This is a book where I fell in love with the synopsis but was less enamored with the book itself. Parts were just too sad and frustrating, and it ultimately didn't hold my interest the way I expected it to.

Celadon picked another good one! Maizes does a wonderful job with this novel, engaging characters and an intriguing premise. I think most people will have fun with this one.

I love animals and was immediately drawn to this book for that reason, but I had a hard time engaging in this book and the characters. The animals were the best part of the book.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory
glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

Interesting work

Other People’s Pets is the kind of story that sinks deep. I started listening and didn’t realize how long it had been until my headphones died and I noticed I was 93% through the book.

This is one that is really tough to review. It’s beautifully written and definitely more of a character study than plot driven. Lala grew up with her father who is officially a locksmith and unofficially a thief. When he gets caught and she needs to pay for his lawyer, Lala drops out of veterinary school. She ends up going to what she learned from him about stealing to get the money.

This book made me feel - I’m left with a lingering sadness but also in a way that I appreciate. I look forward to reading more from the author. Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for the advance reading copies.

CW: death of a pet

R.L. Maizes begins her debut novel, Other People’s Pets, with a near-tragedy. While ice-skating with her inattentive mother, La La has fallen through the lake’s surface: “Her snowsuit inhales icy water and clings to her, weighing her down and threatening to pull her under.” Then her mother disappears, and La La is saved by a dog black as night. (The dark irony of the dog’s color—black, the color of death, not life—pervades the entire novel.) La La’s not actually rescued from the water until an emergency crew arrives, but the barking dog keeps her company, gives her hope, until human helpers can intervene. Like La La’s mother, the diligent dog then disappears. This dangerous, mysterious encounter renders La La an animal empath, forever changing the course of her life. Her shamed mother abandons her—for good—and La La eventually studies to be a veterinarian. However, of course, to propel the novel’s plot, dire oppositional forces must now come into play. While La La’s mother is out of the the picture, her father is ever-present, and so is his penchant for burglary. Posing as a freelance locksmith, Zev teaches La La, only a young girl at the time, how to research and rob the homes of the rich. As a young woman, La La forsakes the family trade for veterinary school, her lifelong dream, but when her father is caught, La La needs quick cash to pay Zev’s lawyer, and so inevitably returns to her childhood training. The events that ensue radically redirect La La’s life (again), and subsequently threaten what she, buried deep within her broken psyche, holds most dear: friends and family, both human and animal.

Other People’s Pets is told in a third person point of view so close to its characters it reads more like first person. In that technical sense, the story often seems like an omniscient dual narrative between La La and Zev. Immersed in La La’s complex mind and body, readers experience the dutiful daughter’s sharp empathetic pain each time she encounters yet another suffering animal. Simultaneously, we become frustrated by La La’s innate inability to truly connect with humans. La La’s “voice” is almost deadpan, almost devoid of human emotion: “It’s been weeks since she’s seen him. Veterinary school keeps her busy. She warms her hands on the ceramic mug, whose fading decal reads WORLD’S BEST DAD.” Though we’d both expect and condone an angry outburst from La La as she learns her father’s been arrested (again), Maizes’s choice is appropriate here, as readers better sense La La’s reluctance, her unending fear and uncertainty brought on by her unorthodox upbringing, through her reserved demeanor. We can see from the start of the novel that La La is more herself, more at home, with pets than people. Very much like Pam Houston’s debut novel, Sight Hound, Maizes’s new writing elucidates the unbreakable bonds humans can form with their pets, or even “other people’s pets”—if they are particularly sensitive or caring, and actually care to be so.

Care is another strong theme. Elissa, La La’s deadbeat mom, never cares to be a mother, though she too loves animals. Zev Fine, La La’s well-meaning but legally misguided father, perhaps cares too much. Incredibly worried for her, he isolates La La, grooms her for a life of criminality, relies on her too heavily for companionship. La La chooses to help her father when he’s arrested, but alienates her future husband in the process. In fact, the few select human connections La La manages to form outside her immediate family are thus jeopardized by Zev’s pending court case. La La’s ongoing struggle to be her own person is effectively explored in flashback, often from Zev’s point of view. The better we understand La La’s past, the better we understand her present choices, which can sometimes seem illogical to the reader. Yet, Maizes keeps readers invested with authentic care and concern for her two main characters, and possibly, though adjacently, even Elissa, whom we only merely glimpse from time to time. Still, Elissa’s final scene leaves everyone reeling, readers and characters alike.

