"Amazing Gracie" by Dan Dye

Fans of Marley and Me by John Grogan will love the tale of Gracie Dane, a partially blind albino "underdog" saved by thirty-something slacker Dan Dye. Gracie had been cast off by her littermates, her mother, and her breeder, and Dan discovered her the day before she was scheduled to be put down. From there emerges a love story between man and dog: Gracie, always awkward with a big heart (and not only because she's a Great Dane) and Dan, who had recently suffered the loss of the dog he'd been grown up with. Gracie is not an easy puppy--she goes to great lengths to have romantic rendevouzes with the uptight neighbor's Boston Terrier, and she refuses to eat anything but Dan's homemade dog cookies. She terrorizes the house on her first night home (causing the police to be called, because she was mistaken for a burglar). Her hijinks are endearing and familiar to anyone who's ever owned a dog. But truly, this is a story of Gracie's legacy--how she shaped Dan's life (and even his career). Any dog lover will laugh and cry, and read it over and over.

Beth gives it three out of five carrots!

Paperback, 10.95
Click here to buy this book at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!

"Alive" by Piers Paul Read

Some of you may remember the tragedy of the Fairchild plane crash in the 1970's. My father sure did, and when he told me that he remembered loving this book in his youth, I had to see what my usually book-averse father "devoured". What I found was a surprisingly atypical survivor story: yes, it did have drama, yes, it did fulfill that morbid curiosity about what surviving in the worst conditions entails. The plane crashed in the middle of the Andes Mountains, harsh and nearly unsurvivable conditions. Aboard was a Rugby team from Uruguay, rich, spoiled kids who suddenly have to fend for themselves. Probably the best part of this book was how surprisingly well-written it was--not at all like those somewhat guilty pleasure reads about horrifying events, Read is a very talented writer who uses his gift to tell the story in an empathetic, yet truthful, way.

Beth gives it four out of five carrots!

Paperback, 7.99

Click here to buy this book at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!