{Synopsis} – From the moment Fred (never Winifred!) spots a scruffy little mutt with sad eyes, she knows she’s in big trouble. Toby’s in bad shape, and Fred longs to rescue him from the old man with the mile-long mean streak who lives next door. But Margery—the straight-talking woman who is fostering Fred—says going over to their house is against the rules.
And since Fred will only be around until her mother comes to grips with her dependence, Fred can’t let herself care too deeply. Not about Toby or Margery or Delia, a new classmate whose insistent friendship surprises Fred at every turn. Because the more Fred lets this loveable band of misfits into her heart, the harder it’ll be to leave them all behind.
In this story of loss and love, acclaimed author Cecilia Galante examines life’s difficult choices and how a girl plus the dog she loves can add up to finding family in the most unlikely places.
{My thoughts} – Winifred {Fred} isn’t like your ordinary twelve year-old. She has a mom that has been arrested and is being held in jail because her boss said she had stolen some pills from work. Her mom says that it was a big mistake and that she didn’t do anything. In the meantime she has been placed within the foster system and is currently staying with a new foster named Margery.
Margery isn’t like your typical foster. She rides a motorcycle, collects junk and turns it into stuff and has a heart of gold. She lives next door to a crazy neighbor that has a dog named Toby that he completely ignores and treats like crap. When anyone pays attention to the dog he threatens them.
Fred makes a friends with a girl at school and they get close. They start sharing things about their personal life with one another. Then one day the neighbor gets hurt and the girls are the one’s that hear him and call 9-1-1. Once he goes off to the hospital they take the dog back to Margery’s with them and start training the dog to have some people manners.
A lot of other fun and not so fun stuff happens within this book. The thing is the book helps to show children that even though they are in the foster system that it is okay to be happy. It shows them that it is okay to find good in a bad situation. It shows them that it is okay to want whats right for them in their eyes. It shows them that even though they are strays within the system that they aren’t entirely alone.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the very near future.
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
