Summary
A sweet dog story! Charlie’s family feels “broken.” Her dad is in jail. Her mom rarely leaves her bed. Her big sister is living with a friend until she graduates from high school. And Charlie has to live with an aunt and uncle she hardly knows in a town where she doesn’t want to live. She clings desperately to the hope that she’ll be going home soon and to her long list of ways to make a wish. But she’s been wishing for the same thing for a long time. What if her wishes aren’t working?
Review
Charlie is the kind of kid you want to hug, but you know she’d hate it… At least at first. She’s used to protecting herself. And she has no interest in getting comfortable in her temporary home or in this temporary community. She’ll be going HOME soon.
I loved Charlie’s development over the course of the book. She has to find her way at school and at church and at her aunt and uncle’s house. She’s trying to manage the swirl of emotions inside her, including an impressive amount of anger. She’s learning who she wants to be socially, too. There’s a lot going on for Charlie – and it’s all told so well!
And then there’s a dog. A sweet-tempered, lovable, furry friend is just what Charlie needs to anchor her and give her a sense of belonging as well as a sense of being needed and loved.
This would be perfect for fans of animal stories, stories that have a strong emotional core, and for fans of Barbara O’Connor’s other books like How to Steal a Dog.