This was good! I enjoyed it. I liked the magical realism aspect of things. I don’t LOVE books about basketball, but this was fine. It did a great job of exemplifying what it’s like to have your first crush and believe it’s love. And PUPPIES.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

The multiple ways the novel played with the concept of puppy love throughout the novel brought me joy. I love the friendship between Jordan and Antonio. I love the inclusion of Spanish within the novel. I love how cringe worthy some passages were and real life accurate this novel was in parts: especially Jordan's parents' response to his puppy love crush on Sierra. Of course, the saving of 3 puppies brought me endless joy. I could gush on all the joy this novel brought me: the supportive parents, the rise and fall of fame in MS, the endless snacks that middle schoolers consume, how I could see this story playing out at my own school the entire time I read it. 
This novel is wonderfully accurate to the 7th grade experience. 

If I taught this in class, I would have students trace the hero's journey. We would reread the poem "Rumors" within the novel and analyze it. I would pair this a research project into dreams (whether or not they can predict events or IF they are your subconscious trying to solve issues/member stuff, etc.)

I think I smiled this entire novel: puppies, crushes, basketball, funny parents, food obsessed best friend, an investigation, dreams... all amazing things to put together.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

One of the puppies dies and the kid has to bury it. I’m out. This should be a content/trigger warning for every book that has animal death in it.

I love Gary Soto and was happy to see this rep, too, especially in a MGish new book.

But this one from my humble opinion needs some intensive editing.

Scenes were a bit jumbled, characters didn’t have much depth (Antonio was fun, though!), and more than anything I can’t picture a student I would hand this to… that’s normally very easy for me to think about with a book but this one felt confused for who it’s reader/audience should and would be age and reading level and content wise.. it was a bit of a mishmash that wasn’t realistic.

Really wanted to love this!

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*for littles who are handed this a puppy is dead pretty early on in the book for a adult warning of convos that might need to be had **

Puppy Love is a good story for older kids. Jordan is an interesting and likable main character and it to fun to go along the journey with him.

The title of the book is great for this story. It can have a couple of meaning’s; I will not give away the story. I have read other books by this author and have enjoyed them as much as this one. Sometime things don’t always go the way one expects them to go. I like how this story the characters didn’t always get their way, things weren’t always perfect. It was realistic.
The dreams the main character had were amazing, not always do dreams come true.
Young love also comes and goes…….

The premise of this book was adorable but I struggled to stay engaged. The writing style seemed too casual and a bit childish for the intended middle grade age range, but too long for younger kids. I think it may appeal to younger kids - possibly 3rd and 4th grade. I appreciated that it covered a wide range of themes. Jordan's friend annoyed me as a parent reader although I'm sure my kids will relate to all the kids in this book.

I think kids looking for a lighter read would enjoy this one.

Puppy Love is a new book by the esteemed Gary Soto, who I always look forward to checking out what he has to write about, as the message is as important as the story in his tales. While he hits the message once again in his new novel, unfortunately his tale (and yes, I am trying to be punny here) does not wag enough for his audience to keep the book going for as long as it is, nor at the audience he intended.
While I loved the idea of the character of Jordan saving the puppies from the river (and yes, I did almost stop reading when the one died - so be warned, sad moment!)., and watching him deal with the social media aspect of our society with this stumble on the court is a good lesson in life, Soto carries on a book for 240 pages that, honestly, could have stopped at 120. Too much of the content feels like filler and him struggling for the characters to go somewhere, with most of the content Jordan spending his time thinking about Sierra or different cliche scenarios with the puppies (for example,. one ends up in his bag somehow when he goes to school, teacher sees, etc. - how many times have we seen/read this storyline?). Also, I can not imagine handing this book to a middle schooler and them not rolling their eyes. Too much of it feels like it is playing down to an audience and should be for a fourth grade reader, while the book was intended for middle grades.

I was hoping I would enjoy Puppy Love more than I did. The chapters are short and easy to read and a few of the characters are likable, but overall, the story fell flat for me. Somehow, Puppy Love managed to feel both very rushed and like there was no real story being told.

I can see how this will attract some middle grade fans, but unfortunately, I was not one of them. However, there is a little bit of something for a multitude of different readers. Puppy Love is an easy read that combines a love of sports with navigating a first real crush. I do believe this book can attract certain hesitant readers and introduce them to a wider world of reading. Overall, I believe Puppy Love is an easy, decent read but isn't one I'll be frequently recommending.

Jordan is a 13 yr. old, who has a crush on Sierra. He misses an important shot during a game and is struggling in school. Then he rescues a puppy, and another and another, from the waters of the canal Luckily, Jordan has a best friend, Antonio and great parents that help him along the way.

Puppy Love is well named. It is a sweet, moving story of a 13 yr. old, his first love, a best friend, and puppies! This will be enjoyed by middle schoolers-both boys & girls.

As a fan of Gary Soto, Puppy Love did not disappoint. Jordan, along with his parents and best friend, are relatable, real characters that are brought to life through Soto’s masterful story telling. This will be a great addition to any middle grades library!

With a touch of magic realism, there’s a lot happening in Jordan’s life: he misses an important shot during a basketball game, he realizes he likes Sierra, and he rescues a puppy from a canal. When Jordan gets up in the middle of the night, he goes back to the canal and rescues another puppy. His best friend tells him the next day that Sierra asked about him. He wonders could she like him as well. Later, when Jordan goes back to the canal he sees a submerged car which brings all kinds of attention to him when the police come to his door the next day asking questions. Now what?