Thursday, August 13, 2009

Battle of the Books: Reviews for Marley: a dog like no other


Marley: a dog like no other by John Grogan

Reviewed by Varun, Gr. 8
This book was pretty good. I liked the way they used personification and gave Marley a really cool personality. The story really made you feel like laughing. I'm not particularly fond of dogs, but I don't hate them either. But this book was really good, no matter what type of animal you like. I definitely recommend it.

Reviewed by Reah, Gr. 6
Marley: A dog like no other is an amazing book. This book can make you laugh, cry, and smile all in one. I loved this book. When the Grogans are ready to adopt a dog, they choose Marley, a tiny, little rambunctious furball. John wants his new puppy to be like the dog he had as a kid, "Saint" Shaun. Will he be? Read this book to find out!

Reviewed by Robert, Gr. 9
This book is about a family dog who is "full of life." He enjoys chomping on frisbees eating mangoes and driving his family insane. This book chronicles the life of Marley and the life of the family that he belongs to. In fact through Marley's thirteen year lifespan, a family grows and matures. However, that story is overshadowed by Marley's antics. Anyone who is looking for a good laugh should read the book BEFORE watching the movie because the book makes the movie easier to understand and it adds dramatic irony to the movie. For anyone looking for a good book Marley: a dog like no other is the book for you.

Reviewed by Maria, Gr. 6
Marley: a dog like no other is the kid version of Marley & Me. If you have seen the movie, that's great. As always, the book has more detail. It talks about John Grogan's exact feelings for Marley. You can easily picture every crazy thing Marley does. And the names he is called (Mr.Wiggles, the Labrador evader...). If you want to know what the craziest dog can do, I suggest you read Marley: a dog like no other.

Reviewed by Sarah, Gr. 8
Marley is a rambunctious, loud, silly, and ill-mannered golden retriever. He jumps on guests, chews anything he sees, and doesn't know when enough is enough. John and his wife, Jenny, have easily learned that Marley is not the easiest dog to cope with. His bouncing puppy years were cute, but unfortunately, he did not grow out of his unruly ways. Will Marley ever learn how to behave, be polite, or be reasonable at all?

Reviewed by Erika, Gr. 8
This book is very sad and I would not recommend it for animal lovers. It was a very good book, but very sad.

Additional thoughts by Miss Catherine:
This was the only Battle book that I did not like this year. I wasn’t looking forward to reading it, knowing how it ended, but knew I had to. I don’t usually steer clear of sad books- in fact; I enjoy a good cry every now and then. But this book was different. I didn’t like the author’s writing style, so for me the good parts didn’t even out with the sad parts. I felt like there wasn’t enough of a story (beyond some cute and/or funny anecdotes) to carry me through to the end- an end that I knew was going to be a tear-jerker. I kind of felt manipulated the whole time. I heard the adult version (Marley and Me) was full of more detail so maybe that version might be different for me, but honestly I don’t even want to bother. I have too many other books on my “list of things to read.” On the bright side- it was a short book that didn’t take too long to read.
Additional thoughts by Ms. Meghan
I was a little wary about reading Marley and Me because I had already read the adult version of it. I loved the beginning of the adult version but couldn’t get over the ending. It reminded me to much of the time with my own dog many years ago. The children’s version did have some fun stories which may have you laughing in it about Marley. If you are prepared for how it ends then I would recommend the book to you. You’ll get to read about a lovable dog that’s quite rambunctious causing him to stir up some trouble.

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