Oh, a book that makes me cry, stay up late, and read during work deserves a high rating. This book hit all the right buttons, a middle-grade book about a young girl whose father has PTSD, and relates to his service dog more than to her.

So, she wishes she was a dog, and well, the wish comes true.

And that is the story. Sydney is now a dog. And what does a young girl do as a dog? How do you get your parents to see you for who you are? And what happens when they can't find her?

As the police and the city look for Sydney, she tries to figure out life as a dog.

And when her father has a breakdown, she knows she must go to him, in the hospital, and help him, if not as a girl, as a dog.

This is a journey book, but well written that I didn't even notice until I was on the journey as well. As a dog she can understand all other animals, and learns to get along, instead of chasing them, as her base instincts might have her do.

Good, quick story of fighting for love, and understanding what is important in life.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Keyes Canyon Press for the ARC provided.

I loved this book! Brings multiple topics in it such as : love, kindness, friendship, bullying, even PTSD. And its beautifully written in a point of view of a middle-grade girl who tried to live her life in a normal way with a normal family. The friendship between Sydney, Fred and Lea is so adorable, showed the readers that “dog is a men’s best friend”.

I loved how to world of dogs being described so clear, how they communicate to each other and being loyal to each other and their owners. One of the lesson that I liked from this book : “kindness is everything”, the part where Sydney had to helped Fred and Lea from the coyotes attack by showing her kindness act, its a BIG reminder to everyone in this world to use that act again. Its really sweet and hearwarming story. I highly recommend this book for middle-grade readers, to inspire them how to be brave, how to be kind to each other and build more positive values about family and friendship. Me as an adult really enjoying this book from the beginning.

"A wish wished in love is granted" is one sentence that shows up a few time in this book. I'm sure you can see where this is going. Poor kiddo doesn't get along with her wounded veteran dad's retired bomb sniffing dog. Even worse, she's lost all connection to her dad because of him suffering from PTSD after returning from Afghanistan, and her mom throws herself in her work to cope with it all.

Seeing how her dad talks to his dog, she wishes to become a dog, out of love and wanting to reconnect with him, and as the above sentence goes, wished in love, that wish was granted. She became a dog. Thing is, when Syd the dog shows up, the little girl, Sydney, disappear and goes missing to everyone around. Amber alert launched and all while she, as a dog, goes on a grand adventure to get back to her dad who got taken to the hospital...

The book is aimed at a middle grade reader but my little kid's heart grabbed it with all its might. Absolutely endearing story to be honest. Nothing new, this has been done before, but in the context of the modern wars and returning veterans, presenting and discussing PTSD in veterans, human and canine, as well as bullying in school, I thought it was very well done.

I also loved how the the world of dogs was depicted with all its protagonists, canine AND feline as well and their interaction together. I have no clue if they really communicate that way in real life, maybe no one knows, but it felt realistic in some way...

To me, this one's a highly recommended read for any and all dog lovers, no matter the age. Might even have a tiny bit more appeal to young girls, seeing how the main character is an 11 year old girl, but I'm sure many boys would love it. I sure did...

The author does a really good job at integrating the realities of PTSD into a fun story about a girl who turns into a dog. The main story line helps keep the overall story light, even with addressing the challenges that families face with veterans who have PTSD, which is definitely a challenge. This is a great, elementary/middle age appropriate book to introduce children to this topic that isn't too heavy or dark, but also doesn't make light of the challenges.

Sydney Porter is bullied at school. At home things are tense - her mother is always working and her father is suffering from PTSD and gives all his attention to the dog he served with. A series of events leaves Sydney in dog form and now she has to try to navigate her way around with the help of her father's dog.
This was a sweet story that tries to address some larger issues with varying success. Sydney's dog life is reminiscent of aspects of Dodie Smith's Hundred and One Dalmatians. Her relationship with Fred, her dad's dog, and other animals they meet on the way is told vividly and engagingly. Sydney's effort to try to process the complexities of the new realities of her family read truthfully. The end of the book does feel a bit rushed, but overall this is a good middle grade entry that is engaging and offers a perspective of reality in a fantasy based way.

I received an e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sydney's dad is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD. She believes her dad loves Fred, his bomb-sniffing dog, more than he loves her. Things get a little strange when Sydney wishes to become a dog and the wish comes true. Follow Sydney on her adventures as a dog as she learns more about her dad, Fred, and herself.

Sydney Porter: Dog Girl was an adorable story about one girl and her mission to better understand her dad. I thought his book was beautifully written for the material that it was dealing with (PTSD). I'd love to know more about Sydney's family, so if there is a sequel I'd love to read it. It was interesting to see how a dog views its owner through the eyes of Fred and Lea, and Sydney while she is a dog.

I loved this thought it was a great middle grade story about family, friendship, dogs, bullying and surviving. The story was a little kooky at times but I loved that about it too, well written characters and a well rounded story, well suited to its age group

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author.

This story is bonkers! In good ways and also some quite strange ones.
The premise for this is incredible and the plot is very original: our main character, Sydney, who is struggling with the home and school life, alienated from her PTSD-suffering father, encounters (the best piece of) magical realism and turns into a dog in the literal "be-careful-what-you-wish-for". From there, the story follows her journey to find her human form again and grow along the way. While the basic formula is a classic middle-grade concept, Sydney's path to arrive there certainly is not. My biggest praise for this story is 100% originality!
With themes of PTSD, bullying, a strained family life, animal treatment, and then love and kindness (and dogs!) this story hits hard and gets dark often.
Sydney is a compelling character and a believable narrator and heroine. The other characters were well-fleshed out and understandably flawed.
My main criticism for this would be the writing style that, even for a middle-grade, seems over-simplistic.
Also... that romance storyline between the dog and the cat (yeah you read that) was just... beyond words weird.

#netgalley #sydneyporterdoggirl https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3000834992