By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Rate: Good
When Marty Preston finds a thin beagle that follows him everywhere, he knows in his heart that he needs to help him. He learns that this dog–named Shiloh by him–is owned by the cruel Judd Travers, who kicks him and beats him ruthlessly. Marty, horrified and determined, decides to hide Shiloh in a pen on a hill, and is forced to lie to his family and friends about him.
But when a terrible accident occurs, everyone–including Judd Travers–finds out about Shiloh, and Marty must summon up his courage and face this brutal man to get Shiloh and keep him safe.
Let’s start with the good information first. The plot is overall pretty good, and there are a lot of surprises around the corner to find. The author also is very skilled at making characters. Judd Travers is the main antagonist, but he was whipped, beaten, and mistreated when he was a child. Maybe this is the reason he is so cruel. There’s a whole story behind him, too (If you like this book, you might try writing fan fiction about him).
Shiloh is a book about a dog, and I’m much more of a cat person. That’s one main reason I only gave it “good”. If you are a dog person, then this book would be more highly recommended.
But there’s something else. I normally don’t like wild books. Marty lives on a hill in this story, pretty much in the wilderness with his father. Not that I have anything against people living freely in the wild (there are many, many good books with that setting), but it’s usually just not my type to read those kinds of books.
All this is just my opinion. If you like dogs and the idea of the book, then you can try Shiloh out.
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