A Dog's Perfect Christmas // by W. Bruce Cameron

Anybody who knows Cameron knows he writes adorable books about dogs and their people. This title is as sweet as any of them. If you are looking for a quick read that warms your heart and that gets you into the spirit of Christmas, this book is perfect for you. I love how he focused on a family that was struggling with issues that normal families everywhere struggle with, giving each character the space they deserve and showing how much their individual problems were affecting them as well as each other throughout. As always, the perspectives of the dogs added that great extra to the books that we are used to but I enjoyed having the humans' perspectives on everything also. This book shows what family is truly about!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

Honestly when I started reading it I thought ugh this will be depressing. But it wasn’t. I loved it. I’ve read many of his other works so I expected this would be good.

Just a typical family with problems. A major life event causes disruption and everyone in the family must adjust. Attitudes and lives are changed. The book is more about the family and their dynamic than a dog story. But there is two dogs and their POV and stories are intertwined.

I’d suggest this to anyone looking for a feel good holiday read with some cute doggies.

Thank you to netgalley, W. Bruce Cameron and MacMillian- Tor/ Forge for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story starts out with a very troubled family. Julia Goss, wife and mother is a former trial attorney who became a stay-at-home mother when her middle school age daughter Eloise "Ello" was born. The three-year-old twins are hard to handle and her husband is never home. Hunter Goss is having difficulties at work and fears he will be getting fired so he is spending even more time than usual at work. Eighth grader Ello is having trouble in her middle school. Hunter's father Sander moved into the Goss family home after the death of his wife. Sander has been floundering since her death. A tragedy occurs which brings this family together and changes attitudes. Yet this is a Christmas story so it has a happy ending especially for a ten-week-old puppy who was abandoned on the side of the road.

The Goss family - Grandpa Sander, husband Garrett, wife Juliana, daughter Eloise (Ello), twin sons Ewan and Garrett, and dog, Winstead are your typical suburban family. Grandpa lost his wife two years earlier and has not left the grieving stage. Garrett is consumed by his job. Juliana, a trial lawyer before becoming a full time mom, is struggling. Ello is your typical 8th-grader, rebellious and lost in the trials and tribulations of school and friends. And the twins are just plain terror. Just before Christmas, a family health emergency arises - and the family must make adjustments on the fly. Grandpa starts taking the twins to the local park, and he meets three “Grandmas” who may bring him out of his grief. And then a lost puppy, Ruby, enters the family mix. Seen through the eyes of the dogs (a Cameron trademark) and several family members, this is a story of awakening, well-written with plenty of humor. All that being said, the story just never grabbed me - perhaps not enough “dog” or too much of the day-to-day grind of the family. I’ll bet those who have read more of the “dog” books by this author will enjoy it more. My thanks to Forge (MacMillan Publishing Group) and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the ARC of this book, which will go on sale in October, 2020.

This is a great book that is full of emotion.. It tells the story of how an abandoned and abused dog helps deal with family drama. It is a wonderful story that I would recommend to anyone.

What a wonderful book! This is a well written book that is full of emotions. This is a story that deals with a lot of family drama and how a little abused dog brings them all together. The story inside is as beautiful as the cover. It was a heartwarming read that you don't want to miss. Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge--Forge Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

A delightful, feel good pre-Christmas dog book by beloved author Bruce Cameron! This book was different than all his other dog books in that it focuses more on a family than the dogs...however...the dogs play a very important part in bringing everyone together in the end.

Ruby a tiny abused puppy is dumped along the side of the road.
It's not too long before she finds her "Person" when Ello sees her behind the bush and takes her to join her family.
It certainly is an interesting family she enters into.
This group consists of twin pre-school boys, Ello just beginning her teenage years, Mom,and Dad.
Grandpa and his dog Winstead also live in what should have been Ello's room if her Grandma hadn't died and Grandpa did not move in! They are both so old and it appears miserable!
Ruby loves them all!
When Mom gets very sick right before the holiday, the entire household step up to help out, stepping out of their comfort zone.

This novel serves as a reminder of what "Family" truly is and the rewards of helping each other!
.Interesting story!

Traverse City, Michigan - Present Day

The multi-generation Goss household is barely held together by Juliana, a stay-at-home mom who yearns to be back working as a trial lawyer. But having a thirteen-year-old daughter in raging puberty, and three-year-old twin boys who seem to want to kill each other all of the time, Juliana knows that now is not the time. Her husband, Hunter, works in a high-stress business and always seems to be at work. Plus there is her father-in-law, Sander, a widower who has never gotten over the death of his wife. He resides in the back of the house with his elderly dog, Winstead, and rarely communicates with them. Juliana wants to have a heart-to-heart talk with Hunter, so she makes an appointment to meet him for lunch.

Hunter has restructured the entire interior of the engineering firm he works for. However, just as the work is getting ready to start, his old boss is replaced by Mrs. O'Brien who informs him that if this new arrangement doesn't help the bottom line, Hunter will be out in January. And now he's had lunch with his lovely wife and she tells him she's not happy, and he needs to step up and help out more at home.

At thirteen, Ello (short for Eloise) relies on her best friend, Brittne. But after changing clothes at gym class shows a "blossoming" Ello, Brittne wants nothing more to do with her. The joys of being a teenager. At home, she announces to her mother that she wants a dog because she has no friends and wants at least one who will be loyal to her. The last thing Juliana needs right now is another responsibility, so she says no.

Juliana wonders if she's pregnant when she starts feeling sick and is unable to keep food down. But, no, it's not that. She continues to get worse and then suddenly collapses, is rushed to the hospital, and goes into a coma. Hunter is devastated, he still has major stress at work, and now he has to run a household. He tosses out orders to his father and Ello to deal with things while he tries to be with Juliana, and keep his job.

With the holidays upon them, Ello and Sander realize that they're in charge. Can they possibly handle Juliana's job? And what about the puppy that Ello just found? Sweet little Ruby wiggles her way into Ello's heart - what will her mom say? Will her mom even be coming home? And Hunter, what will his new boss decide?

A DOG'S PERFECT CHRISTMAS is a sometimes hilarious, often poignant story of a very typical American family going through a crisis. With all of the unknowns about Juliana's illness and survival, Hunter, Sander, and Ello find strengths they didn't know they had. But is it enough? All of the side stories are sweet, oh so human, and very often laugh-out-loud funny. The writing is crisp, the characters very real, and the dogs' "thoughts" are delightful.

The book was very slow moving the first few chapters almost to the point I did not to want to finish it. Suddenly the story started to evolve. It was an average Christmas story about family relationships, 2 dogs, 3 children, and a lonely Grandpa.. The storyline was very simple but lacked the good feelings of the holiday season.

I received an advanced copy of, A Dog's Perfect Christmas, by W. Bruce Cameron. This book was ok. It wasnt the worst Christmas book ive ever read, but not the best. The characters were flat. I thought the book would be better.

Dogs are sensitive to the emotions of their humans, and can often bring comfort and peace. This is a lovely tale of new possibilities with lots of laughs and the spirit of Christmas.