CANIS MAGICUS

Twelve-year-old Hayley didn’t want to move to her stepdad’s Massachusetts town, but when she adopts a dog who becomes friends with a coywolf threatened by hunters, she finds a cause worth speaking up for.

The story opens with seventh grader Hayley visiting a blind medium (whose depiction plays into tired magical disability tropes) and receiving messages from her great-grandmother, who encourages her to thrive in her new home, let her stepfather’s negative energy roll off her back, find her authentic voice and use it to influence others—and be prepared for another dog to come into her life. Despite her fear of public speaking, Hayley delivers a class presentation on the importance of protecting wildlife and gets involved in the political process, working with a state representative and speaking at a town hall meeting. The core messages and themes are worthwhile, but the transitions between scenes are often abrupt and uneven, and secondary characters are not well developed. Hayley’s primary relationships are with her dog, Greta, and the coywolf, Al; her siblings occupy background roles. Hayley misses her old best friend, but the final scene indicates she’s reaching out socially. The parental figures seem caring but are only sporadically involved; it’s unclear how much they know about the coywolf in their backyard. Hayley’s family is coded White.

Positive though unpolished representation of raising your voice for a cause.