38. Wombat Waiting

38. Wombat Waiting. Katherine Applegate. 2026. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, animal fantasy, j fiction, wildfires, dogs, pets, animals]

First sentence: Yep,
her name is Wombat,
and nope,
she's not a wombat.
True, there's
a passing resemblance,
If you squint just right.
She's stout and sturdy,
stubby-legged,
with silly ears
that look like furry cookies,
but just for the record,
she is,
most definitely,
a dog.

Premise/plot: Wombat Waiting is a novel in verse starring a destiny dog, Wombat. Wombat and Henry are meant to be--a matter of destiny. But Henry is scared of dogs and Wombat is a stray. They live miles apart. Have never met. A wildfire starts. Wombat hears a voice, the voice of destiny, telling her to run towards the fire, to get closer and closer to where the fire is burning. Henry, meanwhile, is fleeing (with his two moms and some neighbors and their bunnies?) away from the fire. Life becomes not regular at all. But Wombat knows that she is running towards her destiny. But it may take a lot of WAITING, waiting, and more waiting before Henry knows that Wombat is his dog.

My thoughts: I like this one. I do. I have enjoyed many of Katherine Applegate's books. I don't love, love, love this one. But I do like it. I do think it has a few great quotes. (I'll share my favorite below).

Quotes:
How could she say
I will be more than a friend--
I will be your beating heart?

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

38. Wonderland

 

38. Wonderland. Barbara O'Connor. 2018. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg fiction, mg realistic fiction]

First sentence: Mavis Jeeter sat on the bus stop bench beside her mother and whispered goodbye to Hadley, Georgia. She took a deep breath and let out a big, heaving sigh to send a signal to her mother that she was tired of saying goodbye.

Premise/plot: Mavis Jeeter hates the fact that her mother keeps them on the move all the time. Mavis has never been settled in one place long enough to have an actual best friend. Her mom has a new job--as a housekeeper--and they have a new house--in an apartment above the Tully's garage. But will she find a best friend? Maybe. Maybe not. Rose Tully is left speechless by the arrival of Mavis and her mother (their new housekeeper). Mavis has forcefully announced that they will be the absolute best of friends. Rose-- who is in need of a best friend agrees--but what choice does she have? Mavis--as she soon learns--doesn't take no for an answer. Rose is soon spilling it all: Mr. Duffy--the gatekeeper of their gated community--has recently lost his dog, Queenie, and he is now sad, moody, unwilling to entertain her on the side. Mavis announces that she will help Rose cheer him up and they will do so by finding him a new dog. But is it just that easy?

My thoughts: I do have THOUGHTS. Conflicting thoughts. On the positive side, all the characters have flaws which means that they are fleshed out enough to be human. Another positive is that the characterization is not just centered on Mavis and Rose alone. While not all side characters are deeply, deeply fleshed out, ALL of them feel fleshed out enough that it is easy enough to put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes. This goes for the adult characters as well which is rare in middle grade fiction. However, I didn't love this one absolutely. I found Mavis to be problematic. Of course this is subjective. I've read reviews on GoodReads that love, love, love Mavis and dislike Rose.

Mavis to me comes across as TROUBLE. She's bossy. She's inconsiderate. She doesn't read the room. She doesn't listen...at all. She doesn't accept people as they are. Of course, there are plenty of adults who haven't learned these skills, so perhaps it's a little much to expect a fifth grader to have them. Still. Friendship would go smoother if she would actually listen, be less bossy, take the time to understand. I also think she's trouble because she encourages Rose to break the rules. All the rules. The more significant keep-people-safe rules and the smaller rules. She tells Rose that breaking rules will make her brave and more grown up. Rose is easily coaxed into pushing past all her own boundaries of what feels safe and right and good AND push past the rules her parents have put in place to keep her safe. 

The big rule in question is leaving the estates/gated community AND crossing a busy highway on bicycles. As an adult, all I can say is that Mavis is a bad influence! And Rose at least has no business crossing highways on a bicycle. 

Mr. Duffy. What I have to say about him is that I think what neither girl seems to recognize is that a) it's more than the grief of a dog. Mr. Duffy is a widower. He's old. He lives alone. He's aware--even if the girls aren't--that he's getting older and less capable. And b) yes, the adults in the community could be more polite in voicing their concerns....it seems that Mr. Duffy IS at the point where he is mentally and physically incapable of doing the job he was hired for. He does seem to be showing signs of dementia.

