2 out of 4 stars
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The book, An Angel Named ‘Dog’, written by Melody Hewson, is about a woman named Cora who is struggling to survive by herself in a post-apocalyptic world. Along her journey she encounters a dog that saves her life and reminds her of what it is like to experience emotions such as love and courage again. Through her experiences with Dog she is able to open herself up and reconnect again with other people.
The beginning of the novel starts off with a wonderful description of Cora and her plight which helps to bring the character to live and sets the novel off to a good start. Cora’s story is set roughly 10 years after the ‘Great Disaster’ which has led to the destruction of most of the earth and its inhabitants. There isn’t any explanation as to what has caused the ‘Great Disaster’ or how she has survived so long on her own except for brief flashbacks that come in the form of disjointed dreams. The dreams offer a glimpse into what her life was like before but they left me wanting to know more. Throughout the book Cora’s hunger and perilous grip on life is mentioned repeatedly and at times it felt a little redundant.
Towards the end of the story, Cora finds herself leading a group of survivors who look to her for guidance due to her courage. I found this part hard to believe since Cora didn’t really show any signs of bravery or even leadership up to this point. Most of the time, Cora comes off as abrasive and uncaring. This portion could use some work to smooth over and make the transition of Cora as a lone survivor to a leader more fluent and believable. Cora’s role as a leader ties into the climax of the book so I was a little underwhelmed with how the story ended.
Overall, the book was well written. There weren’t any noticeable grammar mistakes or misspellings. I did notice in a few sections of the book Cora was referred to as Reena. The change of names is never explained so I am assuming it is a typo but it was a little confusing.
I would rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars. It’s a good, solid story which I enjoyed reading but I don’t feel it is unique enough to make it stand out by itself among the mass of post-apocalyptic stories. The theme of Cora’s relationship with Dog is interesting and helps draw the reader in but it isn’t strong enough on its own to turn this into a compelling read.
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An Angel Named 'Dog'
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