Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a tough review. On one hand, this book is very well-written. The prose is simple yet evocative and effectively captures the rustic, humble setting of the story. The story is also very engaging and moves along quickly, keeping the reader engaged. My problem with this book is that I have long heard it is one of the classic dog fiction books. While the book is certainly about a special bond between a boy and his dogs, there is a regrettable undercurrent to the story. At its roots, this is a story about how a boy and his family exploit two loyal dogs, constantly endanger them, cause their deaths, and then profit from the exploitation to better their own lives. This is also a story rife with depictions of animal cruelty. The basis of the story revolves around a boy using his two dogs to hunt raccoons. Throughout two thirds of the book, raccoons are brutally harassed, attacked, and ultimately killed. Their demise is documented extensively and often only happens after they are exhausted and terrified. There is a similar scene with a mountain lion being brutally torn to pieces by the dogs and the boy’s axe. At the end of it all, the dogs die because they were so loyal to the boy and he continued to exploit their loyalty and ultimately put them in a final, dangerous situation. People who love their dogs do not endanger their lives every night and pretend it’s love. On top of it all, they boy’s parents are only slightly more than apathetic when the dogs die. They seem more content to call it God’s will and rejoice in the new life the dog’s garnered for them. In the end, they leave the country home behind, abandoning the dog’s graves and also the family cat who they just left behind without any concern. Well-written story but full of horrible lessons around how we should treat animals. Nefariously, these lessons are cloaked as an “animal lover’s story” when in reality, it is the exact opposite. This book is most definitely not any sort of beacon for how animals should be treated.