This is a beautiful story about how sometimes the things that happen to us due to a bad mistake can change our lives. Change can be hard. But what we might initially see as a punishment can if we allow it to help us open our minds to new avenues in life that maybe we didn’t know about before. More importantly it can help us foster relationships and allow us to see ourselves in a different light. That Ash’s journey is not always a straightforward one makes this book very relatable to readers of all ages, which is lovely. I also love all the facts sprinkled in about dogs, or their habits and personalities. This book overall is just lovely and was a joy to read.
Thank you to First Second Books and Netgalley so much for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am sorry I got a bit behind in my reading.

Dog Trouble is a really fun middle grade graphic novel. The story follows Ash as he spends hi summer with volunteering at and animal shelter. Ash learns a lot about dogs. The book features helpful side notes that explain some of the vocab to readers. This is the perfect story for young dog lovers. A first purchase for middle grade collections.

This graphic novel was great, and I cannot wait to add it to my classroom library. I loved Horse Trouble so I knew that Dog Trouble would be fantastic as well! The book was informative and descriptive. Students will love it!

Requested this one on NetGalley for my 9-year-old animal lover. He loves all animals, but especially dogs, so this seemed right up his alley. Here are his thoughts:

I think this was a great book. It's funny but also heartwarming. It has a good storyline, very good character development, and I also would recommend this book to animal lovers but mainly dog lovers. I thought the book overall was very interesting. I think all the dogs were very cute. I feel like there should be more books after this since it would be nice to know what happens to the main character but also his dog.

Note: I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review also posted to Amazon, but I didn't link since it is pending.

Thank you @NetGalley and @First Second Books for the ARC. Dog Trouble is a informational and heart warming graphic novel. I loved how the author put descriptions of different dog breeds and gave each dog a personality. The themes of divorce, loss and making friends are so relevant. Must read for grades 3rd and up.

Thank you to First Second and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
In this middle grade graphic novel, Ash lives with his mom who works long hours, is taking classes, and sometimes forgets to pick Ash up from school. One day Ash makes a poor decision to skateboard with friends in an abandoned warehouse. He is caught and must complete community service. Ash chooses to complete it away from his friends while he is at his dad’s home for the summer. Dad, stepmom Cheryl, and stepsister Parker live on Ferncliff Island, about an hour ferry ride from where Ash lives with his mom. He starts his community service at the animal shelter feeding and cleaning up after the dogs and then being trusted to walk them. Ash learns to really enjoy his time with the dogs, writing up histories to get them adopted. When a tragedy occurs, Ash takes it personally, but soon realizes there are others he can help.
I generally don’t read a lot of graphic novels but this one was about dogs, so, yeah. Ash grows a lot during the summer on the island, bonding with his sister and making a new skateboarding friend. I enjoyed the descriptions and traits about each dog, some of them humorous. I would recommend this book for grades 3 and up.
#DogTrouble #NetGalley

Dog Trouble is a fantastic graphic novel for middle grades and adults alike!
As a dog lover, this title immediately appealed to me, and I am so glad I got the chance to read it. I never expected the need for Kleenex, but alas! Varner's story of Ash and his family dynamics, his friendships, and all of the dogs involved truly touched my heart. I'll be recommending this one to all my readers.

In Dog Trouble the main character, Ash, is floating between his two parents. His Mom is working full time and going to school and is worried that she won't be able to give him enough attention this summer, especially after he was involved in some vandalism with his friends. She is sending him off to his Dad's for the summer, which is away from friends and anything fun AND he is required to do some community service as a consequence of the vandalism. In addition to his summer volunteering at the dog shelter he gets to deal with his very active 7 year old half sister.

I liked this book on so many levels. The drawing was fun, with a lot of action given to the characters. The pictures were done mostly in shades of blue, with some yellow panels thrown in for strong emotions. Each chapter featured a different type of dog and started with a rundown of the characteristics of the breed and followed up with the personality of the specific dog when they appeared in the story. You also learned quite a bit about dogs in a broader sense - training, socialization, breeding, tools, but in a way that flowed well with the story, so it didn't feel so much like a side note.

Ash himself had a very wide growth arc, with quite a few stumbles along the way. He learns responsibility and consequences through making mistakes and through owning up to them. He goes from being annoyed with his younger sister and not wanting to really be a part of his Dad's new family to finding his place. He is such a relatable character for the target audience and very well done.

I will 100% be buying this for my school's library in my next book order!

Ash Tompkins is a youth who is often unintentionally neglected by his divorced parents. His mom works endlessly between work and school in the city and on occasion Ash spends the weekend at his dad’s home in the woods. When Ash gets into some trouble while skateboarding with his friends, he is sent to spend the summer with his father, his stepmom and stepsister in Ferncliff Island which is accessible only by ferry. Ash spends his summer completing community service as retribution for his juvenile delinquency. Given the choice between working at a retirement home or an animal shelter, he opts for the shelter.

