A Home for Goddesses and Dogs (2020)

by Leslie Connor

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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: A unique masterpiece about loss, love, and the world's best bad dog, from award winner Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. This novel sings about loss and love and finding joy in new friendships and a loving family, along with the world's best bad dog. An uplifting middle grade novel about recovery featuring strong female characters, an adorable dog, and the girl who comes to love him. It's a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother's death. Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming�??and a little quirky. Lydia's struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl's arrival. Wasn't one rescue enough? Lydia is not a dog person�??and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past. Meanwhile, Lydia doesn't want to be difficult�??and she does not mean to keep secrets�??but there are things she's not telling... Like why the box of "paper stuff" she keeps under her bed is so important... And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger... And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past�??but at what cost? * Junior Library Guild Selecti… (more)

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Lydia is a quiet person who was really close with her mom, and knew that when her mom died from her heart condition, she would go live with her Aunt Brat and her aunt's wife. What she doesn't know is that her aunts will bring home a big, fluffy, problem dog that pees in the house, acts skittish, and is a huge pain just a week after Lydia's mom dies. This book is full of snowy mornings, endearing animals with big personalities, and farm life - both the charm and the bleak truths of it. Perfect for fans of realistic fiction and dogs. (

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kamlibrarian | Dec 23, 2022 |

This was a really nice book -- what a word, nice. What I mean is that I kept wanting to come back to it, to listen some more, to spend time with the characters some more. The audio book reader was delightful, the characters are really great -- from Elieen's braying laugh to Elloroy's anticipation of death, to Aunt Brat's calm and sometimes clinically rational responses on all occasions. Lydia's extraordinary bond with her mother is almost its own character, and Lydia, of course, is a really endearing, dry, buttoned-up girl, with private snarky thoughts and a remarkable resilience. And then there are the dogs. Funny how dogs creep into our lives whether they are invited or not, or whether we enthusiastically welcome them or not. This is a good dog story. A good goat story. A great art story, and a really excellent story about grief and love and found family. *spoiler* the main lgbtq contribution is Aunt Brat and Eileen's relationship. (

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jennybeast | Apr 14, 2022 |

Lydia at the age of 13, has faced many hardships in her life. From her mother become very ill when she was young, to her father leaving them when she was six because he couldn’t handle the stress of her illness. When her mother passed away, Lydia found herself orphaned. She went to live in rural Connecticut with her Aunt Brat and her wife Eileen. Within the first few days of her arrival, her aunts adopt a dog. Lydia, who is not a dog person, quickly grows tired of this dog's shenanigans. Later in the story, we are introduced to a few types of animal cruelty, which is not for the faint of heart. I liked the idea of creating goddesses to help you along your journey.
Lydia struggles with her dad’s abandonment and her mother’s death. Learning how to adjust to her new life and trust her new family. Lydia is resilient and you can draw parallels between the adopted dog's life and Lydia's. Don’t be fooled by this cute cover this book pulls at your heartstrings, crying one minute then laughing at Eileen and Lydia’s humor.
Themes in this title include – abandonment, adoption, animal cruelty, new school navigation, mean neighbors, learning from your mistakes, and second chances.
Recommended for 5th grade and up. (

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SWONclear | Jun 23, 2021 |

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ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection – 2021)

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Nerdy Book Award (Middle Grade Fiction – 2020)

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2020

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Chelmsford, New York, USA

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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML:

A unique masterpiece about loss, love, and the world's best bad dog, from award winner Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle.

This novel sings about loss and love and finding joy in new friendships and a loving family, along with the world's best bad dog. An uplifting middle grade novel about recovery featuring strong female characters, an adorable dog, and the girl who comes to love him.

It's a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother's death.

Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming�??and a little quirky. Lydia's struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl's arrival.

Wasn't one rescue enough?

Lydia is not a dog person�??and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past.

Meanwhile, Lydia doesn't want to be difficult�??and she does not mean to keep secrets�??but there are things she's not telling...

Like why the box of "paper stuff" she keeps under her bed is so important...

And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger...

And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past�??but at what cost?

* Junior Library Guild Selecti

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