Homeless: Sunita (Wild at Heart, Book 2) (Paperback)

by Laurie Halse Anderson (Author) "I still think you need a cat, Sunita," Zoe tells me as we bounce along in the school bus..." (more)
Key Phrases: tuxedo cat, animal control officer, feral cats, Cat Land, Gary Snyder, Jamie Frazier

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-In contrast to the powerful and affecting YA novel Speak (Farrar, 1999), Anderson's entry in this animal-centered series reads like vapid, formulaic fiction. Sunita is one of a group of student volunteers at the Wild at Heart animal clinic. She has a special relationship with Socrates, the clinic cat, and badly wants a feline of her own. Her parents, of course, are dead set against it, and her chances seem even bleaker after a rabies scare and the discovery of a community of dangerous feral cats. Predictably, Sunita does eventually get her pet, but not before readers have slogged through a veritable primer on feline care and animal control. This story will likely satisfy only the most avid fans of animal fiction.
Ronni Krasnow, formerly at Arlington County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Infused with emotion and information. -- Children’s Literature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: American Girl (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584850450
• ISBN-13: 978-1584850458
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,017,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #51 in

  Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( A ) > Anderson, Laurie Halse

• This is item 2 in The Wild at Heart Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book to Explain Feral Cat Colonies, October 8, 2000

By A Customer

Brought to us by the same people who publish the American Girl Books Wild at Heart is a series about a group of pre-teens who volunteer at the Wild at Heart Veterinary Clinic and other books cover breaking up a puppy mill and the plight of manatees. Homeless addresses the issue of feral cats and in my opinion does it very well. While searching for the vets missing cat the kids happen upon a very large feral colony being fed by a couple of school age kids who use their allowance to buy cat food. The neighbors want Animal Control to take away all the ferals but the kids convince the vet to help and she introduces the community to "TVSR" which is an accronym I've never heard of but the author uses is for meaning "treat-vaccinate-spay-release"-most rescue groups use "TNR" for "Trap-Neuter-Return". With the exception of the use of the term "TVSR" the book very accurately explains how a feral cat colony gets there and addresses the issues of abandoned cats, raccoons being the main vector for rabies and the importance of responsible cat ownership. It is only 126 pages long and easy to read since it is written for pre-teens. This book would make a great addition to a shelter or rescue organizations library and sale table. It explains feral cat issues in the way of an interesting story.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homeless, March 28, 2002

A Kid's Review

I think this was one out of the series that was one of the most exciting books. It's about Maggie's friend, Sunita Patel. Sunita loves cats. She works as a vet volunteer at Dr. Mac's clinic. One day Sunita and her friends are walking home from school and they come across an open field with a ton of cats walking around. One of the cats are feral and hurt. They take him to Dr. Mac. The only trouble is, the two kids that were feeding the cats before Sunita got here is that their mother is raving mad about the kids being around feral cats. Sunita must persuade the kids mom that not all cats are bad. Will Sunita change her mind after she is bitten by one? Find out in Homeless.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homeless Book :2 Sunita, November 29, 2000

A Kid's Review

Homeless was a wonderful book. It had a very good example of Feral Cats. It was also very good at showing that an animal born in the wild should stay in the wild... free. I liked this book because I want to be a Vet when I grow up and I am very intersted in Vet Clinics and that is where most of the scenes take place. The book was very unpredictable and I could never put the book down. I felt like I just HAD to finish it. I thought Cat Land was a very interesting setting. I loved all the cats in the story. I liked all the characters alot. This book was truely amazing and seemed better then Harry Potter to me.