Book Review: Noodle by Ellen Miles

Let me start off by saying that middle grade and younger animal books are my absolute favorites! Why did this one score so low you ask? Well, let’s look into it:

Likes:

First off, the book was about animals, and I absolutely love animals. Books like these are a charm to pick up and read every now and again. I just love how innocent the plot and the characters are and find that a book like this really helps ease the heartache, that YA fantasy (and other genres) can sometimes bring.

I also loved how realistic the protagonist was in this text. They stay very true to the young audience that this book was intended for, complete with the childish quirks and sibling rivalry.

I also loved the information that was shared at the back of the book about what to do if you find a stray dog and other facts. Not only does it show that the author did some research into this, it also directly educates kids on how to handle these situations. A very nice touch.

Finally, while the ending was very bitter-sweet (my inner child was in full swing by the end of the book XD), I did enjoy it. While it didn’t satisfy my childhood fantasy of keeping every animal that I could get my hands on, it did remain true to life and that sometimes, the best place for a puppy isn’t necessarily by your side, but with someone else.

Dislikes:

The one thing that knocked this story from four stars to three was this: The direct monologue of the dog. Yep. I’m talking Maramaduke style monologue of the dog. It was very sudden and off putting and while I can understand why it is there, I think there could’ve been a better way of carrying it out. Now the dog wasn’t all smart-alecky throughout the whole text, the thoughts of the dog were used to emphasise certain scenes, but was still very off putting for me.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and while the dog’s monologue wasn’t something I was a fan of, I can see why it would exist in this text. Just a little reminder as to who the target audience for this book is.