Bret Wonnacott

Oh, please, no. The basic story is a Terhune or Kjelgaard or even an Alger story - poor beaten-down kid finds a dog and his life begins to turn around (among other things, he gets picked up by the millionaire of the title). But - possibly to make it more literary? Not sure why - the author has chosen to WALLOW in every bit of physical and emotional misery available. The first several chapters is him mourning his mother - page after page after page of him crying, feeling depressed, feeling hopeless, feeling...ick. It's an important fact, but it could have been conveyed as or more strongly in a page or two at most. I slogged through about a third of the book, then started skipping - between the wallowing, the clumsy dialog ("uh, er, um, I s'pose"), and the kid's utter incompetence in dealing with any moderately interesting female, I couldn't stand it any more. At one point he loses the dog, and he and everyone else spend days searching. And none of them got close enough to the place - not far from his house - where the dog was being held to hear it barking? That's not a thorough search. That doesn't make any _sense_. Happy-ish ending - though the dream (of winning a dog sporting event) is fulfilled post-mortem, it seems (of course, no unalloyed happiness allowed). It might be a ok story, with a _lot_ of editing. As is, not for me.… (mais)

This was a lovely coming of age type story in which the finding of a lost puppy inspires a young man (high school graduate) to come out of his shell after the death of his mother. Through a chance meeting involving a puppy (high quality hunting dog puppy), the protagonist turns his life around, starts trusting people, and successfully enters into the life of the town and beyond. The pacing of the story was slow - but in a good way, mimicing the pace of developing friendships and the change of seasons. The characters were well developed and the novel had a satisfactory ending.… (mais)

This book is about a young teen who loses his mother, his last remaining nuclear family member. He is devastated by the loss but struggles to keep their farm going and to find enough food to sustain his life. I was put off by very repetitious phrases at the beginning of the book, as well as what I felt were overly dramatic depictions of his emotions. Naturally his emotions after losing his mother were strong but I felt they were not depicted well at the start. After I got a ways into the book, I felt the writing became better and more realistic. I felt that the teenaged emotions regarding girls and peers were quite honest. The small town people and their activities seemed very on point. The real meat of the book, however, began when the boy found a dog and met a kind benefactor who introduced him to the world of field trials for hunting dogs, as well as to a very talented trainer and his daughter, adding more people to the new circle of people who cared about him. This is a wonderful coming of age story and a great introduction to the world of supremely talented hunting dogs and their owners, written by an author who knows and loves his subject matter. I think this would be a wonderful book for teens but adults will also love it. With a bit of polishing at the beginning, I would rate this a solid five stars.
*I received this book free of charge through Library Thing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author and to TouchPoint Press*… (mais)