Reviews!

Thank goodness for books!  I've read some great books for all ages so far this year, but juvenile fiction may be in the lead for my favorites so far.

PAWS by Nathan Fairbairn and illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn (Juvenile Graphic Fiction)

Grade level: 3-7. This series is for anyone who loves The Baby Sitter’s Club (BSC) and/or adorable pets.  Like BSC, this book is about a handful of girls who come together to form a special group.  Unlike BSC, these girls take care of fur babies!  

This group of unlikely friends have a very big something in common.  They all love pets, but due to different issues, they cannot have any of their own.  After some trial and error they start a dog-walking service called PAWS.  

Just like BSC, it looks like the illustrator and narrator will change with each book.  As a HUGE BSC fan, I found myself constantly comparing the two series.  I love the artwork in PAWS even more, especially the second book in the series.  The facial expressions can’t be beat!  

Though the kids handle much of the pet-walking responsibilities in PAWS, Gabby’s Dad is often around, and even handles Gabby’s phone calls since she is not allowed a cell phone like her friends (this would have been my dad if cell phones existed when I was young).  I remember reading BSC as a kid and thinking the girls had a lot of autonomy and being simultaneously star struck and sick with envy about it.  I’m curious if young readers will notice this difference between the two series.  Or if they will draw any comparisons between characters.  For example, which BSC dad does Gabby’s dad remind you of? :D  

The BSC books often focus on complex issues (diabetes, an ailing grandparent, neglectful parents) in addition to everyday issues (friendships, jealousy, feeling left out).  The first two PAWS books are following this same path, but it felt like there was a lot more weight to the issues and they weren’t as easily remedied as the issues in BSC.  I appreciated this, and once again, am curious if young readers notice this and if so, how they feel about it.  Overall, I am thrilled with this new series and cannot wait for book three!

Out of Range by Heidi Lang (Juvenile Fiction)

Grade level: 3-7.  Sisters Abby, Emma, and Ollie get lost during a hiking trip and face many dangers and challenges: wild animals, getting swept away in the river, and much discomfort including fatigue, poison ivy, and hunger.  But really, all of these dangers pale in comparison to the epic fights they’ve had over the past several months, fights that ultimately led to their parents sending them to a camp to work through their problems and become friends again.  

Wooeee did this bring up memories of long-buried fights with my brothers, fights that were, at the time, the end of the world.  As an adult, I should know better, but that didn’t stop me from picking sides.  As the youngest, I found myself on Team Emma and Ollie.  And you know what?  I still didn’t really like Abby’s character even at the end.  Having said that, I think her desperation to fit in and have friends, and how that desperation clouded everything and caused her to make poor decisions, is so dang realistic, it hurts like heck.  So maybe I’m looking at some long-buried sibling fights with new insight.  Who knows?  

I was either cringing or laughing for most of this book, and I couldn’t put it down!  I think it’s a great book for kids who have recently moved and are navigating a new school.  I also think anyone who has siblings will connect to at least one character in this book.  And I can’t forget the survival element, so this book is great for fans of books that feature kids trying to survive scary things on their own. And I’m not just talking about siblings!