Overall, Other People’s Pets is an absorbing debut novel, one often quite difficult to put down. And even when set aside, if only momentarily, the book continues to resonate: Readers may begin to see the world differently. They may see the animal in the cage anew, may wish more fervently for its freedom. They may want to adopt an unattractive pet who has been callously abandoned, because they can now see that abandonment in a more personalized way. (They may even want to go vegan, like La La.) Animals large and small, domesticated and feral, illuminate this novel’s pages and teach us valuable lessons. The unprecedented events of 2020 have called us all to expand our own sense of humanity and empathy. In Other People’s Pets, R.L. Maizes, with a rich storyline that’s only slightly fantastical, adroitly addresses our own (hyper)reality of fact and fiction, illness and wellness, desperation and hope, love and loss. New fans of Maizes will also enjoy the myriad voices of her short stories captured in her recent collection, We Love Anderson Cooper, also due out in paperback today. Both books are culturally current, personally enriching, and socially conscious reads.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and R.L. Maizes for the opportunity to read her debut novel - 4.5 stars rounded up for such an imaginative story that really pulled me in.

La La Fine was raised by her dad, Zev, after her mom left. Zev was a locksmith but used his skills to run a profitable burglary operation on the side. As a child, Zev brought her along on his jobs breaking into homes, teaching her his tricks, and using her ability as an animal empath to quiet the animals they encountered. Although she was denied a normal childhood and schooling, La La works at a vet clinic and is almost through veterinary school when Zev is charged with burglary that could turn even worse. La La puts her dreams on hold to try and pay for his lawyer the only way she knows how - by committing burglary - justifying it by only breaking into homes with animals that are in need of assistance. Soon everything catches up to her and she starts losing all that is dear to her.

Even though I"m not the biggest animal lover, I loved the premise of La La being able to feel what the animals felt and help them. But this book shines in La La's journey into realizing what is important in life and not letting her past ruin her future. The writing is perfect - while the characters continue to make bad decisions, you feel for them and ultimately root for them. There are plenty of moments that will make you smile as well as those that will leave you with a tear in your eye. Great book!

This is quite a unique book that I was not prepared for. La La has a horrible Father who is costing her legal fees. She is in vet school and works as a vet tech. His cost force her back to a life of crime that her Father and Mother taught her. She burglarizes houses. With a twist. She is an animal empath and she listens to what her victims animals need and she tends to them before she leaves. This of course leads law enforcement on a chase for the animal lover suspect. I did not like that she turned to a life of crime she has seen as her only alternative. I also do not like her ethics with animals and how she takes it upon herself to treat others animals against all veterinarian laws. Her Father is a unlikable horrible charcter who is needy and takes without giving any love to her. Its a strange feeling to read this book as I found it unsettling. It was not a enjoyable read but a way to pass time in quarantine. As a animal owner I felt disturbed at her behavior with animals and her lack of morals.

I could not get into the book and had to DNF was not for me.
Thank you to Netgally for the advanced copy to review. I appreciate the chance at reading this book.

Oh I wanted to love this book. I really wanted to. But I just couldn't.

I'm a highly sensitive intuitive empath, and I've worked with animals most of my life. The description of this novel had me so excited I couldn't wait to read it. To start with I liked it, and was relating to La La, but then things took a nose dive. Her abilities are along the lines of a psychic, not an empath, those aren't the same.

I can see how this story would appeal to animal lovers, however it gives a highly inaccurate and potentially harmful view of what it's like to work in the veterinary field. La La does a lot of unethical things in the name of caring for animals. This is never justified in the field and she could lose her license to practice medicine. WHICH by the way, if she's still in veterinary school she doesn't have yet so all the stuff she's doing is illegal on many levels. You cannot meet someone on the street and just go to their house and euthanize their cat with no information. That's insane. There are also a lot of inaccuracies in the science/medicine that the author describes. A layperson might not pick up on a lot of this but I'm disappointed no one in the editing process called the author out on any of it or did research.

