Ever since her police officer father was killed a few months ago, Grace Abernathy hasn't wanted to do much of anything. She's pulled away from her friends, her grades are plummeting . . . it's a problem. The last thing Grace wants is to be dragged into her older sister Regan's plan to train a shelter dog as a service dog. But Grace has no idea how involved she'll get-especially when a mangy mutt named Rex starts talking to her. Has Grace gone off the deep end? Or might this dog be something really special-an angel? A spirit? Either way, he is exactly the therapy that Grace needs.
Judy S. says:
"Like everything else Grace is ambivalent about right now, you can add the dog to that category, too. But he is beginning to grow on her. Just why is she the only one that can hear him talking? Sometimes she thinks her 13 year-old brain might be going crazy.
They got the dog after her dad died. Her older sister, Regan, is supposed to be training Rex as a service dog. When they went to the shelter to pick out a smart, guide-worthy dog, this one implored Grace, 'Pick me! Pick me!'. No, literally, it spoke to her. And that implied intelligence, right? Her sister hesitated since the dog wasn't so, well, attractive. But Grace sensed possibilities and for once her suggestion prevailed.
What is touching about this book is the developing relationship between Grace and Rex. Rex takes Grace down paths, emotional and literal, that she never would have had the courage to explore otherwise, especially surrounding her father's death. The dog helps Grace reveal the hows and whys of that ugly incident, despite her reluctance to know the truth.
Reisfeld's characters show us very human, fallible ways of dealing with death. They show us how frustrating it is to be stuck in pain, but also how it's possible to prevail through it.
This is a little gem of a book that will bring out compassion in any reader. I highly recommend it, for kids AND parents."
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