Love, Clancy by W. Bruce Cameron

Clancy is a good boy. Clancy listens to his human, JayB, and does what he asks. They go for walks, sometimes picking up Odin, their neighbours dog. They go to the park and they walk there. Recently, they've started meeting other people, and more dogs, including Phoebe, the most beautiful dog Clancy's ever met. Meanwhile, JayB has lots of people in his life - there's Maddy, who appears to be JayB's girlfriend, though Clancy hears JayB saying things about them not being a couple? There's Rodney, who is JayB's friend from school, though if he's anything like his dog, Spartan, there's something a bit off about him. Walter, JayB's dad, who seems to have won something called the lottery? And then there's the cat. Kelsey. JayB doesn't understand the contempt that the cat has for him. But Clancy does. And then there are new people who have come into their lives and Clancy is excited to meet them, but where do they fit?

Switching between diary entries and the 'real time' perspective of Clancy, the book follows the story of Clancy and his owner, JayB. Full of complicated relationships and real world dramas, the story follows JayB's life and those around him. Realistic characters, many that readers would find relatable, some annoying, a good balance for the majority of readers. Very much a contemporary story with family and friendships, plenty of cute dog and cat cliches, though cat fans will struggle with the attitude of Clancy towards cats in the book. While the diary entry format is a sweet addition, as the entire story is from Clancy's perspective, it doesn't add that much to the overall story. 

Themes: Contemporary; Family & Relationships; Animals; Romance.

Melanie Pages