He's a rescue, a mutt. Maybe there's a little golden retriever in him, although he's not exactly pretty. He's had a run-in with coyotes and he's missing an eye. But Mike is eleven-year-old Cara Donovan's dog, and they love each other absolutely. Usually her pet follows Cara everywhere, but on the day the family first smells smoke in the air, Mike becomes anxious. Pine Grove is in the path of a wildfire, and the family is ordered to evacuate. In the ensuing chaos, Mike runs off. And then the unthinkable happens; there is no time to search for Mike. They are forced to leave him behind. Shocked and devastated, Cara watches helplessly as the family drives through a nightmare, with burning debris falling from the sky and wild animals fleeing for their lives. Once in the city far from the burn zone, the Donovans are housed with a volunteer host family. Jewel, the hosts' daughter, is nice, but Cara can only think about what she may have lost. What will happen if nothing is left? But as she reflects on what "home" means to her, Cara knows only one thing. She is not going to lose Mike. She will do what it takes to find him, even if it means going back to Pine Grove on her own. With her signature style combining simplicity and lyricism, the author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles and Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess tells an uplifting story of love and loss. And she shows how one girl's stressful journey eventually leads her to an unexpected place, and a new definition of home.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Silver Birch - Fiction category by the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Awards. It was recognised by the Hackmatack Childrens' Choice Award. It also was recognised by the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award. It was recognised by the Rocky Mountain Book Award. Also it was recognised in the Best Books for Kids & Teens category by the Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. It was recognised by the Usbby Oustanding International Books. It was recognised by the Resource Links the Year's Best. It was recognised by the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Awards Kid Committee Summer Reading List. It was recognised in the Best Bets category by the Ontario Library Association Awards. It was recognised in the Notable Poetry Books category by the Ncte Awards.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 248 pages in this book. It is an anthology. This book was published 2019 by Pajama Press .

Shari Green spent a large portion of her childhood summers reading stacks of library books, and she's still in love with stories today. In 2016 she published Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, a stirring middle-grade novel in free verse. Shari lives in Campbell River, British Columbia, with her husband, kids, and the worst watchdog ever.