Puppy Love

Emerald Douglas’s Friday had been the day from Heck. First she overslept, and was late for a meeting, which made her boss livid. When she noticed the date, she realized that it was the first anniversary of her meeting Dale, her former fiancé – they’d broken up a few weeks ago because Dale thought they should “see other people.” When she got home, there was a notice of demolition on the front door of her apartment building, meaning that she needed to find a new apartment quickly. Then she heard whimpering from under the bushes at the front door, and found a very wet, very muddy little dog, with the remains of a collar but no tag. This is the story of how the little dog leads Emerald into the lives of Jason, the little boy who loves the dog, and his father Cody.

This is a very cute short story that illustrates the seemingly random chances and opportunities that make up our lives. Emerald is a truly nice woman who finds herself in a patch of trouble that many of us have experienced in our lives. There are certainly times when I’ve experienced the feeling that everything is coming down on me at once! By taking the time to care for others – i.e., by returning the dog to its owner and making a little boy very happy, Emerald finds her own happiness. The characters of Emerald and Jason are very well drawn, but the character of Cody is not very detailed. I think more could have been done with him, even in the short story format. This is a sweet novel, with nothing graphic in terms of love scenes. It is perfect for the reader who likes to exercise her imagination rather than have it spelled out. This book was a fun read to lighten a Saturday afternoon!

Reviewed by: Jean