Rose. Out of all the characters I love Rose most. It is not that she is perfectly-perfect. She's not. But she seems to be the kindest and sweetest and the most concerned with how others are feeling. I'm not sure that Rose and Mavis are actually well suited for one another....since Mavis seems to be temperamental, dramatic, bossy, and incapable of listening.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

75. Mouse and His Dog (Dogtown #2)

Mouse and His Dog (Dogtown #2) Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko. Illustrated by Wallace West. 2024. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars] [animal fantasy, j fiction, illustrated chapter book]

First sentence:  I want to be one of those brave mice you read about in books. A mouse in a friar's robe brandishing a sword, a mouse in short sleeves paddling a canoe, a mouse in a pullover sweater who saves a princess. But I'm an ordinary field mouse, the size and weight of an average tomato. The only thing I ever wear is slippers.

My thoughts (preview): I have WANTED--no NEEDED--this book since the summer of 2023. I finished Dogtown (the first book) and NEEDED more, more, more. I wanted all the books, forever keep them coming. I loved Dogtown so much I read it TWICE within a couple of months. It is my emotional support library book. So obviously I was excited and counting down the months, weeks, and days until it was released.

It did not disappoint.

Premise/plot: Mouse, whom readers first met in the book Dogtown, returns for another adventure set at the Dogtown animal shelter. Buster, a golden retriever with a high return rate or bounce back, is the star of this one. Mouse's goal throughout the book is to help Buster (and Stewie) find their forever home(s). This one does also feature a robot dog, Smoke Alarm (aka Smokey).

"Smokey's problem was that he'd been put together in a factory that also made smoke alarms, and wires got crossed. Buttons got switched. Gears got shifted. In some home somewhere, there was a smoke alarm that barked. And in Dogtown, we had a metal dog with a smoke alarm that went off when you least expected."

Plenty of adventure and HEART packed into this dog adventure.

My thoughts: How does Mouse compare to Chance as a narrator?!?!?! I loved them both. But Mouse loves, loves, loves, LOVES to read. So Mouse's narration is PACKED with book references.

I loved the narration. It is just a WONDERFUL read. I do think it would be an excellent read aloud. 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Bark in the Park

Bark in the Park! Poems for Dog Lovers. Avery Corman. Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. 2019. 48 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Afghan Hound
Although he's noble and aloof,
He's still a dog, so he still says, "Woof!"

Basset Hound
For things she can smell,
She's a comer and goer.
She's much like a Beagle,
But longer and lower.

Beagle
The beagle is bent
On tracking a scent.
He follows his nose
wherever it goes.

 Premise/plot: A collection of poems about dogs/dog breeds. Each poem is short. Some poems are just two lines; other poems are all of four lines. All rhyme--for better or worse.

My thoughts: I like the idea of liking this one. I do. But sometimes I wish authors knew that poems don't always, always, always have to rhyme in order to be poetry. Sometimes poems come across as forced. You can always tell when a poem chooses a word just because--only because--it "rhymes."

That being said, there were definitely quite a few poems in this one that I really enjoyed.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Pet War

Pet War. Allan Woodrow. 2013. Scholastic. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: I stood at the bottom of the driveway in my pajamas with a serious case of bed head.

Premise/plot: Otto and Lexi are siblings. Otto wants a dog. Lexi wants a cat. Mom's verdict: whoever can earn (at least) five hundred dollars in one month can choose what pet the family gets. Lexi is twelve; Otto is eleven. Neither has really gone about earning money in a serious way before. Who will win this pet war?!

My thoughts: I liked this one okay. I do not want my time back! And it is always a relief to have a book with a dog on the cover that is SAFE to read. No pets die in this book!!!! 

Otto is the narrator of this one. He really LOVES dogs and hates cat. As a cat lover, I really didn't enjoy all the dog talk and the disparaging talk against cats. Personally, I wouldn't have minded a story from LEXI'S perspective. But my job is to review the book that is--the book I actually read and not the book I might have wanted to read instead.

Otto is an amusing narrator. He pokes a lot of fun at himself. He's not the brightest or best...especially when it comes to math, economics, and soccer. He does have a super-patient best friend, Malcolm. Without Malcolm, I'm guessing Otto would have made no money at all. Otto has plenty of misadventures when his money-making schemes go awry. I could easily see this book being adapted as a children's comedy movie.

Otto has a lot to learn--not just about math. He is more often than not very rude and demanding. He lacks respect and courtesy. It bothered me to see him treat others so thoughtlessly. In particular, I didn't like the way he treated his dad. He only sees his dad some of the time, and when he does see him. He's all give me money, give me money, give me money, I want money. And when his dad asks him to do something he's like HOW MUCH MONEY do I get. If his dad says he's not going to pay him, he doesn't do it. And this attitude isn't just with his dad--or his mom--it's with everyone. Otto's attitude actually reminded me of my least favorite character in the movie Sing--MIKE.

Lexi seemed a lot more likeable. Not perfect. Not nearly as goody-two-shoes as Otto imagines her to be. But authentically nice.

Kids may enjoy this one more than adults.

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews