The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

In this witty, poignant sequel to The One and Only Ivan, author Katherine Applegate fulfilled the pleas of readers who told her that Bob—the dog who appeared in the earlier novel, and who moved in with and befriended Ivan, the gorilla imprisoned for many years in his cage in a shopping mall—needed a story of his own.

Bob, a Chihuahua mutt, knows what it feels like to fly, not like a lovely bird, but like an abandoned litter of pups trapped in a box flung from the window of a moving vehicle. His vague memories of that event left him with a monumental sense of failure, a fractured sense of trust, and an unwillingness to forgive wrongs committed against him. But when he met Ivan, the elephants Stella and Ruby, and, finally, Julia and other members of her loving family, his life improved remarkably.

Still now, though, Bob protects himself with his wily, street-wise, tough-guy act to hide his residual hurts and insecurity. When Julia takes Bob to visit Ivan and Ruby at the sanctuary they were moved to, they’re aware that a storm is brewing. However, they aren’t prepared for the hurricane that rips apart buildings, traps some animals, and sends others fleeing.

When a police officer arrives on the scene, Bob hears a sound over the crackling of a radio—a bark he thought he’d never hear again, but one he can’t forget. In a split second, Bob, “untamed and undaunted,” makes a choice and begins a brave odyssey in wild weather and dangerous conditions to search for his long-lost sister.

Packed with numerous surprising plot twists, loads of humor, and plentiful poignant truths about love, forgiveness, and second chances, this novel for middle school readers (and all fans of Katherine Applegate) is sure to satisfy and entertain. (HarperCollins)