All Alastair wants is to escape. He wants to be free of the pet shop he's stuck in and fly away with his sister Aggie. Alastair was born in the pet shop, in the back with some other animals. He knows there's more to life outside the front door but he's never seen it. His days are spent plotting different ways to get out. When Aggie is purchased by a 12 year old bit named Fritz, Alastair spirits fall. It's a heart breaking scenario that is very powerfully written. Fritz wants to be a doctor, and we see his perspective through his medical journal where he tracks his own ailments. Fritz is a really unique and loveable character that brings a funny and interesting voice to the novel. Alastair is soon adopted by the eccentric Mrs. Plopky and he finds a glimmer of hope in finding his sister and having a life together. Along the way he discovers he loves poetry and chewing the pages of great classic works. Again, it's another very unique look at an animals' voice in a novel that hasn't really been done before. Mrs. Plopky is another heart warming yet gut wrenching character in that she writes letters to her now deceased husband. She's a lonely character who hasn't lost her fight and you know there are scores of people out there like her, looking for a friend to keep the darkness at bay. Together all of the characters make a truly great novel that I'd recommend for ages 10 and up. It's funny yet carries with it a kind of heaviness and melancholy that made you need to know what happened to these characters. Don't miss it!
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