Review of The Life of Rex

[nini_reads]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Life of Rex" by Rex Makemson.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Life of Rex is a unique story about a special dog. The book, told from Rex’s perspective, begins with his birth and follows his happy life with the Richardsons, a lovely family consisting of Missy, Charlie, Mom, and Dad. After being adopted as a puppy by the Richardsons, Rex has to get accustomed to the unfamiliar people and his new surroundings. With time, a special bond forms between Rex and his new family. He grows to love them unconditionally. They bring him to new places, puppy socialization events, and dog training courses. His happy life takes a sad turn when Mrs. Richardson is diagnosed with cancer. Throughout her treatments, Rex’s calm presence brings a lot of comfort to the family. After realizing how helpful Rex could be with his comforting personality, the Richardsons enroll him in Therapy Dog training. Accompanied by Missy, Rex visits hospitals, care homes, and schools – and brings an unlimited amount of confidence, comfort, and happiness to people who need it the most.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Life of Rex. The author, Rex Makemson, wrote a unique book that educates and evokes emotions at the same time. Instead of explaining dry theories about dog behavior and training methods, Makemson has taken on the role of a dog and tells the story of growing up with a human family from a perspective on four paws. Makemson beautifully describes Rex’s feelings for his family and especially the bond he shares with Missy. Following Rex’s happy life while reading, I could feel the love Rex had for his family, his joy when he helped people, and the curiosity he had in unfamiliar surroundings. This way of writing also makes it easier to understand why dogs react the way they do in certain situations. Feelings such as confusion, uncertainty, and the eagerness to explore make more sense when told from a canine perspective. Additionally, the book contains informative inserts about communication, the importance of body language when interacting with dogs, and training in general. The explanations about typical behavior, exercising with positive reinforcements, and therapy dog training show how much experience the author has as a dog trainer and behaviorist.

Overall, the book is well-written and specifically so in a way that allows the reader to empathize. I spotted only one unintentional grammatical error. Aside from that though, a few minor aspects in this book make it look like it was not perfectly edited. Rex’s inner monologue sometimes contains random switches between his unique way of spelling certain words like “hooman”, “Shaarly”, and “Daard” and their correct spelling used in the explanatory sections. Also, the chapter including the vacation in Cornwall confused me a little. The writing seems to suggest that this is Rex’s first experience of the beach and the sea, even though the family had already taken Rex to the beach a few chapters earlier. It seemed to me like the author forgot he already included those experiences in a prior chapter and did not reread his finished work.

To conclude, I rate The Life of Rex with 4 out of 5 stars. Aside from some minor contextual issues Makemson created a beautiful, emotional, and educational book following the life of a therapy dog. I would recommend The Life of Rex to anyone, especially new dog owners since it offers readers a better understanding of dogs, their behavior, and special training. The book doesn’t contain profanities or explicit content, so it is also suitable for parents looking for an informative story to read with younger children.

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The Life of Rex
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[Shaniz Tobiaz]

I am planning of buying a dog in future, i believe this well suite me.

[Umesh Bhatt]

This appears an interesting book. A trained dog is an asset especially for the patients and elderly people.
Thanks for the exhaustive review.