WAGGIT AGAIN

In this lovely sequel to Waggit’s Tale (2008), which introduced the irrepressible former stray, Howe delves deeper into the bond between humans and dogs and explores friendship, loyalty, courage and doing what’s right. At the outset, Waggit is chained on a farm, believing himself to have been inexplicably abandoned by his loving former owner. Escaping this peril, he meets Felicia, a bohemian woman who has the gift of understanding and communicating with dogs. Along the road back to his Central Park home, they encounter Lug, an abused, fearful pit bull. When they find Waggit’s original team of strays, he is heartily welcomed, and Felicia and Lug are warily accepted. All is not as it seems, though: Adventures ensue, and allegiances are tested. In the hands of a less-skilled writer, the magical realism of the dog-whispering Felicia might seem unnatural and maudlin at best; here, her relationship with the dogs is made wonderfully plausible. Waggit’s growth in self-understanding is also fully developed and well handled, and the ending will satisfy readers deeply. (Fantasy. 9-12)