A review by theartolater
Hound Dog True by Linda Urban
3.0
A Crooked Kind of Perfect remains an all-time favorite book of mine, in no small part of Linda Urban's ability to tap directly into the feelings and thoughts of the kids in her books. The great news is that it makes for a voice that is very rare in books for kids, but the downside is that, often, those books fall a little flat.
Hound Dog True is a short story about Maddie, who had been bullied at her old school but has a new school year coming up at a new school. She wants to be her uncle's apprentice, as her uncle is the school custodian, and the story follows Maddie as she works up to this.
It's a sweet story. It just...doesn't do much. It doesn't go very far, which might work for some readers but doesn't provide a ton of punch. The emotional hit that Perfect tossed me was nonexistent for me here, and while it's unfair to compare books like that, it's ultimately what I was looking for.
Hound Dog True is a short story about Maddie, who had been bullied at her old school but has a new school year coming up at a new school. She wants to be her uncle's apprentice, as her uncle is the school custodian, and the story follows Maddie as she works up to this.
It's a sweet story. It just...doesn't do much. It doesn't go very far, which might work for some readers but doesn't provide a ton of punch. The emotional hit that Perfect tossed me was nonexistent for me here, and while it's unfair to compare books like that, it's ultimately what I was looking for.