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How to Steal a Dog

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How to Steal a Dog
by Barbara O'Connor
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. 170 pgs. Chapter book.

Georgina Hayes is a desperate 12-year old. Her father recently abandoned her family, leaving them with only "three rolls of quarters and a mayonnaise jar full of wadded-up dollar bills". As a result Georgiana, her younger brother Toby and their mother evicted from their apartment and forced to live in their car. While her mother is working two jobs trying to get them back in an apartment, Georgina and Toby continue going to school and pretending that they still live in their apartment. Georgina is sick of not having a real house with a real shower and a real kitchen and a real bed. After seeing a reward poster for a lost dog, Georgina creates a grand plan to steal a dog in order to get reward money.

How to Steal a Dog portrays a young girl's struggle with choosing right from wrong. She learns how her actions affect those around her and how to deal with the consequences of her choices. I loved the words of wisdom a fellow homeless man told Georgina, "The trail you leave behind is more important than the path ahead". It was refreshing to read a book with a normal, believable character who learned a valuable lesson.

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