When Timothy Malt finds a stray dog outside his home in suburban London, he has no idea of the adventures in store for him. It all begins with a simple enough task: locate the dog's owners and conduct a canine reunion. According to his tag, the dog is named Grk and lives at an English address which turns out to be the Stanislavian Embassy. But when Tim and his family show up to return the dog, they stumble upon international turmoil as the ambassador and his family (who happen to be Grk's owners) have just been deported back to Stanislavia amidst a military coup.
Tim's parents are content to leave Grk at a local dog pound so that his owners can eventually catch up with him or he can be adopted by a new family. But Tim knows what can happen at the pound, and he also knows Grk is a special dog that no one would ever leave behind by choice. He's determined to find Grk's family, and his mission leads him on a solo international voyage full of danger and intrigue.
A Dog Called Grk is almost purely plot and reads much like an action movie. In fact, a web search on the title revealed an entry by the same name on IMDb. This book would be a great choice for a reader who likes to keep things moving without getting sidetracked by character development, setting descriptions, etc. Be aware that there is some violence, probably along the same lines as a book like Artemis Fowl.
Lori
This book might not have been the best choice for Ben and I to read together. It takes us a while to get through a book since our time for reading aloud is limited. I think he would have gulped this down in a few days if he was on his own. He seemed to like it more than me, but sometimes that's just part of sharing books with your child—taking pleasure from their enjoyment of the story. We laughed together quite a bit as we read, however, and that's always a sweet experience.
I didn't appreciate the author misusing God's name in this book, so I edited those parts on the fly as I read them to Ben. I wonder if that's more acceptable in books that are published in England. Regardless, it seemed like an unnecessary distraction.
Ben
This was a very fast-paced and good book. I especially liked how the author tied in references to typical dog behavior in the novel, adding hilarity to an otherwise action-packed story. This book also touches a bit on politics. I recommend this book to any fans of action.
Recent Comments