Bookverdict.com

Gr 5-8–When Sugar Mae Cole is given a small, discarded puppy named Shush, she decides that he will become a helper dog. And help he does throughout her ordeal of losing her house, her mom’s spiraling depression, moving from a small Missouri town to Chicago, and living in foster care. Sugar appreciates the importance of writing, which she learned from Mr. Bennett, her slightly eccentric but astute and talented sixth-grade teacher and from her mom, who has always emphasized the importance of writing thank-you notes. Her narration effectively inc...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Like so many of Bauer’s endearing heroines, Sugar is a girl with a good head on her shoulders, which she needs in order to face a world in which the adults can be so unreliable. Her mother Reba can’t resist the persuasions of Sugar’s gambling father, whom Sugar refers to as Mr. Leeland: "Is she kiddin...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Because Sugar's mother can't resist the persuasions of Sugar's gambling father, the worst happens and they're evicted from their ho...Log In or Sign Up to Read More