Jessie is spending the summer with her aunt, uncle and cousin following the death of her mother and soon finds herself helping the neighborhood dog walker with his charges, and learns some valuable lessons along the way. A realistic read for those animal lovers who don't want animals in their books but don't necessarily want them anthropomorphized.

This is one of my favorite "dog books" out for middle grade students. After I read, I immediately purchased for my classroom!

Summer story following a girl hoping dog walking Will prove to her father that she should be trusted with a dog of her own. Interesting subplot about her strained relationship with a cousin she used to be close with. A pleasant read but not groundbreaking or particularly memorable.

Jessie should be looking forward to a summer spent at her aunt and uncle’s house. Unfortunately, her cousin has an awful new best friend, which leaves Jessie out in the cold. She takes it upon herself to make the most of her summer, however, and convinces the grouchy neighborhood dog walker to take her on as an apprentice. When a rival dog walker begins stealing their clients, Jessie isn’t going to go down without a fight.

August was a month of books that sounded great but turned out to be massive duds. A Middle Grade novel about rival dog walkers! Um yes please! As it turns out, Rules of the Ruff was a book that tried to do too much and, as a result, suffered. Jessie’s mother died, she ends up falling for a new boy – who likes the awful new best friend (there’s a scene featuring a make-out session in the backseat of a car – uh, Jessie is 12 and the other characters were a year older), the local dog walker went through a divorce and might want to reconcile with his ex but there’s also one of his clients he’s been getting close to. Does a Middle Grader want to read about divorcees pining after their exes? The adult characters were far closer to my age and I didn’t want to read about their problems.

There was too much sexual tension and other mature elements. included from older characters, and a strange older boy younger girl (the MC) interaction that wasn't resolved very well. This is Middle Grade, stop with all the raging hormone action, it doesn't need it. Ugh. Save it for YA. It's too bad because this story could have been four stars. It was very good.

A strong, character-driven dog story, this will appeal to readers who love animals as well as those who are looking for stories where they can dig into the characters. The relationship between Jessie and the characters around her are fascinating. Jessie stays true to herself no matter who she is dealing with - the cute boy, the mean girl, the critical aunt or the grumpy dog walker. Feast on these nuanced relationships as you enjoy this great dog - and people - story.

I had the opportunity to read a NetGalley digital ARC of this middle grade fiction novel in exchange for a review. Summer can be long and miserable if you’re lonesome and bored. Twelve-year-old Jessie is spending hers as a guest at her aunt and uncle’s house with her same age cousin who would rather spend time with her snooty friend.
Desperate for something to do, she becomes a neighborhood dog walker’s assistant. But when another dog walker moves to town and starts stealing Wes’ customers, Jessie and Wes start strategizing ways to sabotage this woman’s budding business, so they can back to what they do best.
This book might appeal to middle grade readers who enjoy books about animals. It also has the social drama that centers around adolescent kids who are growing away from the things they enjoyed when they were children and are becoming more interested in the opposite sex.
However, I found it difficult to like this particular set of characters. Jessie is introduced as a girl that might be a sympathetic character. Her mother passed away several years ago and her father is working hard to support her while dealing with his own grief. Her cousin seems to have lost interest in playing with her, opting to hang around with the neighborhood snooty girl. But the more time she spends walking dogs with Wes, the more annoying and self-involved she becomes. While I understand that kids will probably relate to the disrespectful way she behaves toward her aunt and uncle and all of the ways she circumvents their rules and expectations, there seems to be minimal consequences for this.
When she and Wes start plotting to run their new competitor out of business, they engage in activities that are not only unethical, but illegal. Breaking into the other dog walker’s car and ripping holes in all of the doggie-clean-up bags, stealing fish from her aunt’s refrigerator to throw into the other dog walker’s car, and spreading paint on the other dog walker’s towels is criminal mischief and the take away message is this is all okay to do since they don’t like the way this other lady is moving in on their territory. There’s a few apologies and tears at the end of the book, but I’m not sure that young readers will come away with the message that there are better ways to solve problems. How about having the adults in the story behave like grown-ups and discuss their issues with each other and maybe even decide to work together and help each other?

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

12-year-old Jessie is spending her summer at her cousin's house, but finds herself with nothing to do because her cousin is too busy hanging out with a mean girl to play with her anymore. Determined not to waste her summer, she convinces Wes, a curmudgeonly dog-walker to take her on as his apprentice and teach her the Rules of the Ruff. When someone new starts to try to move in on Wes's business, Jessie plans retaliation.

Heidi Lang writes a completely convincing 12-year-old in RULES OF THE RUFF and middle-grade readers will enjoy coming along for the ride as Jessie lives out her summer. Jessie is determined and optimistic, or stubborn and unrelenting, depending on what side of her you happen to be on. She spends her summer learning not only how to walk dogs, but also about how to be a person and deal with other people. This story takes the idea of revenge and shows how it can have unintended results, and Jessie ultimately takes a steps forward into being more confident in herself and being more understanding after an exciting summer.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jessie's story and I am excited to get a copy for my classroom when it releases! As a bonus, check out the author and publisher on Twitter for cute pictures of the dogs that inspired the pack in the book!

This is a nice story about a girl who goes to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle and cousin because her dad is too busy to take care of her. She's not really happy about spending the summer with them (and they don't seem really happy to have her either) so she looks for a job and finds one with a man who walks dogs. The man also isn't too happy to see her but grudgingly takes her on as an apprentice. I thought the grown up characters were kind of flat and stereotyped and the girl was relentlessly cheerful. I didn't recognize anyone I knew, which is why I don't think I'll buy it for my library.

Such a fun book! Smart and funny in all the best ways - with a character who doesn't always do the right thing, but is so easy to root for you can't help but going along for the ride (or, in this case, the walk). Rules of the Ruff is a realistic look at how sometimes good intentions can lead you astray and how even the worst people may be better than you think.

Rules of the Ruff by Heidi Lang was sweet and funny, but also so much more, as we get a glimpse of the world through 12 year old Jessie’s eyes. Feeling pretty alone in her cousin's home for the summer , Jessie pesters a reclusive neighbor into letting her tag along on his dog walking job. She learns lessons about judging others, the complicated human nature, consequences of actions, how to stand up for yourself and still get along with others, and the fluidity of relationships. The ending was just beautiful and summed up all that Jessie learned about compassion. I think most kids (and adults) can relate to Jessie's experiences. I empathized with her, while still cringing at some of her actions. I liked the realistic portrayal of all the characters, and how Jessie learns that everything isn’t always black and white. People aren’t usually all good or all bad. We make good choices, and sometimes bad ones, and we keep trying. And we keep forgiving, because we don’t always know someone else's story.

This is a really adorable middle grade book that I think dog loving tweens will really enjoy. While I felt like some of the characters could have been more developed, the story was engaging. I would definitely recommend this cute little book.

An interesting take on trying to find something to do for the Summer.

Jessie wants a dog. She has been sent to her Aunt's house, where her cousin, Ann, is only intersted in the local mean girl, and is into boys and fashion. So, Jessie seeks out the local dog walker, who is an odd duck to say the least, and tries to get him to take her on. He will, with the condition that she learns the "rules of the ruff".

They are rules to think and deal with dogs, but they can also be used for life in general.

This is an interesting take on revenge, learning to deal with people, and dogs, and boys. It is also learning to deal with adults, and the consequences of what you do. Although the characters, other than Jessie, seem to be cookie cutter, the cute boy, the mean girl, the fashion obsessed cousin, this might be because Jessie sees them this way, and when they don't fit into the box she has put them in, she finds she can actually like them.

Nicely done middle grade book.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Jessie is struggling with having to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle's family, especially since her cousin, Anne, has gotten to be a bit mean following her friendship with another girl, Loralee. Being a tween is hard enough without having your cousin go over to the dark side of eye liner and fancy clothes in the summer. It doesn't help that she meets a cute boy, Max, in the park, and they have a lot of fun playing soccer until he realizes that she isn't a boy! Jessie would love to have a dog, so she approached near by dog walker Wes to be his helper. He's a crochety, quirky old guy, and he reluctantly agrees after Jessie badgers him. She has to learn Wes' "rules of the ruff" in order to deal with the dogs, and does a decent job. Times are tough, though, and Wes finds himself losing customers to Monique, who bills herself as a "celebrity dog walker" and is much better with people. Wes and Jessie set out to sabotage her business by cutting holes in her poop bags, dipping her leashes in bacon grease and other unpleasant pranks. To complicate matters, Monique is Max's mother. Max is dating Loralee, so Jessie thinks about planning revenge on Loralee as well. While her Uncle David is supportive and tries to make the summer pleasant for Jessie, Aunt Bea is generally irritated by everything that Jessie does, and she hears from her father infrequently. Wes is the one adult who seems to care about her, but he has problems of his own that need to be addressed. Will his dog walking business be able to survive, and will Jessie be able to continue to help?

Strengths: This cover is fantastic, and Jessie's unhappiness at her summer situation is handled in a more positive way than many books. She's unhappy, but does try to change her situation. The sort-of romance with Max is pitch perfect for middle grade, including the fact that Loralee is much more interesting to him at first.
Weaknesses: It was a little worrisome that Jessie approached Wes and even got in the car with him before she told her aunt and uncle (although he does make her ride in the back, which was good), and the revenge on Monique was on the mean spirited side.
What I really think: I have a fair number of books that deal with dog walking businesses, including Greenwald's Dog Beach, Margolis' Dog's Best Friend and Krulik's Puppy Love, so I think I will pass until interest in this topic increases.

Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend never owned a dog.

Everyone needs to buy this book when it comes out. Thanks to Netgalley I got to read it ahead of time and believe the hype. This was such an enjoyable book from beginning to end. And it was full of life lessons. There’s so much in this book and it flows so well and YOU must read it!!

Jessie, is a 12 year old girl who wants a dog. She wants a dog so much she becomes Wes’s free labor summer dog walking assistant. It’s a tough job but gives her what she wants most in life. Dogs! Everything changes when competition arrives. Competition with a son Jessie’s age. Gah!! This book was just wonderful and I highly recommend it. We got to see two sides to every person/problem/idea. It was actually pretty brilliant. And the parts about her dad and mom were heartbreaking and beautiful. Jessie is a beautiful character. I love her so much. She needs her own series!

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Abrams Kids / Amulet Books for providing me a copy of “Rules of the Ruff″ by Heidi Lang in exchange for my review. Have you ever picked up a book having zero expectations and it turns out to be a complete entertainer? “Rules of the Ruff” exactly did this and I LOVED IT!!

From the get go, the story is interesting and fun to read. The story starts off in a very light-hearted manner with humorous moments of Jessie getting the hang of dog walking. The story then becomes a fun rollercoaster ride of Jessie improving her dog walking skills, sabotaging the rival dog walker, impressing the new boy in the neighborhood, and trying to patch things up with her cousin. There are so many entertaining moments in the story like when Jessie and Wes plan different ideas to get rid of Monique, and when she tries to set things right with Wes. Furthermore, even when the story line becomes a bit serious towards the end, it still maintains it charm and humor.

This book stands out mainly because of its characters. The characters are so down to Earth yet so entertaining. I loved Jessie and Wes as the main character and their interactions are hysterical. I did felt sorry for Jessie most of the time. This girl just can’t seem to get a break when it comes having a stable summer job and a boyfriend. However, I love how determined and focused she is to achieve what she sets out to, irrespective of what people think and fell. She remains who she is and stands for what she believes in, and I loved that quality about her. The author has written the villain also as a deliciously evil character, and I hated Loralee with a passion! More than Loralee, I despised Max and the way he treats Jessie. He is such a coward and a disgrace and keeps disappointing her.

The fact that I am reacting animatedly to the characters shows what a great job Heidi Lang has done in writing this book. She is wonderfully blended the plot with the character developments, and it kept me engrossed throughout. I also liked that she ended the book in a realistic, bittersweet manner. While I hoped that things would have turned out better for Jessie, I did enjoy how the story ended.

On a side note, I had never heard of a Klee Kai prior to reading this book. After googling it, I want to have this dog as well! Overall, I enjoyed this middle grade novel so much that I would definitely be reading it again in the near future. I rate it 5/5 stars!

Jessie is staying with her aunt, uncle and cousin Ann where she's left out and bored. she does make a friend in soccer playing Max but they get off to a rough start as he assumes she's a bit for a start!



she has always wanted her own dog but after her mum passed away, never again touched the subject with her father.

When she meets local dog walker Wes, she manages to convince him to let her be his apprentice and she has to learn his rules of the ruff, all about dog walking, handling and getting used to them all.



Then they discover a new dog walker is taking clients they had from them! The woman she is shocked to find out knows Max and that makes it so much worse as the walk wars is on. Meanwhile Ann's friend Loralee is stealing Max away just like she stole Ann from her and Jessie is out for revenge with Wes against their dog walker stealing newcomer.



Wes also has to deal with his relationship with his ex wife and dog owners which come to involve Jessie too when their plan to sabotage Monique the other dog walker goes a bit extreme and finds out Ann hasn't completely changed as she helps her against Max and Loralee.



The responsibilities of pet ownership come as a welcome theme as many believe pets are easy to keep and look after but none are and children can learn that with this book as well as the way friendship has no barrier, age or gender wise. I really love the book and if you know a child who is dog mad, they would enjoy this one I'm sure.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!