Puppy Love: A Humorous Middle Grade Tale About Basketball, First Crushes, and Magic for Kids (Ages 8-12)

Soto, Gary

ISBN 10: 0063267780 / ISBN 13: 9780063267787

Published by Clarion Books, 2023

About this Item

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.

Seller Inventory # ZEV.0063267780.VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Puppy Love: A Humorous Middle Grade Tale About Basketball, First Crushes, and Magic for Kids (Ages 8-12)
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0063267780
• ISBN 13: 9780063267787
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

A sweetly humorous middle grade novel packed with action, basketball, and a dash of magical realism about friendship and family, first crushes, and belonging, from acclaimed author Gary Soto.

Thirteen-year-old Jordan Mendoza has a huge crush on his classmate, Sierra, but he’s never going to win her affections if he stays a C student and keeps embarrassing himself on the basketball court. And it doesn’t help that his best friend, Antonio, likes to tease him about it all a little too much.

But when Jordan dives into the waters of a dangerous irrigation canal to save a drowning puppy, he’s suddenly got even more on his mind than kissing Sierra and making the starting team. Can he nurse the abandoned puppy back to health (and will his parents let him keep her)? Who threw her into the canal—and is it possible that there are more puppies needing rescue? And why are the cops suddenly at Jordan’s door, looking for him? 

There’s something for every reader in this story’s mix of humor, sports, themes of thrilling independence, subtle strands of magical realism, and timely social commentary, all held together by a sweet and satisfying emotional core.

About the Author

Gary Soto is the author of Baseball in April, Puppy Love, and many more books for young readers. He is a National Book Award finalist and a recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Medal, the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature, the NEA Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award, and the PEN Center West Book Award. He lives in Northern California.