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Lily Unleashed
In the spirit of classics like Because of Winn Dixie and How to Steal a Dog comes the story of an underdog who inspires an insecure girl to speak up for this traumatized puppy mill rescue as well as the others awaiting release from their locked cages.
When sixth-grader Lily Grabowski takes in her teacher's puppy-mill rescue dog, without parental permission, it sets off a chain of events that challenges her dog smarts, self-esteem, and ideas about what it means to be a true friend.
As Lily's heart opens to this tiny dog, complications mount. Cagney howls all day because of separation anxiety. Lily's nemesis neighbor threatens to call the dog warden about a noise nuisance. BFF drama threatens Lily's class project on why underdogs matter. Lily's over-protective mom issues a thirty-day ultimatum, and Lily's guilty conscience grows while a broken promise looms.
“Charming and informative...poignant touching narrative...Kloster shows how a young person can truly make a difference on an issue that matters to them.” --Rory Kress, award-winning journalist and author of The Doggie in The Window
When sixth-grader Lily Grabowski takes in her teacher's puppy-mill rescue dog, without parental permission, it sets off a chain of events that challenges her dog smarts, self-esteem, and ideas about what it means to be a true friend.
As Lily's heart opens to this tiny dog, complications mount. Cagney howls all day because of separation anxiety. Lily's nemesis neighbor threatens to call the dog warden about a noise nuisance. BFF drama threatens Lily's class project on why underdogs matter. Lily's over-protective mom issues a thirty-day ultimatum, and Lily's guilty conscience grows while a broken promise looms.
“Charming and informative...poignant touching narrative...Kloster shows how a young person can truly make a difference on an issue that matters to them.” --Rory Kress, award-winning journalist and author of The Doggie in The Window
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 16, 2023
What a great book!!! It's a short story of just over 200 pages.
I loved the charterers in this book and the author made them feel so real. I kept wanting it to be some sort of memoir due to there being so much truth behind puppy mills and what happens to the dogs that come from one.
This is a book that will pull at your heart strings, you will feel the sadness, loss, determination, excitement, fear and joy throughout the entire book.
Young tween readers and up will enjoy the book, and wouldn't it be great if the book became a school standard as a must read and discuss book?!
I will highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast read. It would be great for an airplane read, but be aware to have tissues stashed in your pocket just in case.
Plus, once you finish the story, please keep reading the "Afterword", "The History of Puppy Mills" and the "Ways you can help & other links" in the back. There is a lot of information there.
As a side note, I will be passing this book on at the upcoming Maltese Picnic in Wisconsin this summer for someone else to enjoy. Thank you to J.D. Kloster for the enjoyment of a great read.
I loved the charterers in this book and the author made them feel so real. I kept wanting it to be some sort of memoir due to there being so much truth behind puppy mills and what happens to the dogs that come from one.
This is a book that will pull at your heart strings, you will feel the sadness, loss, determination, excitement, fear and joy throughout the entire book.
Young tween readers and up will enjoy the book, and wouldn't it be great if the book became a school standard as a must read and discuss book?!
I will highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast read. It would be great for an airplane read, but be aware to have tissues stashed in your pocket just in case.
Plus, once you finish the story, please keep reading the "Afterword", "The History of Puppy Mills" and the "Ways you can help & other links" in the back. There is a lot of information there.
As a side note, I will be passing this book on at the upcoming Maltese Picnic in Wisconsin this summer for someone else to enjoy. Thank you to J.D. Kloster for the enjoyment of a great read.
May 17, 2024
Author J.D. Kloster has written a powerful young adult novel, showing readers the effect one dog and one girl can have. Lily is an ordinary sixth grade girl in Green Bay, WI. Tall, with a love of dogs, and a knack for English class. Her teacher, Ms. Stadler, learns about Lily’s dog, Ruger through an essay she’s written for class. What Ms. Stadler doesn’t know though is that Ruger recently passed away unexpectedly and there remains a Ruger sized hole in Lily’s heart. So, when Ms. Stadler tells Lily about a dog she recently fostered from a puppy mill situation, Lily jumps at the chance to help, despite her mother’s protests.
