Stray

Sixteen-year-old Natalie Kaplan is better around dogs than people. She can name practically every breed of dog there is, yet can't fit in at a party. Natalie lives with her control-freak mother, her cake-baking grandmother, and four dogs (including Fufu, her cement chinese Foo dog that is supposed to bring her luck). For Natalie, the summer before her junior year of high school wasn't supposed to be different from any other summer. Natalie planned to hang out with her friends (Nina and Kirby), help out at her mother's vet clinic, and basically continue to be the obedient daughter she has always been. However, at the beginning of summer, a wave of wildness overcomes Natalie - starting with streaking her hair blue and continuing to lying to her mother. When boy-hottie Carter Reed, son of Natalie's mother's friend, comes to stay with them for the summer, Natalie just can't help being attracted to him despite her mother's request to "keep it professional." In one summer, Natalie is about to break the leash from her controlling mother and stray just enough to find herself. STRAY is a funny and warm novel about one dog-loving girl's summer transformation. This is one of my favorite books of the year and I would definitely recommend it! Reviewed by: Safia Abdul