Strays

Gordon, Gia. Strays
June 2, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
E ARC provided by Edelweiss

Campbell lives with her father, who is a director of animal control and whose job it is to euthanize stray animals to keep the community safe. Her mother left when she was young when her father, who had been a firefighter, struggled with PTSD when he wasn't able to save someone in a fire. After the mother left, she was killed in a car accident. The father gets by, but Campbell knows he has had a hard day when he brings home takeout from Mr. Jalapeno for dinner rather than cooking. Campbell's best friend is Luz, whose father is out of work after returning from combat. This has caused stress for the mother, who is working and raising Luz and her two siblings without much support, so the parents are in counseling. When Campbell sees a small dog dropped out of a truck on her way home from school, she is dedicated to finding and saving the dog, but knows she needs to hide this from her father. She draws Luz into her plans, and the two are soon concocting an elaborate Canine Action Rescue Plan, complete with code names. Soon, the dog is taking up so much of Campbell's thoughts that she fails a quiz. She does get some help from the school librarian, Miss Alba, who helps her find resources and supports her. It takes a while to finally win the dog's trust and to be able to pick him up, but shortly after Campbell feels she can help Tater Tot, her father catches her with the dog. She claims the dog belongs to Luz, but that fiction is short lived. Luckily, Luz's father realizes that Tate looks much like the dog a fellow soldier had befriended, and plans are put in place to contact Vets for Pets and get Tate transported out to California to live with Edie. Campbell works with Miss Alba to try to form a dog rescue club at school to help more animals be adopted so that her father doesn't have to euthanize as many. 

Strengths: Dog stories are always popular with my readers, and tweens who care deeply about rescue dogs will understand. Campbell's desire to save Tater Tot is understandable, and she tries to establish some support for her efforts by bringing in Luz and Miss Alba, who is realistically protrayed! The inclusion of dogs helping veterans is a good one. This is a short, fast-paced story, and the cover will appeal to young readers. 
Weaknesses: The mental health issues the fathers faced were rather daunting. Because of the number of times Campbell references her father having to euthanize dogs, I would be cautious of including this in an elementary school collection. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy rescue dog stories like Hoyle's Best Friends Dog Tales or E. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tales.