Shelter: Lost & Found

"Shelter" by R.A. Conroy is the story about Peggy, a shy teen, running from a dark past. After helping the stray dog, Lucky, she finds herself among the eccentric members of Farroway's shelter. With the help of Terry, the patient, kind warden and his coworkers, allergy-ridden Betty, quarrelsome cat-lady Clara and animal cop Joe with a love for both animals and water pistols, Peggy learns her ways around the running of a shelter. There are good times and bad times, but over time she realises, that we can change the world, "one corner at a time", if we work together.

This book became an instant favourite of mine. The characters are a wonderful mix of crazy, kind, loveable persons and I love all of them. I felt their struggles and hopes, show more and cheered them on mentally. Peggy is a complex girl, with a past she is hiding so well, yet some of the observing people around her understand her better than she expects. The way she grows into her warden life is inspiring. She never gives up and is way stronger than she knows herself.
The other characters fit nicely into the tale. They all have their own, sometimes hard, past. But like Peggy, they will do everything in their power to take care of the shelter's abused and lost animals.
The way the characters interact is brilliant and often let me laugh out loud. This book is definitely not an easy read, it breaches abuse, both with children and animals, there's depression and fear. But the author still has a wonderful way of wrapping the subjects into a magical, often funny tale, which gives this book a rollercoaster feel. Nighmares come and go, but everyone struggles on and finds a certain kind of peace in their work.

The book has many wonderful illustrations by the author herself. I loved the illustrations, they are very well done and add something special to the story.

All in all, this book caught me off guard and flung me into a tale of lost animals, found family, pain, love and hope. I couldn't put it down and I know for certain that this story will stay with me. I will definitely buy the hardcover copy, because this is a story that is worth being in my, and everyone's, shelves.

I received a free ebook from Early Reviewers on LibraryThing for an honest review. show less

4.5 stars

It’s 1974. When Peggy moves to a city in New Jersey, fresh off a bus with only her suitcase, she comes across some boys tormenting a dog. She helps the dog by bringing him to a nearby shelter. She is convinced by the look of the dog that he has been abused and is horrified when she learns that the shelter staff know the dog (the owner calls him “Boy”, but the staff call him “Lucky”) and are legally required to return him, since abuse cannot be proven. After a short time, though, Peggy is offered a job with the shelter.

The shelter is very run down and as Peggy learns about what it takes to run an animal shelter, she helps with new ideas for raising some funds. The shelter currently cannot even afford to keep the heat show more running, and winter is coming. Their van could use help, too. Unfortunately, when the manager of the shelter has an accident and will be laid up for potentially a year, he puts Peggy in charge, and Peggy agrees, but is very unsure of herself. Not only that, a very rude vet has just started at the shelter as an intern, and he and Peggy aren’t seeing eye to eye.

No surprise (animals, especially rescue animals) – I really liked this! The focus wasn’t always on the animals, though. It showed a lot of what it takes to run a shelter, and it also showed the “holes” in the law for taking care of the animals in their care. Like Peggy, I was very emotional about much of it. There are definitely parts that hit the heartstrings, so have a Kleenex. At first, I didn’t like any of the staff – they all seemed crotchety. I only liked Peggy and Terry (the manager) – at least at the start. Terry was the only person who seemed nice to her and willing to train her (before his injury).

The book has some beautiful pencil illustrations, and I will add that even one of the illustrations had me briefly in tears! The author includes an author’s note about the laws at the time and she has worked in shelters and she knows about animal welfare. I did know most of what’s covered in the book, but I did learn a few things, as well. It’s just unfortunate that the animal welfare/cruelty laws really haven’t changed much. Last book of the year and one of my favourites! show less

I received an ecopy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

There was power in the words of this story. It relays the beginnings of Animal Services when they had little funding and often had to scrape by with nothing but the skill of the people who believed in the cause. It also related the relationship between animal abuse and child abuse.
It was a well-told and emotional tale that is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. I highly recommend everyone read this story.