Just a quick note to thank you for your beautiful and impassioned review of my book, “A Dog of Many Names.” Many reviewers have talked about the book making them sad, but I love that you also became furious at it! Your visceral response to the dog’s pain and journey are exactly what I felt, and what inspired me to write the story down.
I’m also of course glad that you were happy with the ending. The good news is that Aria is now even happier and more trusting than she was when I wrote the book, and has a very good life (though I’m sure she’d argue that it needs more treats and tummy rubs – there simply can never be enough!).
Thank you again for your heart, your kindness, and your attention. They mean a great deal to me – and to Aria (Rascal/Reina/Ilse/Catnip/etc!),
Douglas Green
Hello Mr. Green,
Aww, you are so so welcome! Haha, yeah, I was pretty furious at points, how could people do this to such a cutie? I really wanted to step in and help her out. I can only imagine how hard it was to write this story down, though maybe it also felt good to let all that anger out on paper.
Aww, I am so happy to hear that, yay for a happy Aria. Do you have photographs of Aria? Sorry if that question is too much, I am just curious. Haha, well tummy rubs and treats sure are great, all that love that she deserves.
You’re welcome! So very welcome! Thank you for writing this book, for making me feel all the feels (and yes, while being furious/angry isn’t fun, it doesn’t always happen I feel so many emotions in a book, so well done). Give Aria a big tummy rub from me!