Right there with you, @carolkean . . . I was given a copy pre-publication to read, and was supposed to read the first five chapters before an allotted time for a group discussion and critique.

Ha! My primary critique was that I couldn't put the damned book down, and spent the better part of a day and a half getting NOTHING else done. Well, okay, I did feed the animals. I blew through the whole book, and was blown away by it, on multiple levels.

Partly, though my part of Middle Tennessee is generally kinder to animals than the part of southern Virginia in question, I saw so many unsettling parallels, and recognized so many characters I've come across in my own journey. I'm not originally from the South, but I've lived here for well over thirty years, in Florida and now in Tennessee, and her characterizations are spot on.

I've known these people, good and bad, and the majority are a mixture of both. Some I'd give my house keys to on first meeting. And some I wouldn't trust to fetch my paper. It's an interesting mix, occasionally dangerous, but I'm blessed to have lucked into some truly amazing neighbors.

Partly, as a lifelong animal lover and advocate, who has counted numerous rescuers among my closest friends, and have myself been a volunteer for environmental and animal welfare causes since I was a teen, I was reminded of the so many animals I wish I could have helped, so many more I tried to and was for whatever reason unable, and the frustratingly few I was actually instrumental in helping long term. Damn.

But the best thing about Rhonda's writing are her characters, many of whom I came to love and admire, particularly Charles, Eric and Erik, and though she frustrated me at times, Taylor.

Of course, I frustrate myself at times, so who the hell am I to talk? ;-)

As a poet and songwriter, I loved Erik's lyrics, and found their use within the prose quite compelling. And quite frankly, having gone through some trauma of my own, I found the ways in which her trauma affected Taylor and her actions to be completely believable.

In short, great review, and I agree that anyone who cares about animals . . . and especially how companion animals are often treated within our "shelter" system . . . needs to read this book.

It's not an easy read, some scenes will likely stay with you long term (Rosie!), but it's a necessary and long overdue step in the ongoing conversation.