McCall Hoyle

I was so impressed with what a professional and sensitive job MCall Hoyle did in portraying a teen with epilepsy while keeping in mind that this was only one aspect of her life and she had all the other typical high school anxieties... does that cute boy like me... will people make fun of me if I am authentically myself? And it was really great that one theme running centrally throughout the book was that everyone, or nearly every character, had some sort of issue they were struggling with. show more Emilie at the start truly felt isolated, and that with the death of her father and the medical issue she faced, she had been dealt a hand worse than the rest, that all the other students surrounding her lived shallow and empty lives. It was rewarding to watch her character grow and realize that there was more to everyone around her than she had originally assumed.

I particularly loved the relationship between Emilie and Hitch, and also between Emilie and her mother. The second was flawed, and very painful to read at times, but so realistically portrayed. This novel was simply a delight to read.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author. show less

Loved the book. I am generally not a fan of when a dog narrates a book or we hear their thoughts, but only because it can easily go beyond the way I think a dog's thoughts should be. The way the thoughts of the dog in this book are done I think are the best I have ever read. All the excerpts I will add are examples of the narration from the dogs point of view.

The book opens with Stella having to be given up from yet another foster owner. Stella, a beagle, has PTSD from a traumatic experience show more when as a bomb sniffing dog, and her handler Connie was killed. Being returned for 3rd time to the shelter means she could be put to sleep. From an overheard comment, this is what Stella is thinking:

'And then Jake and Doc Collins wouldn't have to put me out of my misery. | know what that means too. | was in the hall when they put Sarge out of his misery after the accident in the snow last winter. It means they put you into a deep, deep sleep, and your dog smell changes. You’re just the outside of a dog, and you don’t wake up. Ever.'

Stella's PTSD is exacerbated by thunder and other factors:
'I miss the blankets in my bed at Connie’s. I was brave with Connie, but even brave dogs need to burrow in cozy blanket nests when thunder shakes the house or when angry voices hang in the air.'

Then Stella is taken in by a friend of Connie's and adopted by her daughter Chloe. I love how Stella describes Chloe:

'The scent swirling from her cupped little hand might be the loveliest smell of any human I’ve ever smelled. She eats cookies—that's for sure—and spends time in the green grass that carpets every inch of space around the house and the big brown animal building. And she smells like cardboard and paper. I know that smell—it’s books.
Books are good. I know a thing or two about them. One, don’t eat them. That’s as bad as squatting on the carpet. Two, very kind humans like to sit quietly with them for long periods of time. Connie certainly did anyway. She would study the pages inside, her eyes scanning back and forth, back and forth, as she spoke soothing words aloud to me.'

There are some great service dog themes in the book dealing with how dogs help with health issues and search & rescue. I got choked up a bit several times which indicates it's a good book. I also like how built into the story is a lot of good dog training advice. For all those reasons I am putting it in my shelf for 'dogs-favorite-books.'

Love it when a book takes a nice big turn, as reflected in this bit from Stella:

'All of a sudden, I realize I don't just want to be good anymore. I want to be brave again too—like I used to be with Connie.'

So great book I would recommend. I put it in my shelf for 'Youth' and I think it comes up as 'Middle School' but I think great for all ages. show less

Loved the book. I am generally not a fan of when a dog narrates a book or we hear their thoughts, but only because it can easily go beyond the way I think a dog's thoughts should be. The way the thoughts of the dog in this book are done I think are the best I have ever read. All the excerpts I will add are examples of the narration from the dogs point of view.

The book opens with Stella having to be given up from yet another foster owner. Stella, a beagle, has PTSD from a traumatic experience show more when as a bomb sniffing dog, and her handler Connie was killed. Being returned for 3rd time to the shelter means she could be put to sleep. From an overheard comment, this is what Stella is thinking:

'And then Jake and Doc Collins wouldn't have to put me out of my misery. | know what that means too. | was in the hall when they put Sarge out of his misery after the accident in the snow last winter. It means they put you into a deep, deep sleep, and your dog smell changes. You’re just the outside of a dog, and you don’t wake up. Ever.'

Stella's PTSD is exacerbated by thunder and other factors:
'I miss the blankets in my bed at Connie’s. I was brave with Connie, but even brave dogs need to burrow in cozy blanket nests when thunder shakes the house or when angry voices hang in the air.'

Then Stella is taken in by a friend of Connie's and adopted by her daughter Chloe. I love how Stella describes Chloe:

'The scent swirling from her cupped little hand might be the loveliest smell of any human I’ve ever smelled. She eats cookies—that's for sure—and spends time in the green grass that carpets every inch of space around the house and the big brown animal building. And she smells like cardboard and paper. I know that smell—it’s books.
Books are good. I know a thing or two about them. One, don’t eat them. That’s as bad as squatting on the carpet. Two, very kind humans like to sit quietly with them for long periods of time. Connie certainly did anyway. She would study the pages inside, her eyes scanning back and forth, back and forth, as she spoke soothing words aloud to me.'

There are some great service dog themes in the book dealing with how dogs help with health issues and search & rescue. I got choked up a bit several times which indicates it's a good book. I also like how built into the story is a lot of good dog training advice. For all those reasons I am putting it in my shelf for 'dogs-favorite-books.'

Love it when a book takes a nice big turn, as reflected in this bit from Stella:

'All of a sudden, I realize I don't just want to be good anymore. I want to be brave again too—like I used to be with Connie.'

So great book I would recommend. I put it in my shelf for 'Youth' and I think it comes up as 'Middle School' but I think great for all ages. show less

I love the way McCall Hoyle writes about characters with disabilities and serious medical issues. In “The Thing With Feathers” she chronicled the journey of a teen with a seizure disorder, and here, she writes about Sophie, whose family has been forever altered after an accident left her sister Mere with a traumatic brain injury (TBI.) Additionally, Finn’s life has also been changed by a serious medical event, and the way that their journeys intersect works really well together.

By show more extreme coincidence, this was being released just as a major hurricane was striking the Carolinas. I was impressed by the level of detail here in describing the disaster conditions, as well as the good pacing. A great mix of soft moments in between disaster!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less