Puppy Love

Description

A sweetly humorous middle grade novel packed with action, basketball, and a dash of magical realism about friendship and family, first crushes, and belonging, from acclaimed author Gary Soto. Thirteen-year-old Jordan Mendoza has a huge crush on his classmate, Sierra, but he's never going to win her affections if he stays a C student and keeps embarrassing himself on the basketball court. And it doesn't help that his best friend, Antonio, likes to tease him about it all a little too much. But when Jordan dives into the waters of a dangerous irrigation canal to save a drowning puppy, he's suddenly got even more on his mind than kissing Sierra and making the starting team. Can he nurse the abandoned puppy back to health (and will his parents let him keep her) Who threw her into the canal-and is it possible that there are more puppies needing rescue And why are the cops suddenly at Jordan's door, looking for him There's something for every reader in this story's mix of humor, sports, themes of thrilling independence, subtle strands of magical realism, and timely social commentary, all held together by a sweet and satisfying emotional core.

Gary Soto is a distinguished poet and author of numerous books for adults and children. His work has garnered many honors and awards, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Soto lives with his family in Berkeley, CA.

(Partly Cloudy) "Accessible and believable . . . readers are bound to find the right words when they need them." -- Horn Book Magazine (Accidental Love) "With humor and insight, [Soto] creates memorable, likable characters." -- Booklist (Facts of Life) "Soto writes with humor, wit, and a voice that will appeal to tweens." -- School Library Journal (Facts of Life) "[Soto's] greatest gift to readers may be the attention he focuses on meaningful lives, experiences, and occasional injustices that might otherwise go unobserved." -- Booklist (Have Mercy on These Teenage Chimps) "[A] lighthearted, off-beat slice of life . . . Breezy and entertaining." -- Kirkus Reviews (The Afterlife) "Soto has remade Our Town into Fresno, California, and he . . . paints the scenery brilliantly." -- Booklist (starred review)