Giv: The Story of a Dog and America is a story that starts out about a dog that has survived starvation, beatings and most of all, being without love. " This is a great soul fallen on hard times."
He is wandering, lost. Where did he come from? Whats his story?

Anna is lonely. Lost her loved ones in a horrible auto. accident. She misses her husband and her dog that her husband had surprised her with one birthday. Living alone with her dog Angel, she senses something outside, she smells him. Going to the window, she see's him. He's leary of her and she puts out her hand to him. This begins her family, Angel and Giv. "Giv and Angel, Angel and Giv", they are inseparable and soon Giv is a daddy. But poor Giv, he has a tumor and its his time to go. Anna calls the puppy Giv.
This is where Giv's life starts.

The story is beautifully, poetically written.
" You are not alone old one, for heaven is here in the great trees you lie beneath, and in the named rocks around you, and the earth that will cover your bones. Soon, you will receive thy bounty."
Giv Jr. is stolen from Anna and the rest of the story is about bravery, compassion and love.
The end brings tears of sadness and joy.

"See the Dog. He is being drenched with rain as he tries to pull himself free using the doors as braces. Like the butterflyl out of the cocoon, the bird out of the egg, the child from the womb-yet what he is trying to free himself of is a greedy human dream exacted by man to whom heartbreak is less than pocket change."

Highly recommend this book. ( )

A wonderful story about a dog helping people find meaning in their lives. The book chromicles the journey of a dog through different owners across America. Provides a look at dog not just as a pet but more of as a partner with man. Giv is a touching story that will stay with the reader long after the last page is read. A book I will gladly recommend to everyone I know. ( )

I love this novel. I'm not sure if I love it because I had no expectations or what, but what a beautiful book. Beware: If you are the type that might tear up while reading a book, this is one of those books. The idea behind the story is based on events in the author's life. You can read his idea for the book here.

The story follows the life of a dog named Giv. The book is composed as the story of Giv's life written by one of Giv's many owners, Sergeant Dean Hickok. From Giv's birth, by chance, fate, or luck, he gets passed on from person to person, from experience to experience. The blurb from the press release by Americans Speak says "The Forrest Gump of dog books." I'm not sure about all that, but boy does Giv go through some stuff. He's in Dallas with some struggling musicians checking out the book depository, he's there through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and he's there for an Iraqi war vetran.

While the book is about a dog named Giv, it's also about the people he meets. Memorable characters. Heart-wrenching characters. It's about the free-will, undying spirit of man and man's best friend. I loved how the idea of the act of rebellion, not always a bad thing, was a piviotal aspect of the book and the character of Giv. Boston Teran wrote rebellion as "the power to choose freely who one will or will not be". I like that. As he points out, America was founded by rebels and there's a little bit of rebel in us all.

I find it hard to write about this book and not sound cheesy or blubbery...but I can't help it. I really loved it. I was really surprised how much I liked it. It's not a book I would have picked up on my own but I am so glad I was sent it. ( )

My name is Dean Hickok. Sergeant, late of the U.S. Marines. I authored this work, though I did not create its people nor their stories. These, you will come to find, I inherited.

"Pain must be shared if it is to be purged from the soul. And to do that, people must live out in the open where others can find them. But in order to be found, one must have faith they can be found, and believe they are worth finding" pg.151*

Giv tells the story of Dean Hickok and his path across America to help a stray dog. The dog's name is Giv.

Giv's story weaves a pattern across many miles, while touching many lives along the way. It's a heartwarming tale of a dog who was loved by many and gave unconditional love in return.

I can't really say much more about the book...I don't want to spoil it for others. Just know that this is a book worth reading. It touched my heart like no other book I have ever read.

"There are some dogs that touch you in ways you cannot explain. They seem to go to the primal forest and ancient well of the invisible beyond the visible within you. And once that place is touched, time seems to fall immensely around your heart for the months or years you're granted their presence." pg 31* ( )

Boston Teran is an award winning author and this is his sixth book. Giv: The Story of a Dog and America opens with a prologue written in first person by the character who is going to tell the story. He informs his readers, "I would like you to know, here and now, this story does not unfold in the traditional way. What it does, in essence, is follow a dog known as Giv on his journey across the America of 9/11 and Katrina and Iraq... "(p. 4) This quote is a pretty good summary of the book. The protagonist Giv is a dog who has amazing adventures and endures all kinds of abuse and deprivation. Offspring of a dog with a mysterious past, Giv knows security and love in his first home but gets stolen and subsequently ends up with various owners - some who love him and some who do not. Giv's will to survive, his capacity for faithful love and his selfless courage enable some of the broken-spirited human characters in the novel to experience redemption from their pasts. These people have been devastated by loss from 9/11, war, murder, Katrina and other life-altering events.

Boston Teran has threaded the tale of Giv's travels with many insightful reflections about American people in various difficult circumstances. He not only portrays the low points in the lives of his characters, but also some emotional highs. Characters fall in love, find creative inspiration, and connect with their future purpose. The amazing qualities found within Giv and other characters reflect the spirit of contemporary America. The story contains mystery, introspective reflection, and plenty of drama. It touches upon the most tragic national events faced by Americans of this generation. Boston Teran's novel evidences great sympathy toward those who have experiences these losses first hand and it also expresses hope and faith in America's ability to endure.

I really enjoyed this book. I fell in love with its lyrical writing style from the first page. The writing is smooth, poetic and rhythmic. The story develops systematically and the ending is very climactic and satisfying. The characters seem very realistic and the setting encompasses many different parts of America to create an interesting mosaic of images. The novel's structure works well to reveal the story in segments that are sometimes puzzling, but all make sense by the end. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Giv: The Story of a Dog and America because I am not a dog person and have not previously read any novels about dogs (at least that I can remember). ( )