Vet Volunteers 01: Fight for Life

Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. This first volume of the Wild at Heart series, a spin-off of the popular American Girl stories, features 11-year-old Maggie, who has been raised by her grandmother since her parents were killed in a car accident. Gran is a veterinarian who owns the Wild at Heart Animal Clinic, where Maggie is a volunteer. The plot centers on a crisis involving 10 sick puppies brought to Gran's clinic. Maggie suspects that they all came from the same place--a puppy mill. With the help of other teen volunteers at the clinic, she sets out to find the person who's behind the mill and shut it down. Maggie's first-person narrative describes the veterinary procedures in simple language and builds suspense in the key adventure scenes. But it is Maggie's portrayal of her grandmother as a feisty, capable vet that will stick in readers' minds. The other teen volunteers introduced in this story each get a turn to shine in upcoming books in the series. Lauren Peterson
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A fast-paced story that kids will like. (Children?s Literature)