A New Leash on Life

by Mueller, Erna

• ISBN13: 9781467995962
• ISBN10: 1467995967
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-26
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Summary

High school "brainiac" Justin Andrews, at the age of 14, had his life all figured out. With an IQ of 130, not even his parents could hold a candle to his whimsical antics which consequentially got him spiraling into orbiting a cyber-hacking group of criminals. Undaunted in his escapades even when knowing he's been identified by one of Seattle Police Department's finest, Lieutenant Spencer Watley, Justin plows ahead with his actions; but the story takes a twist when the cop gets killed. Spencer's soul takes on a journey of quite imaginative proportions, as author Erna Mueller unfolds a set of circumstances in her fanciful novel, A New Leash on Life. A path beyond human, beyond theological, into the realm of K-9 to be exact, is cleverly revealed. You see, Spencer returns to earth, not as he was, but reincarnated as a dog. His mission: To teach Justin Andrews to become unselfish, while at the same time solving the crime which took his life! Erna Mueller's writing has "Style" - that's style with a capital "S!" Rarely have I read an entire book where virtually each sentence is written with such a combination of slang, comical innuendos, cool expressions, surrogate elucidations, and mental piquancy. Plus, by keeping the characters as high-schoolers, and of course, a dog, she appeals to the young adult market, showing her readers by example how to expand their minds to use the vast macrocosm of the English language in new and exciting ways. Even her table of contents foreshadows a book with "out-of-the-box" originality; thus allowing for the readers to think to themselves, "Now just what does that mean?" A fantastic book to be given as a gift to any teenager, A New Leash on Life will certainly be enjoyed and remembered by all that page this fine work of such literary mastery. In fact, even if you're not a teenager, you'd still "roll over" for this book if you're a dog lover! After all, having a human inside a canine is something all dog owners believe has happened already! -Pacific Book Review-Erna Mueller's book A New Leash on Life is a feel-good book for young readers - feel good as in Walt-Disney-meets-warm-fuzzies feel good with a dash of hurray-the-heroes-are-awesome! Why am I stringing together words like a promoter at the height of an ad campaign? Because that's the sort of gung-ho energy a reader like me gets after reading Ms. Mueller's book. The book makes one feel like a heroic musical score ought to play, and one should pump one's fist while slapping high-fives all around as a camera captures the joie de vivre in a cool slow-mo video. Justin Andrews, his sister Vicky, and his father Eugene are a bit frayed at the edges as far as families go after the death of Justin's mom. Brilliant Justin was getting into trouble in school, poor Vicky was trying to fill the void her mother left, and frazzled Eugene was working so hard at the Dreck Toy Company he had no idea what to do with his kids. Enter K-9 Officer Lieutenant Spencer Watley and his dog Pepper - or rather, enter Lieutenant Spencer Watley IN THE BODY of his dog Pepper, through a deal he struck with an angel in heaven as a way to rehab his soul! Ignore the huge missing story chunk I left out - the point is, for Lt. Watley to rehab his soul, he needs to help Justin Andrews and the rest of the Andrews family while still satisfying his need to get to the bottom of a criminal investigation that leads him to the shady owners of the Dreck Toy Company. Quite a lot to ask for from a guy whose soul is in a dog's body, but the adventure that unfolds is an enjoyable and heartwarming roller coaster ride. There are enough action sequences, suspenseful cliffhangers, and heartwarming moments in A New Leash on Life to win over young readers, and parents/older readers will enjoy the warm fuzzies they get at the end of the tale. Erna Mueller has spun an enjoyable adventure for young minds, and I hope to hear more such tales in the future. Very much recommended. -Bookideas.com-