DOGTOWN - Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko


 Chance, a three-legged dog, is the top dog in the Dogtown Shelter. The management seems to think he's pretty cute, but Chance has some concerns about Dogtown since they also keep electronic pet dogs.  Chance doesn't much care for this idea, but he does admit that the metal dogs increase foot traffic which increases the likelihood of pet adoption. Helping the other dogs get adopted is a big concern for Chance and he sees it as his job to help everyone out. He is concerned mostly for two other dogs ... Geraldine, a very old Saint Bernard, and Metal Head, a quirky, electronic dog.

All the dogs go through a phase of the Boo Hoos - when they believe that their previous owners will come back to rescue them.  Chance has gone through this himself and through the course of the book we learn a little about his very uncomfortable story, which includes the tale of how he lost a leg.

I am a little conflicted on this book, mostly because I'm not clear on what we are to take away from the story - is it just a feel-good story for kids for young readers? It's okay if it is, but it feels like there should be more moral, or more obvious moral, or just more actual story?  

Initially I was kind of excited for the inclusion of the electronic dogs, but here, too, I found that I didn't understand what they were.  Is this a scifi, robotic dog with AI?  Is this a remote control robot? And more importantly ... why do we have electronic dogs?  

I know this is a children's book (with some very fun illustrations by Wallace West) and it's kind of a buddy adventure story, but I really felt cheated in the end (despite a very happy ending). I wanted to 'get' something from this, and I didn't.

Looking for a good book? Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko is a middle grade reader - a buddy adventure story featuring dogs - real and electronic - that just kind of sits flat. Sales are likely to be good because A) it has Katherine Applegate's name on it and B) there are cute drawings by Wallace West, and C) it's about dogs. Young readers may enjoy it in the moment but it won't likely have a lot of life.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

Dogtown

authors: Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko

artist: Wallace West

publisher: Feiwel & Friends

ISBN: 9781250811608

hardcover, 352 pages

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