March 31, 2026 by Melissa de la Cruz Studio
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Mia Garcia lives with her parents in Spring Valley, Washington, where they run a shelter called Furever Home out of a barn on their property. They take in all kinds of pets, but her parents are very particular about who can adopt them, and are running out of money as the number of pets increases. When she is assigned to work on an "Impressive Teamwork Through History" group project at school, Mia meets Riley, who is new to town. He seems lonely, so Mia presses him to take home one of the dogs that needs to be adopted, Ruffles. Unfortunately, she doesn't check with her parents first, and Ruffles turns out to be rather destructive. Riley has to return the dog, but the two bond over the Fantasy Quest television show. Mia had watched the show with her best friend, Lily, but lately Lily is more interested in boys and socializing than the show. Also working on the project are Hollis and Zeke, but the group has trouble deciding what to do, and even end up in detention for fighting and being unproductive. Trying to get pets adopted, Mia even brings a sugar glider to school, but the trouble with the shelter continues. When her parents go out, Mia arranges to have a pet meet-and-greet at the shelter, but isn't happy with the people who come, and starts to sabotage her own attempts at matches. Her friends step in again to clean up the shelter when Mia is punished. After Ruffles runs away and ends up at Mrs. Gorski's house (and Mia climbs in through a window to get him!), more animals are adopted, the school project turns out okay, and the group is ready for new adventures.
Strengths: Graphic novels and pet stories are always popular, so many readers will be interested in Mia's story. Her often misguided attempts to help her parents out are humorous and will resonate with young readers. I was glad to see that she and Riley were able to establish a friendship, and that her school group pitched in to help. The struggles of a group project are real, and it's always good to see them portrayed in tween literature. Lily and Mia's difficulties are also realistic, but it was nice that they were able to make up.
Weaknesses: While Mia's actions are age appropriate (she's 12), they often are not in the best interest of the animals. After Riley returns Ruffles, Mia presses him to take a cat home, and that doesn't work out well either! It would have been nice to see better pet friendly practices portrayed.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Fairbairn and Assarasakorn's Paws graphic novels or and Loveless, Hashimoto, and Kote's Animal Rescue Friends. Since I have both of these series, I will pass on purchase, due to the similarities of the storylines and formats.
Strengths: Graphic novels and pet stories are always popular, so many readers will be interested in Mia's story. Her often misguided attempts to help her parents out are humorous and will resonate with young readers. I was glad to see that she and Riley were able to establish a friendship, and that her school group pitched in to help. The struggles of a group project are real, and it's always good to see them portrayed in tween literature. Lily and Mia's difficulties are also realistic, but it was nice that they were able to make up.
Weaknesses: While Mia's actions are age appropriate (she's 12), they often are not in the best interest of the animals. After Riley returns Ruffles, Mia presses him to take a cat home, and that doesn't work out well either! It would have been nice to see better pet friendly practices portrayed.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Fairbairn and Assarasakorn's Paws graphic novels or and Loveless, Hashimoto, and Kote's Animal Rescue Friends. Since I have both of these series, I will pass on purchase, due to the similarities of the storylines and formats.
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