Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
11yo Laura is in foster case with her aunt while her parents are in rehab. She hopes it's only temporary, but the social worker doesn't tell her anything. Her aunt is a doctor and is very busy and she has so many rules. Laura just wants to go home. But one day she finds a dog, a pit bull she names Sparrow, and her Tita lets her keep him. Laura hopes she can train Sparrow to be a Therapy Dog, maybe then she can visit her parents at the rehab and they can be a family again.
Andrea Beatriz Arango's novels always touch my heart. What a sweet story. Laura is going through some tough stuff - but I love the hopeful look at foster care (kinship care, as she is with an aunt), and the lessons she learns about friendship and family. There's a bit of non-translated Spanish sprinkled in - a great mirror for my Latinx kids but a reminder to me I'm an outsider, thank you Andrea for the look inside. A novel in verse, so the chapters are but one or two pages. Nice bites for an underconfident reader. Laura and her aunt are Puerto Rican, Benson is black.
Lisa Librarian
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