Lily sets off in a series of lies as she brings Cagney, or Sweetie as Ms. Stadler calls him, home. Blindsiding her mother and so quickly after Ruger’s passing. Falling back on her dad’s love of dogs and her experience with training Ruger, she’s convinced she can help Cagney, but her mom gives her just one month to prove herself.
What follows is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and yet wholesome tale. Through “Lily Unleashed” readers will learn about friendship, companionship, the love of a dog, and the cruel reality of puppy mills. Kloster uses her book, and her platform, to educate readers on the horrors of puppy mills and pet store puppies. Through the eyes of Lily, we encounter the stark realities of puppy mill rescues, the statistics of these dog factories in the United States, and the importance of adoption.
A true underdog story “Lily Unleashed” opens readers’ eyes to the puppy mill industry through the love, dedication, and persistence of Lily and Cagney. Dog lovers, animal lovers, and empathetic humans alike can rally behind Lily and Cagney’s story and learn what it takes to make a difference.
This story is close to my heart. Just like Lily I rescued my own Maltese from Northcentral Maltese Rescue in Racine, WI. However, unlike Cagney, my Cleo was a senior, having spent her life caged with the sole purpose of birthing pure breed puppies for pet stores to sell. Like Cagney, Cleo came to me fearful, scared of grass, rain, other humans, stairs, noises, you name it. As a way to keep her and her puppy’s cage clean, she learned to eat feces as the puppy mill did not tend to her basic needs, so when we got her, she no longer had any teeth left. In addition to her training and socialization we also had to make sure she kept her gums and tongue hydrated. Cleo was one of the most loving, loyal, and incredible dogs I’ve ever had in my life.
“Lily Unleashed” speaks for all the Cleo’s, Cagney’s, and puppy mill survivors out there, when so many stories do not end as theirs does. Kloster has truly created call to action amidst a beautiful, happy ending.
Lily sets off in a series of lies as she brings Cagney, or Sweetie as Ms. Stadler calls him, home. Blindsiding her mother and so quickly after Ruger’s passing. Falling back on her dad’s love of dogs and her experience with training Ruger, she’s convinced she can help Cagney, but her mom gives her just one month to prove herself.
What follows is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and yet wholesome tale. Through “Lily Unleashed” readers will learn about friendship, companionship, the love of a dog, and the cruel reality of puppy mills. Kloster uses her book, and her platform, to educate readers on the horrors of puppy mills and pet store puppies. Through the eyes of Lily, we encounter the stark realities of puppy mill rescues, the statistics of these dog factories in the United States, and the importance of adoption.
A true underdog story “Lily Unleashed” opens readers’ eyes to the puppy mill industry through the love, dedication, and persistence of Lily and Cagney. Dog lovers, animal lovers, and empathetic humans alike can rally behind Lily and Cagney’s story and learn what it takes to make a difference.
This story is close to my heart. Just like Lily I rescued my own Maltese from Northcentral Maltese Rescue in Racine, WI. However, unlike Cagney, my Cleo was a senior, having spent her life caged with the sole purpose of birthing pure breed puppies for pet stores to sell. Like Cagney, Cleo came to me fearful, scared of grass, rain, other humans, stairs, noises, you name it. As a way to keep her and her puppy’s cage clean, she learned to eat feces as the puppy mill did not tend to her basic needs, so when we got her, she no longer had any teeth left. In addition to her training and socialization we also had to make sure she kept her gums and tongue hydrated. Cleo was one of the most loving, loyal, and incredible dogs I’ve ever had in my life.
“Lily Unleashed” speaks for all the Cleo’s, Cagney’s, and puppy mill survivors out there, when so many stories do not end as theirs does. Kloster has truly created call to action amidst a beautiful, happy ending.
February 27, 2022
The title grabbed me right away--I visualize a trapped dog experiencing freedom, as well as a person feeling freed to be and say what they choose. Turns out the title says it all.
Lily is a new middle-schooler, experiencing the awkwardness that adolescence brings: all of the big emotions and relationship loop-de-loops. We first get to know Lily on the heels of the loss of her beloved dog, Ruger. Throughout the story, we see how the characters around Lily, especially a new little four-legged friend with some behavior challenges and a big need for love, bring her up out of her loss, by unveiling a purpose close to her heart, that was so much bigger than Lily's own worries and wonderings. Lily Unleashed will have you laughing and cringing, and feeling all the little dog kisses right along with Lily and her unforgettable pal, Renzo.
I enjoyed the interactions between middle-schoolers and their teachers, neighbors, grandparents and other adults in their lives. It's refreshing to watch Lily's understanding bloom as she problem solves and overcomes adversity, both in her own life and for a class project. She is even able to inspire others around her to act; Lily surprised herself, but was made brave by the importance of her message.
This book is a work of fiction that will have a real-life impact. Every person who reads Lily Unleashed is one more person informed about puppy mills, the need for legislation to end them, and what one can do to help!
Students and classroom teachers will find a robust, heartwarming story that is a terrific launching point for rich discussion and ideas for activism like ending puppy mills and rehabilitating their victims. Lily Unleashed gives readers a lot to think about, long after the story is read.
Lily is a new middle-schooler, experiencing the awkwardness that adolescence brings: all of the big emotions and relationship loop-de-loops. We first get to know Lily on the heels of the loss of her beloved dog, Ruger. Throughout the story, we see how the characters around Lily, especially a new little four-legged friend with some behavior challenges and a big need for love, bring her up out of her loss, by unveiling a purpose close to her heart, that was so much bigger than Lily's own worries and wonderings. Lily Unleashed will have you laughing and cringing, and feeling all the little dog kisses right along with Lily and her unforgettable pal, Renzo.
I enjoyed the interactions between middle-schoolers and their teachers, neighbors, grandparents and other adults in their lives. It's refreshing to watch Lily's understanding bloom as she problem solves and overcomes adversity, both in her own life and for a class project. She is even able to inspire others around her to act; Lily surprised herself, but was made brave by the importance of her message.
This book is a work of fiction that will have a real-life impact. Every person who reads Lily Unleashed is one more person informed about puppy mills, the need for legislation to end them, and what one can do to help!
Students and classroom teachers will find a robust, heartwarming story that is a terrific launching point for rich discussion and ideas for activism like ending puppy mills and rehabilitating their victims. Lily Unleashed gives readers a lot to think about, long after the story is read.
May 28, 2023
We are living in an age of throwing things away. Objects we don't feel attached to anymore. Cars that aren't the latest and greatest. Clothes that are no longer in style. Food that the kids don't want. Old people when they are deemed unimportant to society. And sadly, animals--specifically dogs. While Lily Unleashed, by JD Kloster, is not specifically about throwing animals away, this book seems to fall on the heels of our throw-away society. Lily Unleashed is about a middle school girl who must grow up quickly when a particular rescue dog, Cagney, enters her life. Cagney will not only break your heart, he will help you rejoice in ways you did not expect. I learned a lot about puppy mills, but I was also reminded that there are a lot of good people out there willing to take a chance on a dog that no one else wants. We need more Lilys in the world. We need more families willing to ignore their obsession with keeping up with the Jonses. We need dog owners to understand that the best pups aren't necessarily the ones with perfect pedigrees that only survive a few years, and just because you have a dog with perfectly colored fur doesn't mean he won't have other pitfalls (Hello, Darwin!) We need to take care of our fur babies. Like the book Shilo or even the classic Charlotte's Web, Lily Unleashed reminds all of us that animals--great or small--just want to be loved. It also reminds us that forgiveness often takes as much courage as speaking out about what we feel is just.
April 24, 2022
A wonderful feel good readfor dog lovers, educators and counselors.
This book was full of hope, good intentions and love narrated by Lilly and young middle schooler. Interesting drama with the rescue dog socialization; great middle school stories and issues- from social angst to fervent belief in a cause with the wonderful English class assignment to find and present an underdog. I thought it was a thoughtful book, beautifully written for a young adult. I loved it too as a 70+ yr old. Still smiling.
This book was full of hope, good intentions and love narrated by Lilly and young middle schooler. Interesting drama with the rescue dog socialization; great middle school stories and issues- from social angst to fervent belief in a cause with the wonderful English class assignment to find and present an underdog. I thought it was a thoughtful book, beautifully written for a young adult. I loved it too as a 70+ yr old. Still smiling.
August 1, 2024
What a delightful, educational and fun book for all ages. Kloster does an excellent job drawing you into Lily's world - watching her grow up and seeing what a difference one person can make in the world. In this case puppy mills.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews