A little too predictable, but McClintock is a frequent contributor to the high interest/low level genre, so that is to be expected. The characters started to annoy me after a while as they were somewhat one-dimensional. All this aside, I feel that middle school mystery lovers would definitely like it. ( )

Man, I still have a crush on Nick, despite everything he's done, the decisions he's made, and the stuff he's put Robyn through. He was my original bad boy crush. Nick aside, I love how real these books are. They are gritty and not nice sometimes, but they don't feel like a fictional story. I fully believe these kinds of plots can happen in real life. Also what I like is that they are generic Canadian - I have no idea where they are located, but I know they are not located in America because no American author would mention Alberta as a place that Nick would run off to (that is not in this book, but this has turned into a review of the series in general). That alone makes me love them even more. Nothing turns out the way you want it to in these books, and they're great examples at exhibiting the "your fave is problematic" trope. And the growth the characters go through is actually pretty amazing and believable. ( )

On a so called protest against animal testing for various products, Robyn Hunter ends up in jail. Her mom, the attorney, gets her released with the promise she will do volunteer work at a local animal shelter. Of course, this arrangement is better than jail except Robyn has a phobia of dogs. Especially since she was attacked by a German shepherd when she was eight years old. The good thing out of all of this is her obsession, or fear of dogs, has resulted in her knowing lots of facts about them. Upon her arrival at the animal shelter Robyn has an expected encounter with a large dog. But to her surprise she is saved from a potential attack by the dogs trainer. Nick D'Angelo, the trainer, is a familiar face from Robyn's past. Hopeful he doesn't recognize her, Robyn shakes off her fear and resumes her mission to work at the shelter and do her time as a member of the fund raising committee. Robyn is not alone in her mandatory volunteering, the boys from RAD (Rehabilitate A Dog) are here too. Most of them are here instead of participating in a court mandated anger management counseling session. Her past with Nick isn't a good one. He had gotten into some trouble and Robyn had been the one who turned him in. She is learning, with her lunch time conversations with Nick, that perhaps he has changed and is working towards the good. He really loves working with the dogs and he is good at it. Although he still seems to have some issues with anger, he seems to be happy working with the dogs. His goal is to someday be able to adopt Orion, the bad dog from Robyn's first encounter at the shelter. Robyn's new image of Nick soon becomes shaded with doubts when she learns that he has been implicated in a hit and run incident while driving a stolen car. Robyn decides to find out more about the sudden change in Nick and make an effort to help him out of a very bad situation. McClintock has created a story full of emotional twists and turns. Readers quickly become engaged with the characters and the paths they choose to follow along with the constant element of danger. Readers who are animal lovers will find this story interesting and touching. McClintock teaches readers that everyone deserves a second chance and that enemies can become friends. It is recommended that children older than 10 years should read this book with the permission of their parents. ( )

I’m a firm believer in getting shelter dogs as companions, so when I saw the book cover for Last Chance by Norah McClintock, it really touched me. Ms. McClintock is a five-time winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel, so I knew she had to have some definite writing chops. And she does. Last Chance is Book #1 in the YA Robyn Hunter Mystery series. It’s a story about preconceptions, something we’re all guilty of, and second chances, something every creature deserves. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3594 ( )

Full review:

http://readingthroughlife.ca/last-chance-review/

Short excerpt:

There was one thing that I didn’t like: at the beginning of You Can Run, Robyn basically states that she and Nick are sort of in a relationship, but at the end of Last Chance, they have just started to speak to each other in a civil and positive way. I really wish there wasn’t that big of a gap between the timelines, especially as it regards the development of their relationship, something that is rather important in You Can Run.