Just Finished: Dogs Have Angels Too

Folks, this is going to be a short and not so sweet review. There comes a time when every reader happens upon a book that just doesn't do a thing for them. Unfortunately, Dogs Have Angels Too by Sarah Cavallaro was that book for me. I really wanted to like it but I just couldn't.

Here's the synopsis:

In the dog-eat-dog world of recessionary New York City, the irrepressible Miss Pink leads a pack of down-on-their-luck women, who ultimately find hope in the most unlikely of places: an over-crowded animal shelter, where unwanted pets are routinely abandoned to their grim fates. Miss Pink, a former marketing executive and divorcee who's intermittently homeless herself, makes it her mission to find homes for a growing bevy of cuddly canines. Her "adoption walks" bring her to meet a series of fellow New Yorkers, all of whom are struggling with their own personal and financial crises. In other words, they are all uniquely ripe or recruitment in Miss Pink's master plan- which she's devising on the fly, by the seat of her favorite pink pants! 

I liked the idea of this book - seeing what happens to someone who got laid off during the recession and how they try to pick themselves up, over and over again. It was also interesting to see the animal shelter side of things too. I'm not a hardcore animal lover but I hate the idea of animals having to be put down because their owners decided that they were too much work or the thought that people abuse their animals. I never really thought too much about who looks after those animals in the shelters and this novel has made me think about it a little bit more - and that's a good thing.

But - and it's a big but - I found it really hard to read this book. Right at the start the author notes that it was based off a screenplay and I think that's the issue. It sort of reads as a script - the conversations don't flow on the page but I could sort of see how it would work on screen or stage. That may not make much sense but I can't really come up with a better way to explain it.

At times Miss Pink seemed very...high and mighty...I suppose I could say. She doesn't let her circumstances beat her down too much and she still has a good sense of self worth, which is nice. However, she sometimes takes it too far and I found her preachy at times and that just did not work for me. She also strikes up some of the most bizarre friendships with even more bizarre characters. They were actually more like caricatures and that wasn't appealing to me.

Another positive though - I really like the cover! It's simple but catches the eye.

So, overall this book was not a win for me. Some people may like it, the hard core animal fans perhaps, but I wasn't one of them. Oh well. Can't win 'em all!

Happy reading :)