Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle

Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh did I love this middle grade novel in verse from awesome Margarita Engle! Told from 2 points of view (and one is a dog) this is the story of boy who has suffered trauma at his mother's hands, she was involved in dog fighting (she made her son responsible for taking care of the pit bulls - those who were injured, feeding them, and forcing him to be involved in the dog fights. Tony continues to have nightmares, does not know what love is, and lives in fear. When his mother lands in jail for cruelty to animals, a compassionate social worker finds an uncle, Tony, did not even know about. Tio lives in the Sierra Nevadas with his search and rescue dog, Gabe, and as a park ranger, he rescues lost hikers, guides nature walks, and takes care of trees. Together Tio and Gabe take this very sad, tormented Tony and show him, love, friendship and a real home. I could not put this book down; it was filled with many search and rescues, Tony learning to be a rescue for the dogs, and Tony trying to find a lost hound and getting lost himself. I LOVED THIS BOOK ad the pictures were awesome too!

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