Hotel for Dogs [Paperback]

Lois Duncan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1991

A charming story for dog lovers everywhere--and now a major motion picture!

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Believe it or not, I wrote HOTEL FOR DOGS in 1971.  The book came and went with little fan fare, because everyone wanted me to "stop playing around with books for younger readers" and get back to writing young adult suspense novels.

Then, one day, in 2008, when my film agent was out in Hollywood, marketing firm rights to those popular suspense novels, one of the producers at Dreamworks asked, "Are those by the same Lois Duncan who wrote HOTEL FOR DOGS, my favorite book when I was a little boy?"

The book was long out of print, and my agent had to phone me to find out.  I dimly remembered having written that book, but it had been so long ago that I'd forgotten what it was about and had to order a used copy on line to find out.

The rest is history.  HOTEL FOR DOGS became a big screen movie, and I got to go to Hollywood to watch part of the filming.  Hollywood makes everything more sensational, so my dog refuge, (which in the book was a deserted house), became a deserted hotel in the movie, and my original nine dogs became 60.  I even got to be an extra in the scene where the dog catchers rush in to capture the dogs!

Scholastic republished the book, and I continued on to take "Andi" and "Bruce" and their canine friends through further adventures in two sequels -- NEWS FOR DOGS and MOVIE FOR DOGS.
--Lois Duncan --This text refers to the Audible Audio Edition edition.

About the Author

LOIS DUNCAN is the author of fifty books, most of them for young people. Her suspense novels have received Young Readers Awards in sixteen states and three foreign countries. Lois lives with her husband, Don Arquette, in Sarasota, Florida. She can be contacted through her Web site at www.loisduncan. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Yearling (March 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440404355
• ISBN-13: 978-0440404354
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,000,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lois Duncan was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Sarasota, FL.
She knew from early childhood that she wanted to be a writer. She submitted her first story to a magazine at age 10 and became published at 13. Throughout her high school years she wrote regularly for young people's publications, particularly Seventeen.

As an adult, Lois moved to Albuquerque, NM, where she taught magazine writing for the Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico and continued to write for magazines. Over 300 of her articles and stories appeared in such publications as Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, McCall's, Good Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest, and for many years she was a contributing editor for Woman's Day.

Lois is the author of over 50 books, ranging from children's picture books to poetry to adult non-fiction, but is best known for her young adult suspense novels, which have received Young Readers Awards in 16 states and three foreign countries. In 1992, Lois was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award, presented by the School Library Journal and the ALA Young Adult Library Services Association for "a distinguished body of adolescent literature." In 2009, she received the Katharine Drexel Award, awarded by the Catholic Library Association "to recognize an outstanding contribution by an individual to the growth of high school and young adult librarianship and literature."

Six of her novels -- SUMMER OF FEAR, KILLING MR. GRIFFIN, GALLOWS HILL, RANSOM, DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU and STRANGER WITH MY FACE -- were made-for-TV movies. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and HOTEL FOR DOGS were box office hits.

Although young people are most familiar with Lois Duncan's fictional suspense novels, adults may know her best as the author of WHO KILLED MY DAUGHTER?, the true story of the murder of Kaitlyn Arquette, the youngest of Lois's five children. Kait's heartbreaking story has been featured on such TV shows as Unsolved Mysteries, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Sally Jessy Raphael and Inside Edition. A full account of the family's on-going personal investigation of this still unsolved homicide can be found on the Internet at http://kaitarquette.arquettes.com.

Lois Duncan's personal web page is at http://loisduncan.arquettes.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why Has The Original Version Changed?, February 2, 2009

By 

Stephanie Fitzgerald "stepanneg2" (Red Oak, Tx., USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hotel For Dogs (Mass Market Paperback)

I have a "Weekly Reader BookClub" version that I found at a garage sale about 25 years ago. It has been well-read and much loved over the years.

When I saw the current edition in a bookstore recently, I thought I would replace my worn copy. My reaction to the current edition was, "What have they done to this story?!" I realize the movie's release probably has something to do with the changes. For me, though, the name change from Liz to Andi, and Sadie's name change to Friday, ruins it. I will stick to reading the 1971 edition; I just finished reading it to my sons and they loved it, especially the illustrations by Leonard Shortall. As for how Hollywood butchered this wonderful story when they made it into a movie; well, better not go there except to say I won't waste my time or money! I'll re-read my good old book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware: Look for the original version if you can find it., June 9, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hotel For Dogs (Hardcover)

I must have read and reread this book 500 times as a child. I brought this back with me to the Netherlands after my father died, and on a whim picked it up to reread again now. (Which I how I discovered that I had actually inadvertently stolen my sister's copy-- sorry Sis!) Since there is a recent film about the book, it seemed timely to read.

Still a wonderful book-- at least if only for the nostalgia. Some good lessons in there about kindness to animals and bullying. I found that I remembered it nearly line-for-line.

Some surprises for me:

I didn't realize until picking this up again that the author was Lois Duncan-- whose work I knew mostly for her melodramatic YA novels. I would not have guessed that it had the same author as Daughters of Eve.

Second, buyer beware of the recent editions. Someone has inexplicably changed the text-- including pointlessly changing the characters names? Apparently this was to make the book fit the names used in the film. Badly played. Look for the original.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two paws up!, March 24, 2009

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hotel For Dogs (Mass Market Paperback)

Andi Walker isn't your typical ten-year-old. One, she'd rather spend the day holed up in her bedroom writing poetry than waste time playing outside. Two, her mind is constantly buzzing away with fantastic ideas and schemes. Three, she's dedicated to her dog Bebe, and would do anything for the lovable pooch. Which is why she completely blows her top when she learns that not only is she being forced to move in with her Aunt Alice, and change schools, but she'll have to leave little Bebe behind, as well - all so her father can try out a new job. Just because Bebe is back home, however, doesn't mean that Andi is going to deny her love of dogs. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Andi doesn't intentionally bring a dog back to Aunt Alice's house. She knows the rules that her parents have put in place - no dogs because Aunt Alice is allergic. Fine. But when a cute little stray follows Andi home one day, and promptly lets herself into the house Andi just knows that she can't simply turn the little pooch away. Especially not after she has a litter of puppies in one of the upstairs closets. No, it is up to Andi to protect the dog, and her family; so she enlists the help of her older brother Bruce. With Bruce by her side, Andi is able to set up a makeshift hotel for the stray in an abandoned house located right down the street. But then more and more guests begin to turn up. First there's Red Rover, an Irish Setter who is big, beautiful, and treated cruelly by his stuck-up owner. When he finally makes a break for it, Bruce and Andi are convinced that the only safe place for him is the new hotel for dogs. Then there's sweet MacTavish - a mutt who spends his days begging for scraps in the school playground. Before they know it, the house is overflowing with hungry dogs. It's an overwhelming predicament, but Andi is secretly thrilled. Finally she has found a fun way to spend her often lonely days - running a dog hotel. But then things begin to go awry and Andi wonders if she and Bruce will be able to keep the hotel for dogs a secret, or if they'll have to close its doors forever.

I read Lois Duncan's young adult books for years, and had no idea that she had ever written anything for children until I stumbled upon HOTEL FOR DOGS. I am so glad that I finally discovered this, because I have quickly grown to love it. Even as a reader in my early twenties, I have found that I was able to easily identify with the main character Andi. She is such a relatable person, whose kind heart, bookish nature, and oft-times tough exterior is fun from the first page to the very last. Anyone who loves animals will easily fall head over heels with HOTEL FOR DOGS. Two paws up!

Erika Sorocco

Freelance Reviewer

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