So all the veterinary stuff was kind of terrible, and then I couldn't get behind characters who make their living by stealing from others. If La La was genuinely an empath, I find it hard to believe she would be able to be so dishonest and judgmental of other humans.

I wouldn't recommend this novel.

This is a completely original storyline complete with a flawed and charming character, La La Fine, who is in veterinary school and is completely in love with animals, Brought up by a locksmith, she uses skills learned from her father to break into houses where animals are being abused. Oh, and she’s also responsible for the attorney fees for her father who has been charged with breaking into the home of an elderly man who fell down the stairs and may not live. This is a story to read and enjoy and forget about what is going on around you.

When I heard what this book was about, I knew I had to read it. What surprised me is the human characters captured my heart just as much as the animals!
Louise "La La" Fine has been abandoned by her mother. She is raised by her father Zev, a locksmith/burglar who takes her with him to rob houses and distract the dogs in the house.
She was never able to have a normal childhood.
Growing up she has always had an affinity with animals. She can feel their emotions and pain.
She decides to be a veterinarian, in her final year of school, Zev is arrested for burglary. Because of the circumstances, he is facing a harsh sentence.
La La cannot afford a good lawyer for him, so she resolves that the way to help him is to drop out of school temporarily and go back to robbing houses until she can save up money. To justify herself, she intends to only choose houses where the pets need her help.
As poor as La La's judgement was, I couldn't help but sympathize with her. She needed human connections as much as animal ones.
This story was so fresh and original. the characters were multidimensional and intriguing.
And the animals! I just loved how the author expresses their thoughts and emotions.
A beautiful and creative book.
Thank you Celadon Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
4.5, rounded up to 5 stars.

Her deep love and empathetic understanding of animals is what keeps La La Fine together. She certainly has had her share of hardships in her life including a mother who left because she just didn't want to be a mother. Her father, Zev, taught her the family business of burglary. Working as a vet tech while studying to be a vet, she is "forced" back into a life of crime to get money to give her father's lawyer. As she burgles, she tends to the animals of her victims. Overall, an enjoyable read about another dysfunctional family but with some really sad moments.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the Arc in exchange for my honest review

Let me start by saying that I love LOVED La La. (Louise). She's such a strong character who has been through so much with her parents from being abandoned by her mother to seeing her father arrested because of what profession they are (burglars). However, La La has a special gift where she is able to relate more toward animals then to humans. She is able to sense animals emotions and has a heart of gold.
This book is beautifully written even though it is fast paced it is still going to leave a huge impression on you and you will find yourself thinking about it long after you finish it.

Have you ever felt like you knew exactly what your pet was thinking or feeling? Ok we all know about Pep and her expressions, but this book takes it so much further with La La, who is known as an animal empath, someone who feels what an animal is going through when they are close to them. Hungry cat? La La's stomach growls as well. Hurt knee? You guessed it, La La’s knee will also hurt. So she takes the obvious path of going to veterinary school and is doing well, leaving behind a past of what you ask? Burglary! Umm, WHAT?! She was abandoned by her mom, raised by her dad who’s profession was thievery, and so she helped him growing up, as one does. When he gets into a bit of a pickle, she starts helping him again the only way she knows how, by going back into the family business. However this time, she justifies it by helping the animals in the home that she robs. A little TLC before she leaves, if you will.

This was such a unique book that was told from the POV of both La La and her father, and I loved how they worked through trying to start over, while continuing to fall prey to their old habits. La La is also processing being abandoned by her mother, and working through that has its own set of issues as well. This was a very sweet story, even though they were committing crimes, and I really enjoyed this so much and recommend it. However you will need tissues, read into that what you will.

Heartwarming and endearing, I enjoyed this one very much. It is out today, and I recommend you check it out! Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the e-arc to review. Synopsis in comments.

