The dog, Speck, and boy, Hal, in this book need each other terribly and will do whatever it takes to stay together. Much of the book consists of their cross-country odyssey to Hal’s grandparents who love him (as opposed to his parents who generally treat him like a box to be checked rather than a person). Hal and Speck are initially brought together when Hal’s parents rent Speck for three days, assuming Hal will quickly lose interest in (and finally shut up about) having a dog. Other dogs in the dog rental agency end up joining Speck and Hal’s journey and their search for their proper places in the world is also an important part of the book.
This book is an interesting companion to Matilda. While Matilda’s parents are irredeemably terrible, she is a Dahl protagonist and gets on with things (to an entirely unrealistic degree, but realism isn’t Dahl’s thing). The parents in this book are also awful–materialistic and shallow, giving Hal everything except what he actually needs–but here it nearly breaks him. This book is terribly sad (dog rentals?!), funny (full of love and understanding of dogs and children), and angry (adults should not treat children or animals they way that they so often do).
While the author knows and grieves that she isn’t able to change reality, she does make sure that just about everyone in the book gets a very happy ending. This was Eva Ibbotson’s last book; it seems the book may not have made it fully through the editing process at the time of her death and I suspect if it had a few things would have been a bit more polished. And I wouldn’t have minded cutting down on some time spent with some rather villainous people that end up chasing the main characters (it’s a bit complicated). But it doesn’t really matter in the end–it’s almost impossible to put down and kept the boys riveted.
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Illustrator: N/A
