Review of Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good
Posted: 14 May 2023, 12:57
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good" by Nancy LeBaron-Kiley.]
Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good is a collection of 15 animal-rescue stories told by Nancy LeBaron-Kiley, the dogcatcher of Peabody, Massachusetts. This is the second and last book of her dogcatcher tales. Although I have not read the first book of the series, the stories in this installation are self-contained.
I will admit I had trouble understanding the title. I got the gist of it but felt the urge to add words. One circumlocutory, southern-style alternative that repeatedly came to mind was Peabody Girl Done Gone and Done Dog-Gone Good. Actually, her choice is not so bad after all. After looking more closely at the cover, I believe the title may have been the heading of a newspaper article featuring the author. The comfortable stroll of LeBaron-Kiley and her dog reflects her respect for her canine companion and inherent authority in dealing with animals. The dog appears happy, healthy, and secure, and the author’s relaxed but alert body language is what one would expect from a seasoned animal control officer.
I most appreciated that the author stayed true to the topic. Each tale in this 60-page read introduced the problem the animals—or humans—faced, her approach to tackling the issue, and the resolution. I was often wrong in my expected outcome: pleasantly surprised that the animals survived or heartbroken that they succumbed to the abuse they had endured before the dogcatcher arrived. Besides rescuing dogs, the author responded to calls involving bats, horses, turtles, ferrets, and other creatures. I learned a few interesting facts along the way; for example, I did not know that ferrets changed colors with the change in seasons.
LeBaron-Kiley introduced the book by stating she would share the stories as if she were talking to the reader. She kept that promise. The stories were conversationally written, and I could imagine her sitting across from me in her living room or at a coffee shop as she told these incidents. I tried to conjure up my best Massachusetts dialect based on the people I have met from that state—she probably sounds nothing like the blend of accents echoing in my mind. There was a downside to the writing style, however, in that the storytelling contained implied dialog and subtle shifts in tense that are common in speech but require additional focus when reading a story told in the same voice. An example was the shift in tense within a sentence, as shown here: “I was walking down the hall, and here comes the Chief.” Other cases included long sentences that conveyed the action in the story but were hard to read and had punctuation errors primarily because of their length.
These minor issues resulted in the deduction of a star, but they did not affect my overall reading satisfaction. I rate Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend this absorbing set of stories to animal lovers and readers who enjoy following the adventures of a real-life heroine. The author is passionate about her work and does a doggone good job.
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Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good is a collection of 15 animal-rescue stories told by Nancy LeBaron-Kiley, the dogcatcher of Peabody, Massachusetts. This is the second and last book of her dogcatcher tales. Although I have not read the first book of the series, the stories in this installation are self-contained.
I will admit I had trouble understanding the title. I got the gist of it but felt the urge to add words. One circumlocutory, southern-style alternative that repeatedly came to mind was Peabody Girl Done Gone and Done Dog-Gone Good. Actually, her choice is not so bad after all. After looking more closely at the cover, I believe the title may have been the heading of a newspaper article featuring the author. The comfortable stroll of LeBaron-Kiley and her dog reflects her respect for her canine companion and inherent authority in dealing with animals. The dog appears happy, healthy, and secure, and the author’s relaxed but alert body language is what one would expect from a seasoned animal control officer.
I most appreciated that the author stayed true to the topic. Each tale in this 60-page read introduced the problem the animals—or humans—faced, her approach to tackling the issue, and the resolution. I was often wrong in my expected outcome: pleasantly surprised that the animals survived or heartbroken that they succumbed to the abuse they had endured before the dogcatcher arrived. Besides rescuing dogs, the author responded to calls involving bats, horses, turtles, ferrets, and other creatures. I learned a few interesting facts along the way; for example, I did not know that ferrets changed colors with the change in seasons.
LeBaron-Kiley introduced the book by stating she would share the stories as if she were talking to the reader. She kept that promise. The stories were conversationally written, and I could imagine her sitting across from me in her living room or at a coffee shop as she told these incidents. I tried to conjure up my best Massachusetts dialect based on the people I have met from that state—she probably sounds nothing like the blend of accents echoing in my mind. There was a downside to the writing style, however, in that the storytelling contained implied dialog and subtle shifts in tense that are common in speech but require additional focus when reading a story told in the same voice. An example was the shift in tense within a sentence, as shown here: “I was walking down the hall, and here comes the Chief.” Other cases included long sentences that conveyed the action in the story but were hard to read and had punctuation errors primarily because of their length.
These minor issues resulted in the deduction of a star, but they did not affect my overall reading satisfaction. I rate Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend this absorbing set of stories to animal lovers and readers who enjoy following the adventures of a real-life heroine. The author is passionate about her work and does a doggone good job.
******
Peabody Girl Dog-Gone Good
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The rescue stories in this book are both exciting and informative.
