STINK BOMB MOM

Family matters never overwhelm this funny and well-paced story of a girl's ingenuity when her beloved dog is mistakenly labeled dangerous. Rory and her mom Doria seem to be polar opposites: Doria wears tie-dyed clothes, and her current boyfriend conducts scent seminars that are more like smelly Tupperware parties; Rory, whose father left when she was a toddler, is ever responsible, busy caring for her huge menagerie of pets (the minutiae of which are related in glorious detail) and occasionally making a square meal for her sometimes-vegetarian mom. Meanwhile, her best friend's parents are having a marital crisis. Facing a crisis herself, Rory solicits the help of surrounding adults, but must ultimately rely on her own resourcefulness to keep her pet. The climax—featuring cougars, a small child in danger, and animal control wardens—is exciting, but the welcome draw in this novel is Rory's fully developed characterization; her maturity in assessing and accepting her family situation will be familiar to many readers. (Fiction. 8-12)