Audience: Grades 5-8
My Rating: 5* of 5
Summary: Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.
Comments: When I finished "awwwwing" the cover, I decided I would never read this book. As a person sensitive to bad things happening to animals, I steer well clear of books like this. Buuuut...I cracked it open and accidentally fell in. This story about newly homeless Sugar and her puppy, Shush, is like a perfect glass of iced tea--sweet (but not saccharine), strong, and everything that feels right about the South. Spoiler to ease the minds of sensitive readers like me: Shush's abuse by a previous owner is briefly mentioned, but from then on he is safe and nothing but loved. His elderly dog friend does pass of old age during the story, but he lived a good life and was loved till the end.
Read-alikes: Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles; Ida B. by Katherine Hanningan
Awards: Texas Lone Star list 2013
Comments: When I finished "awwwwing" the cover, I decided I would never read this book. As a person sensitive to bad things happening to animals, I steer well clear of books like this. Buuuut...I cracked it open and accidentally fell in. This story about newly homeless Sugar and her puppy, Shush, is like a perfect glass of iced tea--sweet (but not saccharine), strong, and everything that feels right about the South. Spoiler to ease the minds of sensitive readers like me: Shush's abuse by a previous owner is briefly mentioned, but from then on he is safe and nothing but loved. His elderly dog friend does pass of old age during the story, but he lived a good life and was loved till the end.
Read-alikes: Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles; Ida B. by Katherine Hanningan
Awards: Texas Lone Star list 2013
