After their mother and dog die within months of each other, 10-year-old Rose and her brothers have to make adjustments when the time comes to get a new pet--and their father begins to date.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ten-year-old Rose Marlin mourns the death of her mother, who succumbed to cancer only months ago, and the subsequent death of the family's old dog Johnny intensifies Rose's misery. Although her father buys a puppy-another "blue heeler"-and names it Johnny, too, nothing is quite the same. And when Mr. Marlin starts dating Miss Welman, a local schoolteacher, Rose is shocked at his disloyalty. Muchmore's first novel is first-rate in its portrayal of a plucky yet vulnerable character; Rose conducts an involving, often-times comical narrative with aplomb, and her language reflects the Texas setting without overpowering the reader. Not all the characters are as well delineated, however. Rose's two brothers, ages 14 and 7, seem interchangeable at times, and very little is said of their mother, an omission that thwarts the impact of Rose's anguish and fury regarding Miss Welman. Nevertheless, the book, meaningful and lively, is a promising debut and likely to captivate its audience. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?Rose Marlin, 11, feels like she is the only one in her family who is grieving over the deaths of her mother and her family's aged dog. She is upset by the fact that they have acquired a new puppy so quickly; when her father begins to date, she feels her mother's memory has been betrayed and lashes out. Rose and her two brothers soon start to like their father's girlfriend and question him when he appears to be cooling off toward her. In the end, the couple gets back together, all are happy, and Rose has learned that it's okay to form new attachments while still cherishing memories of old ones. While this theme may be laudable, it is presented in an increasingly heavy-handed manner as the plot progresses. The father seems remarkably insensitive, and Rose's transformation lacks subtlety. She is a too-perfect reflection of how an adult might prefer a child to behave in the situation. The sometimes snappy, colloquial writing and parallel dog story do little to redeem this fair-to-middling effort.?Jacqueline Rose, Lake Oswego Public Library, OR
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book--,
This review is from: Johnny Rides Again (Paperback)
By the end of the year I will be a certified elementary school teacher, so I spend much of my free time reading children's literature. This book is one of the best I have read this year. It addresses a problem with which many children must, unfortunately, deal - adjusting to the death of a parent. This story is concise and realistic, without being overly sentimental. The narrator, Rosie, is not perfect, but she is likeable and believable. Ms. Muchmore chose to keep the number of characters to a minimum and to refrain from providing extensive detailed descriptions for those characters. She did, however, allow Rosie to give enough information for the reader to empathize with Rosie's feelings. The cover states that the book is for ages 8-12; I think ages 10+ would be more appropriate.
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