The Good, the Bad & the Beagle

August 18, 2014
All 11-year-old Veronica Morgan wants is a beagle—specifically Cadbury, the lemon beagle at the pet shop down the street. But since there’s no justice in the world, Cadbury is stuck at the store, and Veronica is the new girl in the small sixth-grade class at a fancy private school for girls. Although set on New York City’s Upper East Side and featuring a variety of very nice apartments, this is no middle-grade Gossip Girl. Veronica is a sweet, insecure worrier who’s more confident around dogs than people. She’s happy to pass up a big social event planned by the sixth-grade alpha girls in favor of time with Cadbury when the party coincides with his long-awaited arrival. In her children’s book debut, actress and memoirist Burns (It Hit Me Like a Ton of Bricks) creates a world that, though slightly twee and Manhattan-stereotypic (both Veronica’s parents are therapists; there is much eating of Chinese takeout), offers a warmhearted and realistic take on love, grief, and the difficulties and rewards of making human friends. Ages 10–12. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company.

September 15, 2014
This is another sad book with a dog on the cover-but it isn't a story about a dog. Veronica faces a couple of major challenges at the beginning of sixth grade. One is that she has chosen to attend a private, all-girls day school in New York City, where she lives with her psychiatrist parents. She hasn't had much success socially, and Randolf doesn't look like a promising opportunity to up her friend count-currently a total of just one, and she's a far-from-satisfactory companion. The other problem is that she would do just about anything to become the owner of a beagle for sale at a local pet store. When a pair of popular girls begins to take a mild interest in her and her parents buy the beloved puppy, it seems that all will be well. But things quickly fall apart: The girls are manipulative and self-focused, and her puppy has a congenital disease. Veronica's deep, unrelenting grief is vividly portrayed, along with her bumbling but kindly parents' efforts to redirect her back to happiness. In sharp contrast to the sad themes that permeate this quiet tale, a strong vein of humor-springing mainly from Veronica's often ironic and feisty attitude-relieves the raw suffering without undermining its power. Readers will find this journey back to contentment both fully believable and emotionally resonant. (Fiction. 9-13)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Pessimistic Veronica Morgan determines that if another family purchases her favorite dog from the local pet store, it will be a fate "worse than death." Veronica's quiet disposition and social anxiety, which seems to go nearly unnoticed by her psychiatrist parents, separate the protagonist from the rest of her friendly peers. Her parents surprise her by purchasing Cadbury, the dog she has wished for, which consumes the 11-year-old's life for months. Ultimately, circumstances force Veronica to deal with death, friendship, and academic responsibility. This novel centers on a subdued, asocial teen who becomes unhealthily obsessed with her dog, Cadbury. While Burns's visually descriptive writing brings Manhattan and Veronica's inner thoughts to life, the plotting is inconsistent and at times difficult to follow. Themes of Judaism, atheism, and a connection to the natural world float through the text, but are never truly developed or resolved. Burns fails to create an authentic bond between Veronica and Cadbury, which becomes problematic, given the protagonist's extended heartbreak after the animals' death. The girl's depression and months of seclusion seem overdramatic and unrealistic. Ultimately, readers will be left wondering if Veronica has changed or learned anything through her predicaments.-Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Grades 5-7 Sixth grade might be the biggest challenge Veronica Morgan has ever faced. Baffled by the intricate social hierarchy at her Upper East Side private school and at a loss about making new friends, her only respite is daily visits to the neighborhood pet store, where she spends wordless hours with Cadbury, a beagle who seems just as lonely as Veronica. Just as she starts to get her footing at school, Veronica is derailed by a tragic loss, but through it, she discovers friends where she least expects to find them. Animal-lovers and insecure middle-schoolers alike will connect with this realistic portrayal of tween life. Burns accurately depicts the difficulty of accepting death and how deeply grief can impact every aspect of life. Veronica's challenges with making friends, overcoming the embarrassing antics of parents, and finding one's true self are equally well depicted. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will appreciate the respect Burns gives by allowing Veronica her journey from insurmountable grief to eventual recovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)