Puppy Love

by Gary Soto

Overview

A sweetly humorous middle grade novel packed with action, basketball, and a dash of magical realism about friendship and family, first crushes, and belonging, from acclaimed author Gary Soto.

Thirteen-year-old Jordan Mendoza has a huge crush on his classmate, Sierra, but he’s never going to win her affections if he stays a C student and keeps embarrassing himself on the basketball court. And it doesn’t help that his best friend, Antonio, likes to tease him about it all a little too much.

But when Jordan dives into the waters of a dangerous irrigation canal to save a drowning puppy, he’s suddenly got even more on his mind than kissing Sierra and making the starting team. Can he nurse the abandoned puppy back to health (and will his parents let him keep her)? Who threw her into the canal—and is it possible that there are more puppies needing rescue? And why are the cops suddenly at Jordan’s door, looking for him? 

There’s something for every reader in this story’s mix of humor, sports, themes of thrilling independence, subtle strands of magical realism, and timely social commentary, all held together by a sweet and satisfying emotional core.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063267787
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,038,040
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gary Soto is the author of Baseball in April, Taking Sides, Puppy Love, and many more books for young readers. He is a National Book Award finalist and a recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Medal, the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature, the Tomás Rivera Book Award, the NEA Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award, the California Library Association’s Beatty Award, and the PEN Center West Book Award. He lives in Northern California.

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2023

Thirteen-year-old Jordan Mendoza thinks his height will give him an advantage while playing on his school’s basketball team, until he misses a game-winning shot in front of the entire gym, including his crush Sierra. While hanging out near a local canal—where he often goes to think and, more recently, to avoid his classmates’ humiliating teasing—Jordan notices and rescues a helpless puppy struggling to swim in the freezing waters. After bringing it to a local shelter and returning home to sleep, Jordan has a dream that urges him back to the canal, where he finds another pooch. Subsequent visions lead to more canine rescues, and after Jordan redeems his skills on the court by scoring the winning basket in an important game, he grows closer to Sierra, who invites him to help her clean up litter around the canal. But when Jordan’s excursions implicate him in a drug-related crime, the resulting inquiry threatens everything he’s worked so hard for. Jordan is a protagonist worth rooting for; through his compassionate and earnest POV, Soto (Lucky Luis) spins each seemingly disparate narrative into a cohesive and lightly socially conscious read. Most characters read as Latinx. Ages 8–12. (June)

Publishers Weekly

(Puppy Love) "Jordan is a protagonist worth rooting for; through his compassionate and earnest POV, Soto spins each seemingly disparate narrative into a cohesive and lightly socially conscious read."  — Publishers Weekly

(Puppy Love) "Lighthearted storytelling punctuated with humor makes this a feel-good novel about a boy’s first love." — Kirkus Reviews

(Puppy Love) "This frank, funny story is told in a wonderfully conversational tone. . . . A delightful examination of friendship, family, and love in all its forms."  — Booklist

(Facts of Life) "Soto writes with humor, wit, and a voice that will appeal to tweens."  — School Library Journal

(Accidental Love) "With humor and insight, [Soto] creates memorable, likable characters." — Booklist

(Have Mercy on These Teenage Chimps) "[A] lighthearted, off-beat slice of life . . . Breezy and entertaining." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-04-12
A boy dreams of love and basketball stardom following public embarrassment.

After missing a shot and costing his basketball team a chance at the championship—a humiliation witnessed by his crush, Sierra Mendez—13-year-old Jordan Mendoza is sitting by the canal, nursing his injured ego, when he spots a puppy struggling in the water. Jordan saves the puppy and later, guided by a dream, finds a second one. When Coach emails with news that their team will compete in the playoffs after all, Jordan anticipates his possible redemption. In fact, after he scores the winning basket, Sierra invites him to volunteer cleaning up litter with her the next day. That night, another dream sends Jordan back to the canal, where he finds a partially submerged car, a discovery that leads to yet another puppy in need of rescue. But just before his meeting with Sierra, the police, investigating the car and the drug-related crimes linked to it, arrive and bring Jordan in for questioning. The investigation, Jordan’s relationship with Sierra, and the championship game intertwine in a headlong rush toward a satisfying, bittersweet ending. Employing a close-third-person narration centered on Jordan, Soto skirts thorny social issues, which are only ever hinted at through the parents’ reactions. Lighthearted storytelling punctuated with humor makes this novel an enjoyable read. Most characters appear to be Latine.

A feel-good novel about a boy’s first love. (Fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews