"The Dog Who Saved the World" by Ross Welford, with cover art by Tom Clohosy-Cole is one of those books that just hooks you right in from the moment you read the first chapter.
It starts off with a young girl - Georgie - Who is definitely an animal lover. Dogs, in particular, are her favourites and when she adopts a mischievous scamp of a dog called Mr Mash (who is a mish-mash of different breeds, hence the rather odd name), chaos soon ensues. Georgie is initially left with no choice but to return Mr Mash (who thinks everything is food or to be played with) to the rescue centre.
But then Georgie has a fantastic idea. By volunteering at the centre she'll not only get to keep an eye on Mr Mash but lots of other dogs too! Brilliant!
Through a mishap with a chewed swimming cap, Georgie meets an enigmatic scientist who is working on an immersive 3D virtual reality world - and thinks that Georgie would make an ideal test subject.
But then Mr Mash gets ill, and soon it looks like all the dogs in the world are stricken with a horrifying pandemic - and soon it becomes apparent that Georgie will be the key to saving her beloved best friend, and perhaps even the world.
It has to be one of the most original ideas for a middle grade story that we've read in a long time. Ross managed to ground a compelling science fiction / dystopia story in settings and scenarios that feel relatable, identifiable, and of course bang on point for appealing to my 10 year old daughter.
There are some truly brilliant observations of Mr Mash's mischievous but adorable behaviour as the plot unfolds. Beautifully paced, breathtaking and exciting - and just so durned good that it deserves all the accolades it will undoubtedly get.
Ross is one of our favourite middle grade authors and he's come up trumps once again with this. Absolute must-buy!
Sum this book up in one sentence:
C: Full of amazing friendships and a dog character that will melt your heart!
Daddy: The art of writing a cracking middle grade story is to hook the reader in the first chapter and Ross does this with ease, teasing you with so many tiny nuggets of story substance that make you want to read on - before you realise it's 2 AM and you've gobbled the whole thing up in one sitting.
"The Dog Who Saved the World" by Ross Welford, with cover by Tom Clohosy Cole, is out now, published by HarperCollins Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).