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Ingo and Lani are moving to Washington DC to live as a family with Jim, Pat, and their pets. The arrival of Ingo and Lani at Union Station in Washington DC turns on Ingo's patriotic emotions, and he sets a goal for himself to help make the world a better place. The greatness and importance of the town's sites seen on the way to their new home strengthen his decision. Soon, he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation and ends up being the unintended victim of poisoning. Pat, Lani, and Jim act quickly and save Ingo, but their friend and his two children are in permanent danger as the spies have an accomplice implanted in their household. They live now in a lovely close-knit small, and multi-racial community in the neighborhood of Shaw. The neighbors are friendly and help each other in need. Ingo recovers well from the poisoning and, due to his abilities, is used to safeguard the children in the father's absence. The gravity of the events brings the whole group closer together. After laboratory testing, surveillance work, amateur forensics, and caution exercised by all of them, they have evidence and are ready to act. After Alex's second child is victim to the spies' aggression, he contacts the authorities with the support of his friends Jim and Lani. Alex, the scientist, is so impressed with Ingo's abilities that he proposes the Police and FBI use Ingo as the contact with the spies, which leads ultimately to the neutralization of the spy ring. Ingo's performance is highly appreciated, and he has the gratitude and admiration of the group. He receives from the authorities full recognition for his contribution, 'employment' offers as a dog trainer, and long-term compensation. Ingo has achieved his life goal—from Book 1—of a good life and having the love and friendship of his master but also fulfilled his self-imposed patriotic duty 'to make the world a better place.' As the last book of the Ingo series, the book ends with Ingo's more profound understanding of what it takes to make the world a better place.' But he's a dog, after all. He is now waiting for a helping of juicy steak.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.25 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: Architect Lani Bellamie, Jim Queenan’s new girlfriend, and her dog Ingo move in with him and his son Patrick. Ingo gets sick after eating a neighbor child’s rejected lunch, which apparently contained poison. With a catastrophic turn of events, so begins the mystery involving intrigue and espionage that the super intelligent Ingo will help solve.

Prose/Style: The grammar would benefit from professional assistance, with run-on sentences and misplaced modifiers quite common. The sentence structure is sometimes a little awkward and the vocabulary is at the high school level. This story is a simple mystery that pretty much solves itself, but the writing would make it challenging for most middle schoolers.

Originality:  This YA novel exhibits a completely adult sensibility and many of the points the author chooses to focus on would not be of particular interest to kids, such as recipes and adults’ clothing. Too much of the action is intended to showcase dog psychology, biology and training, which interrupts the narrative in sometimes uncomfortable ways.

Character Development/Execution: The main human characters here are Lani, Jim, and Pat, but the most important characters are the animals, particularly Ingo. As the novel progresses, readers  will be more and more amazed by Ingo’s understanding and abilities.

Date Submitted: August 16, 2021

News
07/21/2021
The Prairies Book Review BOOK REVIEW SERVICE BOOK SERVICE

A rollicking, ripping tall tale…
Intricately and elegantly plotted and full of vividly rendered details, Gavin’s upper middle-grade series is a deliciously readable adventure story with mystery at its core.

The third installment sees Lani and Ingo moving to Washington DC to live as a family with Jim, his twelve-year-old son Patrick, and their pets. When Ingo becomes the poisoning target, the incident is just the beginning of a series of perilous situations. Will Ingo’smagical abilities help catch the dangerous spy ring? Gavin skillfully captures Ingo’s perspective and personality; Ingo can’t always convey its feelings, but readers will see the way it makes the most of its situation. Filled with intelligence and determination, Ingo overcomes significant obstacles in order to help its humans. Ingo’s growth from an unsure, young puppy to an exceedingly smart adult dog corresponds with that of Lani’s, who blooms into a mature adult willing to take chances and assert her independence. The narrative alternates between the hilarious human and dog dramas and Ingo’ssleuthing adventures. Besides addressing the subject of trauma and displacement, Gavinunderscores the power of resilience, patience, integrity, loyalty, bravery, compassion, and solidarity, revealing the positive sides of tight family and friendship bonds. 

 

 

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