I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the narrative of the dog’s perspective. It was so hard to put down. The jokes Rutherford told was so hilarious and the main goal/point of the story really reeled in. This book is about independence, teamwork, family, confidence, and so much more. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I love it.

This was a DNF for me. From the title I thought it was a graphic novel/comic and it just wasn't my style. Definitely would have liked illustrations throughout. As an adult I haven't read much middle-grade and I don't think I will going forward.

I sort of think of this as the middle grade version of the adult 'Chet and Bernie' books by Spencer Quinn (which I really like!).....as it's a story about a dog, has some funny parts & also some serious reality offerings (like.....positive body image, stand up for others, do the right thing even tho it isn't always the easiest) & is told from the dog's perspective. Sometimes I wonder if a kid would understand some of the jokes, but I can also see kids sharing these jokes with their siblings/parents, as they read along......I know that I'm trying to remember some of them for later use myself! I think the book does offer a good combination of humor, mystery, adventure, angst, memorable characters, good guys/bad guys......for this age group, & I would share this with a kid!
I was given an e-ARC of the book by Zumaya/Threshold Publications via NetGalley, in return for reading it & posting my own fair/honest review.

The writer takes the amusing day-to-day struggles of being a stand-up comic and translates them very well into a narrative about being a lonely pet that everyone overlooks at first. Whether or not this humor is the kind of humor that the intended audience (middle grade kids) will get, I'm not sure. It has a level of snarkiness and inside humor that generally works better with adults. Still, it's quite fun.

I have to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this book. It does tackle some important issues from life, but I felt some of the topics were a bit dark for the age group it is written for. The positives are standing up for yourself and others, chasing your dreams even if they turn out a little differently than you had planned, and loving yourself/others in spite of your flaws. However, I did think that introducing kids to the dark world of dog fighting in such detailed description, and hinting that Rutherford would be performing "adult jokes" during one of his comedy routines was a bit much. He never tells any off color jokes, but I wouldn't want my child coming to me and asking, hey mom, what's an adult joke because they read about them in a book and all the dogs wanted to hear them so they must be great! Most of the jokes told through the book were very well-known anecdotes that have been circulating for years, but they are harmless and most kids probably won't have heard them before. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of 12, it's definitely more Junior High level than elementary. I'm giving it three stars because even though I didn't find the book very appealing it did flow nicely and kept me interested.

This is a fun middle grade novel.
I wish this book could include a few more illustrations.
I can recommend this one to kids who likes Dogman and Captain Underpants.

This is a very cute and touching story about a dog who is a comedian. He gets abandoned and then badly injured. When a kind woman chooses to help him recover instead of putting him down, he meets some other dogs who become his close friends. He is then adopted by a boy in a wheelchair. He runs into some issues when he tries to save some abused dogs he discovers during one of his comedy shows.

This is a fun middle grade novel about a dog that prefers stand-up comedy to "beauty pageants"/dog shows. Told from the pups perspective it is funny and quick read. I would recommend this middle grade readers who enjoy things like Captain Underpants or Dogman that are looking to move on to "chapter books". It would also be a fun read aloud.