LOVED this book as I do all of Gary's work but I reviewed it for two book blogs which no longer exist.

Ben's father has lost his job, and apparently his mind-- not only is he trying to fix up a house to flip, but he wants to go on a road trip to a shelter to pick up another border collie. Atticus, the family's dog, is excited about the trip but apprehensive about the puppy (some chapters are told from his point of view).When their truck breaks down, Ben and his father manage to find an old school bus to borrow, as long as they take along the mechanic, Gus. They also pick up Mia, a waitress who needs to make better choices, and Theo, who is supposed to be in jail and is being followed. Drag racing a cop is one of the highlights of the trip, which is fraught with amusing situations and errors in judgement.
Strengths: Short (128 pages), funny, and sure to please fans of the Liar, Liar series. Dog books continue to be big this year!
Weaknesses: Not nearly as funny as Paulsen's other recent works. Amusing, but nothing caused me to quote passages to my children or snort through my nose. Paulsen has set the bar very high recently, and this just didn't measure up.