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Recommended Ages: Gr. 6-8

Plot Summary: Nicky isn't happy that his mom made him move to Charlestown. He's even more annoyed that she brought home Reggie from the pound. He's expecting her to take care of Reggie, but when she doesn't take him out or buy him food, Nicky starts to do that, just until she can do it herself. On one of their walks, Reggie, a former-seeing eye dog, leads Nicky to all of his old favorite places to go. Nicky meets some guys at the park who know Reggie, and they guys ask how Alf is doing. Nicky lies and says that he and his mom are staying with Alf while he recovers from a broken ankle. Nicky tells the same story to Mrs. Strazzulo, who offers Nicky bones and meat, when Reggie leads Nicky to his old neighborhood. Nicky becomes attached to Reggie and wants to solve the mystery of why Reggie flinches when someone raises a hand and why Reggie was at the pound instead of with Alf. He continues to lie and pretend he is Alf's grandson, but how long until everyone figures out the truth? And why is Nicky's mom trying to keep his dad away from him? Why does he only call her at work?

Setting: Charlestown (a little rougher - Townies are the tough white kids, popular kids are bullies), suburb/neighborhood of Boston, from Littleton (nice houses with yards, popular kids had money)

Characters:
Nicky Flynn - likes to solve mysteries, likes Dr. Ice from a comic, always thinking about what to pack, including a swiss army knife and cards
Mom - works for Ambulance Chasers, frequently drinking wine, doesn't make enough money for a better place and is worried about getting her security deposit back but Reggie pees and Nicky gets spaghetti on the rug right away
Reggie - German Shepard, has a bad hip, is very protective, flinches when someone raises a hand at someone he likes, very smart, can lead Nicky around the city no problem
Marky - Nicky's best friend from Littleton
Rita de la Cruz - first kid to introduce herself to Nicky, very forward, real Spanish accent, saves Nicky from some bullies, a little bit of a loner, calls Nicky "brownie" for being so good at school
Alf Santorello - old, cranky blind man who was the previous owner of Reggie, keeps his house a mess, moves, house is for sale
Sal, Mickey, and Floyd - old guys, friends with Sal from the Veterans
Timmy Burns - bullied Nicky at school, laughs at Nicky when Nicky drops and spills a huge bag of dog food, he and his dad pick up Nicky when he's running away and he is nice, open, and helps Nicky
Mrs. Strazzulo - runs a butcher shop in Alf's neighborhood
Lori - girl who walks into dad's place with groceries, a real babe according to Nicky, knows about Nicky and seems genuinely happy to meet him, dad's new secretary
Jenny - a gardener living in Alf's neighborhood, loves dogs but is afraid to pet Reggie because Alf told her not to
Dad - has a temper, works crazy long hours, got mad at his wife for spending so much money on silly things and the big last fight was about a $12 jar of mustard

Recurring Themes: divorce, new school, friendship, family, dogs, blindness, mystery, Freedom Trail

Controversial Issues:
Mom drinks wine frequently but at the end of the book decides she needs to stop
pg 46 "my crappy middle school"
pg 84 "there'll be hell to pay"
pg 110 "big-ass bag of dog food....got a big-ass dog"
pg 119 "please lock that damn dog in the kitchen"
pg 123 "damn dog is driving a wedge between us"
pg 135 crap...double-crap
pg 145 "what the hell could I have been thinking?"
pg 198 "big-ass SUV"
pg 219 "Oh crap! Crap, crap, crap!"
pg 224 "go to hell"
pg 226 "work my ass off"

Personal Thoughts: Eh, it was ok. I think the lie went on for way too long. How did none of those people call Alf is they were all friends with him? I guess I didn't get wrapped up in Nicky's character or problem. It was obvious his dad didn't want to talk to him and his mom was trying to protect him by not telling him that. Why did Nicky's mom get Reggie if she didn't plan to keep him and only bought one can of dog food at a time? And especially if they have no money? Was she that much of an alcoholic?

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium, not very suspenseful but there is some action
Characters: decently developed
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

cute middle grade book, more depth than it seems at first. also I now want a dog. ( )