3 out of 4 stars
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Gentle Hero is the sequel to Ace Mask's first novel, Forever Stay. However, it can definitely stand alone as the author briefly describes the events of the first book, as well as how the characters got to where they were, in the beginning of the second book. The star of the novel, Kane, is a border collie with remarkable intelligence. Elizabeth, one of his owners, decides to have him certified as a therapy dog to help people like her brother, who is going through chemotherapy. However, one of Kane's first assignments is to help calm a young girl who is the key to solving a murder -- the only person who might have seen the murderer's face.
Gentle Hero is classified as YA fiction and is only 230 pages long. It took me a couple tries to get into it and I lost interest quickly within the first 50 pages or so, but once the action picked up I read straight through to the end. The author's writing style is a little formal, which would normally suit crime novels, but does not really suit the YA genre.
Besides my issues with the writing style, I also found over 10 minor mistakes in the novel. Almost all of them were punctuation errors. Another thing that bothered me was the ease with which Kane became certified. The instructor even mentioned that certification usually takes half a year, but she ended up giving Kane and Elizabeth an assignment on the same day! That felt rushed and unrealistic to me, even for a YA novel.
Thankfully, there were plenty of good things about the novel that canceled those errors out, at least in my mind. Kane is very intelligent, but that doesn't mean that he always understands what the humans are doing. Some of his inner monologues were hilarious to read and it was interesting to see things from a dog's perspective. Also, Elizabeth's brother, Ben, has autism and is going through chemotherapy. Not only is it great to see representation in YA novels, but Ben is such a trooper despite being so young and going through such a hard experience. He was really an inspiration to me.
I'll admit that I'm not exactly the target audience for this book. A part of me wants to rate it only 2 stars for being predictable and having all the issues I mentioned above. Although I enjoyed parts of it and was satisfied by the ending, I wouldn't necessarily want to read it again. However, I know plenty of younger people who would be thrilled by it, so I'm going to give Gentle Hero 3 out of 4 stars and just take one star away for the multiple errors and the rushed scenes. I'm definitely going to recommend this to some of my younger nieces and nephews, as well as friends with autistic children or those who have never thought of having therapy with a dog before. I'm sure after reading this book, they'll be convinced that therapy dogs are amazing.
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Gentle Hero
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