Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine, by Jennifer Schotz (Harper, 2015, 253 pages, $6.99 (PB), grades 3-7, ages 8-12)
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| Love the Book Cover! |
Kids!
Books for kids (junior high school age), starring kids, portray kids as powerful yet still young enough to be identified with. They outshine their parents who are one-dimensional. The kids themselves think adult thoughts, do adult actions, and become the heroes rather than seek assistance from the police or an adult. And that is fine in books: that is how kids learn – they need to be the stars in their epics, they need to be able to identify with the characters.
Max, The Book
Max is an adventure about a 14-year-old boy, Justin, (and his first girl friend) and a family he does not fit in to very well (something kids can identify with). His older brother, a military hero like his father, comes home from Afghanistan in a casket – he had been a dog handler and part of a successful team of two. Justin, his father, and his mother have a hard time losing the big brother hero, a theme that continues throughout the book.
Justin
Justin, the kid, is the odd one out in his family. A rebel, a nonconformist, perhaps a hippie at heart (but too late to be a real hippie) is incredibly brave in talking back to his dad and in saving . . . but that is to be read to be believed.
Max, The Dog
Enter Max, the deceased hero-brother’s canine partner who mourns Kyle so deeply he cannot adjust to another handler and will be put down if the family doesn’t take him, so, of course they do. But Max has been trained to be a Military Working Dog (MWD) and that doesn’t always fit in with being a pet. Consequently, he lives in the backyard (Texas) and later, after doing ‘bad’ things, lives in a cage (crate) in the backyard.
Starting Out, Not a Hero
As the book opens, Justin pirates Internet games and sells them to some bad older boys who re-sell them: Justin gets in trouble. He then meets Carmen who has a way with dogs and shows him the good in Max. Justin needs to save Max from being returned to the military and then put down but things are spiraling out of control with the sheriff and stolen military weapons and middle of the night adventures and . . . . In other words, the adventures may be a bit much for some kids to read.
A Book for Boys, And Tomboys, Too
With 20 chapters, each ending with a cliffhanger, Max is the perfect book to read in bed at night, before turning off the light but many kids and their adults will stay up too late to read one chapter after another.
Dear Author, . . . .
This reviewer happens to be a dog trainer and a veteran, so, if there are revisions, I would suggest some conversations with someone like me to make the vocabulary more up-to-date and to correct some minor errors (mixing up some terms and realities).
Max, The Movie
Max the movie came out in 2015 also (before this book, we think, so the book should mirror the movie pretty closely). Come back to DogEvals soon for the movie review. Right now, after watching the trailer here, we are expecting a more realistic viewing experience that brings back memories of a deployment to Afghanistan to override the plot, as the book’s plot overrides minor dog training and military points.
In advance of watching the movie, we looked at the one-star critical comments on Amazon and believe they were written by adults while the kids seem to love Max the movie and especially Max the dog. Of course! Adults are more sophisticated in their reading and viewing preferences and demand less predictability in plots.
PG?
DogEvalsdoes question the movie rating of PG – the book depicts some crime and violence. We suggest parents watch the movie first or with their kids and then discuss it. There is also plenty of family relationship issues to discuss, as well.
Flavor
When the book begins with a kid on the wrong side of behavior then goes on to show a dysfunctional family with the kid who rebels and a father who doesn't listen but lays down the law, we feel a bit uncomfortable: however, we become engrossed in the plot and come to experience more comfort. The movie, on the other hand (spoiler) (read the following review), starts more normally (serenely without foreboding) with only small undercurrents of discomfort and Tyler seems almost like a good movie guy.
Max, The Name
We love the utter simplicity of the logo - Max' name with his silhouette in the A. This is a work of art.
Next: Max the Movie
Flavor
When the book begins with a kid on the wrong side of behavior then goes on to show a dysfunctional family with the kid who rebels and a father who doesn't listen but lays down the law, we feel a bit uncomfortable: however, we become engrossed in the plot and come to experience more comfort. The movie, on the other hand (spoiler) (read the following review), starts more normally (serenely without foreboding) with only small undercurrents of discomfort and Tyler seems almost like a good movie guy.
Max, The Name
We love the utter simplicity of the logo - Max' name with his silhouette in the A. This is a work of art.
Next: Max the Movie
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