Description
Book SynopsisLife on his family’s Central Oregon ranch is pretty good for shy, bookish Jasper, except for two problems. He longs for a dog of his own and he is a target for the school bully, Colton. For Jasper’s twelfth birthday he is allowed to choose a dog from the local shelter, and he feels an intense bond with Willie, an old dog whose blind eyes seem to see into Jasper’s heart. Jasper has faith in his new companion, Willie, even though he is nothing like Colton’s dog, the fastest agility racing dog in the county. At the County Fair that year, Colton’s little sister disappears from the fairgrounds as wildfires rage nearby. Will Jasper and Willie be able to help find the girl in time and prove Willie’s worth to the others?
Trade Review"Fleming unwinds her character-driven plot at a leisurely pace until its climax, when Jasper and Willie, who is blind, rescue the bully’s little sister from wildfire smoke. Jasper, his best friend Cassie, and even Willie come off the page as genuine, likable, and inspiring, while the bully and his family also prove to be multidimensional. There’s a lot to admire here in terms of the diversity of ethnicities and physical challenges; the depiction of relationships between friends, between enemies, and between family members; and the economy of narrative that keeps the book slender without slighting its story." --Booklist
