The Doggy Divas

Gr 5—7—Roxy is excited about starting seventh grade. She plans to rule Monroe Middle School with her best friend and co-queen bee, Liz Craft. Then, on the first day, Liz finds out that her crush, Matt Billings, kissed Roxy over the summer. Roxy is exiled from the popular clique and forced to befriend two girls whom she had previously bullied. Things begin to turn around for Roxy when a local dog walkers' strike gives her an idea to start her own business, Doggy Divas. With the help of her new friends Kim and Georgia, it becomes a huge success, but everything is threatened when Liz becomes a client and tries to ruin everything. This fluff-filled novel never gets off the ground. The story falls flat with unlikable characters who are never fully developed. Roxy doesn't go through enough of a transformation to be satisfying to readers and the friendship that develops between her and the girls she used to torment feels hasty and insincere. Brown's inclusion of the dogs' perspectives may charm some readers, but will come off as gimmicky to others. The rushed, too-neat ending will not leave kids scrambling for the sequel.—Rachael Myers, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY