A Home for Goddesses and Dogs

by Leslie Connor Narrated by Patricia Santomasso

Overview

A unique masterpiece about loss, love, and the world's best bad dog, from award winner Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle.

This novel sings about loss and love and finding joy in new friendships and a loving family, along with the world's best bad dog. An uplifting middle grade novel about recovery featuring strong female characters, an adorable dog, and the girl who comes to love him.

It's a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother's death.

Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming-and a little quirky. Lydia's struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl's arrival.

Wasn't one rescue enough?

Lydia is not a dog person-and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past.

Meanwhile, Lydia doesn't want to be difficult-and she does not mean to keep secrets-but there are things she's not telling...

Like why the box of “paper stuff” she keeps under her bed is so important...

And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger...

And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past-but at what cost?

* Junior Library Guild Selection *

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2020 - AudioFile

Patricia Santomasso narrates the first-person story of Lydia, a 13-year-old who cared for her artistic single mother during a long illness, which ended with her death. Santomasso depicts Lydia’s contained grief and resignation as she travels to a rural town to live with her mother’s sister, Aunt Brat. Lydia is quickly surrounded by the love of Aunt Brat and her wife, Elloroy, their aged landlord, and a large rescue dog. Lydia’s classmates accept her readily, but Lydia is quiet and reticent after being homeschooled her whole life, not to mention being haunted by memories of her mother. Santomasso conveys the tension that comes from Lydia’s grief, loneliness, and secrets she keeps about the past. Just as strongly, Santomasso captures Lydia’s eventual acceptance of the love that surrounds her. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

"Gentle, fully fleshed characters . . . are lovingly drawn in this long tale of healing . . . her [Lydia's] poignant tale is engaging and uplifting. An almost-orphan and a rescue dog share lots of heart in a winsome coming-of-age story. " — Kirkus Reviews

"What stands out is the narrative’s essential kindness, as Lydia heals and rediscovers the meaning of home and family." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Beautifully woven story lines and characters mesh together as Lydia, Guffer, the goats, and her family all start to heal from the inside out. Connor . . . has an innate ability to broach difficult subjects with gentleness, and the myriad strong female characters will be embraced by readers seeking heroines to cheer for." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"A dreamy, introspective story [that] explores grief and family. Lydia’s journey is nicely paralleled in the travails of the rescue dog also recently added to the household, and the apt comparisons are sure to spark plenty of discussion. Recommended for children’s collections where realistic fiction is in demand." — Booklist

“A small masterpiece. Every page offers something to cherish—a new thought, a wry chuckle, a tender sigh of sorrow or joy. Lydia’s story is comforting yet never comfortable. Leslie Connor is a writing goddess!” — Tricia Springstubb, author of Moonpenny Island and Every Single Second

“Connor gives us a resilient heroine as well as insightful commentary on love and joy, in addition to the inherent injustices of life; a heroine whose internal strength and subtle emotional growth will engage readers and encourage them to delve into larger questions.” — Padma Venkatraman, author of The Bridge Home, the 2019 Middle School Global Read Aloud

“A sensitive, heart-forward look at the way families take care of each other, the way dogs take care of their families, and the way love takes care of us all. Authentic and artful, A Home for Goddesses and Dogs is easy to sink in and impossible to forget.” — Corey Ann Haydu, author of Rules for Stealing Stars and Eventown

“Leslie Connor is one of my FAVORITE middle grade authors and yet again, she finds a way with her words straight to your heart and somehow leaves you crying with a smile on your face. Please do yourself a [favor] and read this, share this, and then read it again< .”<   — Nichole Cousins, booksellers at White Birch Books (North Conway, NH)

“I cried such happy tears at the end. The women and dogs in this story are so wonderful, I want to live in their home, spend time with them, love them. This is a story of a young girl living with her aunt and her aunt's wife on a farm in Vermont. During the winter, with dogs and so much love. Perfect.” — Julie (RBB Staff)

Booklist

"A dreamy, introspective story [that] explores grief and family. Lydia’s journey is nicely paralleled in the travails of the rescue dog also recently added to the household, and the apt comparisons are sure to spark plenty of discussion. Recommended for children’s collections where realistic fiction is in demand."