The tasks and duties at the shelter are menial and at times grotesque but also rewarding. Ash enjoys spending time giving the dogs individual attention and taking the them for a walk through the trails and woods. He forms a bond with his supervisor and mentor Jo and her cousin’s daughter Bella, who share a love of skateboarding. Ash becomes sympathetic to the plight of the dogs who were left at the shelter and he is able to connect with the unadoptable dogs due to behavioral issues. Often Ash takes much of a burden on his shoulders when he feels responsible for unfortunate events that occur with the dogs. To me, this shows that Ash would make a responsible and ideal dog owner even at his young age.

I absolutely adored this story. Having worked in dog rescue for over 20 years, I appreciated the scope of dogs that had behavioral issues, some as a result of owner abuse and neglect. The author provided very educational (yes, this word will turn off middle grade readers!) facts regarding dog breeds and dog care (i.e., bones, leash manners, collars, rehab, etc.). These facts are not lectural in nature nor akin to a non-fiction book, but help to move the story along as we learn about individual dogs’ personalities and traits. It was flawless! The pale blue and yellow color template was lovely and the illustrations were perfect, especially all those different dog poses and gestures were perfect! Having read the author’s previous graphic novel, I certainly have added Kristin Varner as one of my “be on the lookout for” authors for future works.

✨Book Review✨
🐶🐕🦮🐩🐕‍🦺 Dog Trouble 🐕‍🦺🐩🦮🐕🐶

Synopsis:
Ash, a good kid at heart + Some Bad Choices = A summer away from the city with his dad on Ferncliff Island where he does community service at the local animal shelter

My thoughts:
🤔 There are lots of great themes throughout this book. I also think that the content is very relevant to today’s middle grade readers. The main character has a lot of tough challenges to overcome, and for that reason, I would recommend it for older middle grade readers.
🤔 The illustrations are visually appealing and very well-done!
🤔 Quite possibly one of my favorite things about this graphic novel is the presentation. At the beginning of each chapter, readers are introduced to a dog who will appear in that chapter. There are also a lot of definitions provided thought out the book to learn about terms related to dogs, animal shelters, and caring for dogs.

📢This one releases October 29, 2024! You can preorder now!

🥰Thank you to First Second @01FirstSecond and @NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dog Trouble is mainly about a boy working with dogs at a shelter, but who is also dealing with a blended family he doesn't feel a part of. Ash has mixed feelings about spending time with his dad, stepmom, and step sister this summer. And after getting into trouble for vandelism, he needs to do community service to make up for it. This could be the worst summer ever.
But Ash comes to find he actually likes working with dogs. I really love how realistic the interactions are with Ash and the animals. Many stories for children that include animals show a very idealized relationship - boy and dog, best friends, who know each other's thoughts and feelings. But dogs are animals, and we don't always know what they want or need, Ash cares for the dogs, but still has to be careful with them - it is too easy to get loose on a walk, or let them eat the wrong thing. Ash's job is hard work, but he finds it rewarding and he finds that it helps him be responsible in other parts of his life.

Great story about finding yourself and learning to think about/care about others. I liked how the author had the center's director comment that they usually didn't take volunteers that young. Kind of a sad ending, but hopeful.

I don't know if I'm biased because I'm a dog lover, but I absolutely LOVE this story! Ash having divorced parents and his mom having trouble balancing work, school, and family can be something many families can relate to. Also, Ash's feelings of feeling a bit out of place at his dad's because his dad is remarried with a stepchild is relatable to many kids. I really like Jo's character and how she can sense things and helps in Ash's journey to growing his confidence. Another part I love is that each chapter tells us about a dog we will see in that chapter and at first it gives is the name of the dog breed and tidbits of info, but then as the story progresses, we get the dog's name along with the tidbits of info about the breed. Also liked the skateboarding storyline and his becoming friends with Bella. Also enjoyed reading about the author at the end and how she pulled from her own life experiences in writing this story.

A two for one! My ten year old was very happy to read Dog Trouble as well and wanted to write a review too.

Ten year old: I liked Dog Trouble because the character had a variety of challenges to face and learned a lot while volunteering at the Dog Shelter. I also liked that he made friends and strengthened relationships in the story through skateboarding. I think for people who like story's about dogs, friendship, family and adventure this graphic novel is for you!


Me:
Kids are going to love this one! It comes out of Oct 29th, 2024. I will be buying several copies.

Thank you to First Second for the opportunity to read this one in advanced of its publication date.

This is a great story about learning new skills and helping the community.
This book does have the death of a dog in it, so I would say that this book is for slightly older graphic novel readers.
A great plot, and enjoyable content. :)

Fantastic! I loved all of the dog profiles and how Ash grew in self-confidence as he faced each challenge working at the shelter. Jo was a great mentor. There was one twist that I didn't love - I suppose it served to build Ash's resilience, but it will turn some readers off. For those who keep reading, there is a happy ending, and it may inspire other kids to volunteer at animal shelters.
I also liked the skateboarding and the stepfamily subplots, which aren't always shown in positive lights.

A touching story of a boy learning to belong by taking care of the dogs at the local pet shelter. As the dogs slowly open up to him, he opens up to his dad, stepmom, and stepsister, as well as local skateboarders and dog-lovers. The added details of shelter-specific vocabulary and information about dog breeds was a great touch.

**Spoilers**

Ash lives with his mother, a busy nurse who is also taking classes for her CCRN certification, in a large coastal city. This starts with a memory all of us can relate to; having to wait at school for a parent who is running late to pick us up. He doesn't see too much of his father, who lives about an hour away on Ferncliff Island with his new wife Cheryl and her daughter Parker. When Ash makes a bad choice to skateboard with friends in an abandoned warehouse after having some other problems, his mother decides to send him to his father's for the summer. Not only that, but he's required to do community service every weekday. He thinks about going to a senior center, but he still misses his gradfather, who recently passed away. Instead, he ends up at the animal shelter, where the supervisor, Joanna, has him working with dogs, even though he doesn't like them very much. There's a ton of work to do, and Ash uncomplainingly does piles of laundry, updates dog's fecal scoring charts, cleans, posts on social media, and eventually walks dogs. He starts with the dogs who are very well behaved, and takes a liking to one dog, Cooper, who has some behavioral issues because he has been neglected (sound familiar, Ash?). Ash also finds that there is a skateboard park in town, and meets Joanna's young relative Bella there. She introduces him to mountain biking, and the two get along well. Ash likes his step family, but has some small irritations with them. The same is true of work, as well, but he has a positive attitude and starts coming early to work because he enjoys it. He does make some mistakes, like letting a dog off the leash, but Joanna is very understanding, and uses the moments to teach Ash valuable information. She is also good about rewarding his diligence. One afternoon, he takes Cooper on a walk in the woods, carefully keeping him on the leash. He asks his dad if they can adopt Cooper and keep him at the father's house, but the next time he comes to the shelter, Cooper has passed away after suffering a fatal spider bite. Ash is understandably beside himself with grief and guilt. He fights with Bella, but does manage to still be nice to Parker. He has made friends with a man who runs a local restaurant, and when the man gives him a bone for Cooper, as is his wont, Ash is upset, and the man helps him process his emotions a bit. Joann asks for Ash's help with Roxy, a tripod, and shows him that even though things didn't end well with Cooper, he is making a difference in the lives of dogs at the shelter. Ash is able to make up with Bella and make plans for spending more time on the island with his father and his new community.
Strengths: Where to start? First of all, there's skateboarding, which needs to be portrayed a LOT more in middle grade literature. I love that Bella was into the sport, and introduces Ash to mountain biking as well. There's great depictions of family dynamics that are very realistic. Single moms are often overworked, and tweens often get into trouble. A father and hour away might be more distant, even if the relationship is cordial. There is a ton of good information about the work that animal shelters do, and there are notes about a wide variety of activities and terms associated with rescues. The animals' problems are well explained, and I adored how Joanna used things that went wrong to help Ash learn things. I rather hoped that Ash would get to stay on the island, but it's reasonable that he had to go home. The cover on this is fantastic, and I know that this will fly off the shelves like kittens at an adoption event.
Weaknesses: Normally, I would complain about the grandfather dying, as well as Cooper passing away, but these events are both really used to inform Ash's character and are not "soggy" at all. Bad stuff happens, and I think that tweens process bad stuff more like Ash does; there's other stuff to worry about as well, and so even big, sad events aren't necessarily dwelt upon. But yes, Cooper does die.
What I really think: This was really quite brilliant. Do I buy two copies, or three? This might be one of my favorite graphic novels after Tatulli's Short and Skinny, and I am not personally a fan of the format. Readers who enjoyed Lloyd's Allergic or Fairbairn and Assarasakorn PAWS series will definitely want to pick this one up.

This adorable graphic novel covered a variety of topics: having two homes, life changes, volunteering, grief, friends - and dogs! Ash finds himself in some trouble while living in the city with mom. This causes his parents to decide it's time for Ash to spend the entire summer with his dad in the woods on an island and away from his friends. Ash is resistant to this plan because not only does he consider the island boring, but he has to do community service! Choosing the work at the local animal shelter, will the dogs help Ash handle this summer? The artwork is perfect - it captures the dogs and their personalities throughout the book. I also love the definitions of shelter and animal related issues so the reader learns something.

Dog Trouble is a heartwarming tale celebrating the bond between dogs and humans, showcasing the tireless efforts of shelters and rescues, highlighting the resilience of families, and emphasizing the impact of service. This story is destined to capture the hearts of animal enthusiasts everywhere.