J. Wynn Rousuck

4.25 stars

I did not expect to cry. I picked this book because of the dogs on the cover. I grew up with a Boston Terrier, and it was neat to see a book with letters from a Boston, though Winslow is far more dignified than my Boston was. Please Write tackles hard topics like abandonment, alcoholism, and grief through letters between two dogs (Winslow and Zippy) and a friend of their owner's mother. It bothered me that Vivienne mostly addressed letters to Zippy and not to both dogs, though both show more would write to her. I did enjoy the progression of Zippy growing up over a few years, though I'm not sure why this book is set in the early 90s except that maybe letter writing was more common then? Anyway, it's a sweet and sad tale of doggy love.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review. show less

This audio book is presented in letters being written back and forth between two dogs and their human grandmother, Vivienne. Winslow is a very proper Boston Terrier and Zippy is the wild thing (Jack Russell Terrier Cross) that has suddenly appeared in his life in order to turn it upside down. Frank and Pamela are Winslow's and Zippy's humans and are going through some tough times in their marriage. Winslow is much more introspective and understands the trouble Pamela and Frank are having, show more where as Zippy is a crazy busy yippy fiery fur ball who is all puppy and doesn't quite get what's going on. Grandma Vivianne is always admonishing Zippy to listen to Winslow saying she could learn something from this intelligent older dog. But Zippy has a hard time listening, she is set on high vibration. It's a sweet story and I loved how the author let us see the humans through a dogs eyes and how funny their interpretation of what they saw could sometimes be. There is also some serious stuff that all the human characters go through. The dogs are always there to help their humans, just like in real life. You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy this touching story. Recommended. show less

Dogs correspond via letters with their grandmother, Vivienne, as their owner Pamela’s life is unraveling.

My interest in PLEASE WRITE was initially piqued when I saw the cover that had a Boston Terrier on it. Being a BT mom, I had to find out more about this book. The synopsis sounded really interesting and I enjoy epistolary formats. After reading though, I’m left thoroughly confused as to what to think and wondering if I greatly missed the point of what it was supposed to be. Winslow show more the Boston Terrier had a great voice in his letters but was barely included and when he did write to Vivienne, she mostly ignored him, instead focusing on corresponding with Zippy whose letters I found quite annoying to read, though I think that her learning to type was supposed to be funny. I felt so bad for Winslow but I don’t know if that was the intention. In the end, it seemed like I spent most of the time trying to figure out if I was reading too much into things or not enough, so my enjoyment suffered overall. The last couple of lines did make me tear up.
I listened to an audio copy in addition to reading a digital copy. The narration was well done.

Thank you to Bancroft Press and NetGalley for the DRC and ALC. show less

I needed a break from the dark books that I love so much and Please Write was the perfect book. I know how smart dogs are so it was easy for me to buy into the letter writing between. Winslow and Zippy. I found it cute and entertaining.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen and voluntarily review this book.