Corey Ann Haydu

A sensitive, heart-forward look at the way families take care of each other, the way dogs take care of their families, and the way love takes care of us all. Authentic and artful, A Home for Goddesses and Dogs is easy to sink in and impossible to forget.

Nichole Cousins

Leslie Connor is one of my FAVORITE middle grade authors and yet again, she finds a way with her words straight to your heart and somehow leaves you crying with a smile on your face. Please do yourself a [favor] and read this, share this, and then read it again< .”<  

Tricia Springstubb

A small masterpiece. Every page offers something to cherish—a new thought, a wry chuckle, a tender sigh of sorrow or joy. Lydia’s story is comforting yet never comfortable. Leslie Connor is a writing goddess!

Padma Venkatraman

Connor gives us a resilient heroine as well as insightful commentary on love and joy, in addition to the inherent injustices of life; a heroine whose internal strength and subtle emotional growth will engage readers and encourage them to delve into larger questions.

Julie (RBB Staff)

I cried such happy tears at the end. The women and dogs in this story are so wonderful, I want to live in their home, spend time with them, love them. This is a story of a young girl living with her aunt and her aunt's wife on a farm in Vermont. During the winter, with dogs and so much love. Perfect.”?

Booklist

"A dreamy, introspective story [that] explores grief and family. Lydia’s journey is nicely paralleled in the travails of the rescue dog also recently added to the household, and the apt comparisons are sure to spark plenty of discussion. Recommended for children’s collections where realistic fiction is in demand."

MARCH 2020 - AudioFile

Patricia Santomasso narrates the first-person story of Lydia, a 13-year-old who cared for her artistic single mother during a long illness, which ended with her death. Santomasso depicts Lydia’s contained grief and resignation as she travels to a rural town to live with her mother’s sister, Aunt Brat. Lydia is quickly surrounded by the love of Aunt Brat and her wife, Elloroy, their aged landlord, and a large rescue dog. Lydia’s classmates accept her readily, but Lydia is quiet and reticent after being homeschooled her whole life, not to mention being haunted by memories of her mother. Santomasso conveys the tension that comes from Lydia’s grief, loneliness, and secrets she keeps about the past. Just as strongly, Santomasso captures Lydia’s eventual acceptance of the love that surrounds her. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2019-10-09
After her mother succumbs to heart disease, 13-year-old Lydia goes to live with her mother's older sister, Aunt Brat, and her wife, Eileen, in their small Connecticut town.

Almost immediately the loving couple adopts a large rescue dog that becomes mostly Lydia's responsibility. The unfortunate animal isn't even housebroken, and Lydia's most decidedly not a dog person, so caring for Guffer is challenging. So is trying to be cordial—but not too friendly—with her 12 eighth grade classmates. Previously home-schooled, Lydia's not quite ready for the friend thing. Secrets, like who could have been responsible for maiming two baby goats or why Brat is secretly caring for them at a neighbor's farm, complicate life. Background plotlines (an angry neighbor who hates Guffer, Lydia's absent father, and the cause of Guffer's anxieties) all gradually evolve. Similarly, Lydia slowly learns to cope with her grief, sometimes aided by spending time with "the goddesses"—artistic collages of strong women that she and her mother crafted. Gentle, fully fleshed characters (most seemingly white) are lovingly drawn in this long tale of healing, but the pacing is sometimes frustratingly slow. Although she's clearly intelligent, Lydia's first-person narrative often seems more like the voice of an adult than a young teen. In spite of these minor flaws, her poignant tale is engaging and uplifting.

An almost-orphan and a rescue dog share lots of heart in a winsome coming-of-age story. (Fiction.10-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173886170
Publisher:	HarperCollins Espanol
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Videos