"Protecting Marie" by Kevin Henkes

Protecting Marie by Kevin Henkes is a children’s book about a 12-yr.-old girl, her dad, and her dog. It is told in first person by the girl, Fanny. The dad is an artist and teaches at a university. This book focuses on the girl’s views and things that are important to her. She has a bunch of childish things she treasures and gets upset when her father runs a “stupid hunt” in her room to hunt down stupid things that can be thrown out She is mad at her dad over getting rid of their first dog, Nellie and has a hard time letting it go.

Teaser from page 13:  The whole idea of growing old is scary.  And a big birthday is so symbolic."

This book may appeal to a young girl, but I was not impressed with it.  The book cover is very misleading because it implies the dog is Marie, but it is not! I liked Dinner, the second dog in the book, but there was not much of a climax or great ending to this one.  The gist of the story is how Fanny and her dad mend their relationship. It just sort of fell flat for me. It was okay, but was eager to move on to something else.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

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