A multi layered read. a book that I thought was going to be a light read turned out to be a multi layered read with a lot of emotion.Lala was abandoned by her mother not once but twice she relates to animals much more then humans.She decides to become a vet.devote her life to animals.I was drawn in to the story and the surprises that occur as it develops.a book I enjoyed an author I will be following.#netgalley#celadonbooks

I received this book "Other Peoples Pets" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This book just didn't hold my interests.

With this novel, R. L. Maizes has delivered on the promise delivered in her short story collection, We Love Anderson Cooper. Advance praise from Kevin Wilson was all the impetus I needed to choose this book, and I can see why he was so drawn to it. These two young authors share the ability to create characters and situations so original and so accessible, that I look forward to reading everything that comes from their fertile imaginations.

Here we have Zev and La La, professional practitioners of home burglaries -- a father and daughter who on one level could be described as rascals, justifying their home thieving as not hurting anyone personally and affording them a modest living. Both have deep seated hopeless love for Elissa, La La's departed mother. As the book begins, La La has quit the family business to study veterinary medicine thanks to her unique ability as an animal empath, meaning she feels pain an animal may be experiencing. But after Zev's luck runs out and he faces serious jail time, La La feels she has to make as much money as possible to pay the best lawyer she knows. This is such a beautiful examination of connections but not in a cliched way. And there are passages and situations that are truly heartbreaking not to mention miraculous.

Making bad decisions for noble reasons seems to be a common device in current fiction, but as their story progresses, the reader can't help but root for these two. And their pets as well as the pets of others.

I haven’t come across a book like Other People’s Pets in a very long time. While at first glance this is a light fluffy read, it actually becomes a heavy story that balances well and takes on some pretty hard hiding issues. Full of tones regarding abandonment, loss, and love Other People’s Pets is a very enjoyable story that tackles issues well!

Only R.L. Maizes would have thought to combine burglary with animal empaths. And she does just that in her sparkling, feel-good novel, Other People’s Pets. (Publishing on 14 July 2020.) I loved her 2019 short story collection, so I’m not surprised I feel the same way about this book.

At the center of this story is La La (short for Louise) Fine, a young woman in veterinary school. She lives with her chiropractor fiancé, and dotes on her dogs, Black and Blue. Then her dad gets arrested at work, which is burglary. La La needs solutions to the legal and bail bond costs. And she needs them yesterday.

In addition to spinning the web La La is currently caught in, Maizes also jumps back to her childhood. And a unique one it was. La La’s mom left the family when she was just a kid, after an accident involving a lake, thin ice, and a black Lab. On that day, young La La realizes she’s an animal empath, meaning she can feel what a nearby animal is feeling. Coincidentally, this makes her the perfect assistant for her dad’s burglary endeavors.

So, as we switch from past to current day, La La grapples with how to help her dad. She also find that the ache for her mother has reached a fever pitch. Suddenly, she stands to add the loss of her dad’s presence to her already absent mother. The potential orphan pain is a strong motivator. Plus, La La and her sweetie are at odds on the best way to help her dad. All of a sudden, La La’s primary relationships start heading south.

My conclusions
It sounds like La La is a hot mess, right? And she is. Even so, Maizes keeps it funny and light and, for me, that makes it a great book. She never shies away from the intense emotions—loss, fear, loneliness. Still, the writing is so gentle and warm that I never got depressed. Instead, everything pushed me to root for LaLa like my life depended on it. As a result, I sped through this medium-length book like a burglar running from the scene of the crime.

The supporting characters are strong, especially the BFF, sweetie, papa, and pets. This is a perfect book for animal lovers. The creatures in La La’s life add so much joy to this reading experience.

Maizes keeps the two timelines—current and past—moving swiftly along and coordinated in their themes. There’s no artifice in distinguishing between the story lines. La La is a thinker, analyzing events and feelings because past and future are colliding.

Maizes could have turned this into an overly sweet and schmaltzy story. It isn’t even slightly close to that saccharine possibility. It’s just good old-fashioned crisp and crackling good writing. I’ll be thinking about La La and her life for a while to come.

I recommend this if you like character studies with feeling and an absorbing, fast-moving plot. It’d also make a good summer book club book, if your group hasn’t already chosen for the next few months.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and the author for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.