Official Review: Cassie's Hope by Sue Lloyd

[e-tasana-williams]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cassie's Hope" by Sue Lloyd.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Are you looking for a heartwarming read? Do you love animals? Then Cassie's Hope is the book for you. In this young adult novel, award-winning author Sue Lloyd tells the endearing tale of Cassie Larimer and a dog named Hope. Cassie is a 14-year-old girl with leukemia. Hope is a research beagle being used to test a chemotherapy drug. When Cassie learns of Hope via a 5-minute human interest segment on television, she is determined to rescue the dog and bring her home. The story describes the supernatural effect Hope has on everyone with whom she comes into contact, most of all Cassie. As the story progresses, Hope becomes symbolic of the hopes the characters in the book have for different things in their lives: hope for new love, better health, and promises kept.

I love this story. It is well written and captivating. Once you start reading Cassie's Hope you will not want to put it down. One thing I like about this story is that Lloyd includes romance and she keeps the intimate scenes tastefully scripted. They are rated PG. This is a young adult novel, and the author keeps it romantic without being explicit. I would feel comfortable letting my preteen read it.

Another high point of the book for me is the focus on Cassie's family. Lloyd does an excellent job of presenting a realistic picture of day-to-day family life as it is affected by one parent's absence and a child's illness.

One thing I would change about the novel is some of the word choice. Although the story is set in Washington, DC and Delaware, a British voice comes through in some of the characters' speech. When Herb wants to see Alice, he invites her for "coffee and biscuits" instead of coffee and cookies. When Cassie receives a new necklace, she exclaims that it is "lovely", which is not a typical word choice for an American teenager. When arrangements have been made, one of the characters states, "That's sorted then". Lloyd uses authentic American speech in the majority of the story, but another read through would ensure a more consistent voice throughout.

People who love the human-animal connection will enjoy reading this book. Readers who do not like animals, or prefer action-packed stories may not enjoy this novel. Cassie's Hope is a sweet story about family, friendship, loyalty, determination, and yes, hope. If half points were admissible, I would give this book 3.5/4 stars. Because of the editorial oversights I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Kudos to Sue Lloyd for a thoroughly engaging tale!

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Cassie's Hope
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[Kourtney Bradley]

This sounds like such a sweet and uplifting read. Nicely reviewed as well!

[bookowlie]

Great review! You made a really good point about the word choices being odd for American characters. I guess the author is British?

[e-tasana-williams]

Thank you for the responses. ..I really enjoyed this one.

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a very interesting, inspiring and hopeful book. Seems like something I would enjoy myself. Great job on the review.

[e-tasana-williams]

Thank you! I hope you get a chance to read this one, and enjoy it as much as I did.

[drb5897]

Your review makes me want to run (click) to get a copy. Very well written review!

[e-tasana-williams]

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[AuthoressofMystery]

Oddly, my family uses such terms as "lovely", "sorted" and even biscuits instead of cookies and we aren't English. Though our family immigrated from England several generations ago, our "accent" as most people call it sticks with us. Maybe it's just the way her family speaks. Regardless, thank you for the great review! Your presented the book in a way that would help the prospective reader make an educated decision.

[e-tasana-williams]

Oddly, my family uses such terms as "lovely", "sorted" and even biscuits instead of cookies and we aren't English. Though our family immigrated from England several generations ago, our "accent" as most people call it sticks with us. Maybe it's just the way her family speaks. Regardless, thank you for the great review! Your presented the book in a way that would help the prospective reader make an educated decision.

Very interesting! That could be true, I didn't really consider that a possibility. Thank you for a new perspective!