Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe

How I Heard About It:  I remember hearing all about this middle-grade novel long before its release last winter.  The rave reviews came from many.  I had the opportunity to meet Victoria both at #NerdCampMI and #NCTE16.  She was such a delightful person.  This particular title was added to a recent 

What It Is About:  Life for Fenway is perfect.  He lives in the city with "Food Lady", "Fetch Man", and his very best friend Hattie.  Hattie is his human counterpart and they do everything together.  Fenway is loving life until a sudden change in the "pack" throws his life off and he isn't quite sure how to handle these changes.  The family has moved to the "burbs" and Fenway isn't use to this type of living and wants everything to remain the same as it was while living the city life.  The dog-park is a  heaven, but the nasty squirrels just might drive him crazy.  His new dog friends tell him he better be ready for Hattie to leave him behind because they know how this goes.  Fenway tells them there is no way this will happen between himself and Hattie.  Soon Hattie meets a new friend, spends time with her, and seems to be forgetting her little "furry" friend.  Fenway sets out to prove everyone wrong and show them that Hattie will always be his best friend.  

What I Thought Of It:  Any story that is told from the point of view of a dog, has me from page #one.    This was such a delightful story and so perfect for young middle-grade readers.  The voice was Fenway was full of energy, life, and personality.  Everyone should have a little friend like Fenway.  The addition of the other dogs, neighborhood animals, and human friends made for action-packed story that had me turning page after page.  I found myself saying to myself over and over, that I bet this is totally how a dog would feel during the different situations.  I appreciated the text layout, the length of the chapters, and the total number of pages.  So often novels for middle-grade are too long for many of my readers.  I look forward to reading the net installment of the Fenway and Hattie adventure.  

Who Should Read It:  As I just mentioned this is the perfect book for readers in third, fourth, and fifth graders.  So many of my readers are looking for shorter works of writing, but want to be reading chapter books.  I also think the story could make for an excellent read aloud in grades two through five.  As with many middle-grade stories, I know that adult readers will find as much enjoyment from this novel as I did.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars