Summer Giveaway Hop & Book Review: A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron

Welcome to the Summer Giveaway Hop! This Hop will run from 12:01 AM August 1 to 11:59 PM August 7, and the winner will be chosen via Random.org. Don't forget to visit the other participating blogs, leave comments, and enter their giveaways, too! We're having a hot, hot summer and we all need great beach reading. And swag. And gift cards so we can buy more books! And more great blogs to read! So participate as widely as possible!

Summer Giveaway Hop

Co-hosted by Inspired Kathy of I Am a Reader Not a Writer and Mary from Bookhounds & Forever Young (Adult)

I'll be giving away a wonderful book, A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron, together with a beautiful beach towel featuring the cover image. The towel:

A Dog's Purpose, Tom Doherty Associates LLC/Forge, ISBN 9780765330345

This is the story of a dog's lives, and that dog's search for Purpose. Yes, multiple lives, and I hesitate over the choice of a pronoun because this dog spends most of those lives male, but one of them as a female. This might sound silly, but makes for a wonderful story because of the strength of the characterization and the sincere emotion of the tale.

Our narrator's first life is spent as a stray terrier mix mutt who is rescued with his mom and littermates and taken in by a private dog rescuer who has maybe bitten off more than she can chew. The mutt pup is named Toby, and, having learned from his mother to be cautious of humans, now learns that some humans, at least, are to be trusted and loved. Because  the Senora and her helpers are struggling at the edge of their ability to provide for the dogs, things go wrong, and this life is short and ends tragically.

And the former Toby is very surprised to wake up again, this time as a Golden retriever puppy in a not-too-awful puppy mill. This leads, after some adventures, to a life with a boy named Ethan, and the dog, now called Bailey, is happy and fulfilled.

When he, now a she, wakes up after the end of that life as a German shepherd puppy, she's sure she must have some great purpose, something she has to accomplish before she can finally rest.

In each life, our dog learns new lessons, both lessons of understanding, and practical skills, which can then be applied in the next life. Love, loyalty, and the desire to be A Good Dog are the dog's guiding lights, and you'll laugh, and cheer, and shed a few tears along the journey.

This is a warm, wonderful read, great for the beach, and you'll look at your own dog a little differently.

Highly recommended.

Purchase it: You can buy a copy of A Dog's Purpose from Amazon.com or from BarnesandNoble.com for under $15 plus shipping & handling, or you local bookstore can order it for you if they don't have it in stock.
Win it: The winner of this giveaway will receive one copy of A Dog's Purpose, together with a beach towel featuring the book's cover image.
Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me what interests you about this book, or about a dog who made a difference in your life.
Bonus entries:
1. Follow this blog on Google Friend Connect, and leave a comment saying that you've done so.
2. Tweet once about this giveaway, and leave a comment saying that you've done so: Lis Carey's Library having #giveaway for copy of A Dog's Purpose be sure to stop by to enter to win @ElisabethCarey
(I'd love to have you tweet about it as often as you like, but by the rules of the Summer Giveaway Hop, I can only count it as one entry.)
3. Follow me on Twitter, @ElisabethCarey, and leave a comment saying that you've done so.

Disclaimer: I received one copy of this book for review, and a second copy and the towel for the giveaway, free from the publisher. I have received no other compensation.