YA for the Dogs

I’m a firm believer that pets make everything better – social media posts, life, and, of course, books. (Unless that pet is a spider or a snake...just...no.) Whether it’s a cat, dog, owl, or unicorn, I’m a firm believer that pets are family members and deserve all the cuddles.  

 Personally, though, I’m a dog person. I wasn’t always, and I still love cats, but we are a dog household (thanks to some allergies). Thus, I love reading books with dogs in them. It’s not unheard of for me to get more attached to the dog than the other characters. So below is a list of YA books that have the best pups who are worthy of all the nose boops. 

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee 

 Bear is the beloved dog whose human, Nathan Bell, is set to inherit the newspaper his father runs. Nathan also happens to be the romantic interest of Jo, the main character. Bear is never far from Nathan’s side. His reaction to seeing (or smelling) Jo after she’s secretly lived in the Bell’s basement for years is both touching and funny. While Jo gets pulled into some shady dealings, Bear stays safe and is the goodest of good girls. 

 Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger 

 Technically, Kirby has already died, but his human is able to raise the spirits of dearly departed animals. So it was no surprise that Elatsoe raised Kirby’s spirit to keep him by her side. And stay by her side he does as she begins to investigate her cousin’s murder and the super shady town where he died. Kirby can't bark to alert Elatsoe, but he’s still able to let her know when things aren’t quite right. And that makes him a super good boy. 

 Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe 

Halti doesn’t own dogs, but he does run a dog walking business as an afterschool job. Well, it’s a fake company so he doesn’t actually do anything with dogs...until Corinne finds out about his scam. She blackmails him into walking her new puppy, Palm Tree, in exchange for helping her fit in at school. What could go wrong? With Palm Tree, (mostly) nothing! All puppies experience some growing pains (more so for their humans sometimes), but Palm Tree is still completely boop-able. 

Even in the fictional world, dogs are amazing companions. They may drive the character nuts at times, but they are incredibly loyal to their humans (just like in real life!). And, who knows...maybe you’ll even find an awesome name for your next dog! (I’m looking at you, Jamie Fox-Pickle.) 

 Happy reading!