HOTEL FOR DOGS

by Lois Duncan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 23, 1971

We're going to be living with allergic (to dogs) Aunt Alice and her white rugs, and I'm going to be 'sweet little Elizabeth' (ten) and you're going to be 'darling Bruce' (twelve) and I don't think I can stand it."" When a stray canine pads up Aunt Alice's stairs, unbeknownst to all but Liz who badly misses her dachshund, and bears three puppies, Bruce has a brainstorm -- the vacant house down the street. Of course there'd be no need for a hotel of this sort if maltreatment weren't so extraordinarily rampant in Elmwood, especially as close to home as next door where spoiled ""only kid"" Jerry Bates (one of the meanest boys to ever appear in a docile story) holds court. . . and beats his setter. Red Rover thus becomes another secret guest and then comes MacTavish -- some family moved and simply left him to fend for himself. Even with the help of a voluntary exile from Jerry's gang and of (demeaningly) two girls, things get out of hand what with food bills, the question of exercise, and Liz's inability to temper her enthusiasm. The children have more than the usual amount of tether and their very often underhanded 'goodness' poses problems: first, it doesn't balance all the badness set around them here; and second, happy-ending notwithstanding, it's variously delinquent (and suggestive).

Pub Date: March 23, 1971

ISBN: 054510923X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION