Heart of a Hero Book Review and Giveaway

     Hi!  This is Paul and I'm very excited to be doing my first book review here on the Sher A. Hart blog.  Oh, and if you are wondering, "Who's this guy?" take a moment to read this.  I've chosen a middle grade book entitled Heart of a Hero by Billi Tiner.  So, without further ado, I'll get to the review.

           

      Heart of a Hero is the title of the book and describes the main character, Lady.  An Irish Setter puppy living on an Ohio farm in the 1940's, she wants nothing more than to be a hunting dog like her mom.  While she is waiting to be trained, a young man named Carl comes to work on the Thompson farm.  Lady falls in love with Carl and follows him everywhere.  The day arrives when Carl's work on the farm is finished and Lady is heartbroken.  To her great surprise (and pleasure), Mr. Thompson gives her to Carl.

            Carl trains her to hunt and they spend every chance they have together until the day comes when Carl must head off to war.  This begins Lady's association with the military and war.  After a letter arrives informing her and Carl's dad that Carl has been killed, she is put into a U.S. Marine Corps training program.  She is shipped off for training to become a war dog messenger.  Lady faces numerous decisions between her own safety and protecting/helping those that she cares about.  It is in these situations that her heart of a hero shines through.  The lesson of bravery, friendship, loyalty, and love are depicted well by the unconditional love of a dog.  After being injured in the war along with her handler Steve, they are both discharged and head back to the states to live happily together.  Some time later, war intervenes again as Steve decides to reenlist in the Marines.  What will happen to Lady now?  I won't give away the end of the story; you'll have to read it to find out.

            The content of Heart of a Hero is appropriate for a middle grade audience.  I think that middle grade readers will fall in love with Lady and really connect with the lesson of love, loyalty, and sacrifice that Lady embodies.  Dog lovers of any age, for that matter, should enjoy this book.  Ms. Tiner’s experience with dogs (she's a veterinarian) is apparent in this story and she does a wonderful job of creating a loveable, heroic character in Lady.  The only questionable part was the fact that it seemed like every one of Lady's owners had to go to war.  This may very well have been the case, however, during World War II, since many young men were called to duty.  I don't think it negatively impacts the story.

            Being a dog lover myself, and having lost my first dog and best friend almost two years ago, I must admit that there were times throughout the story where I had a tear in my eye.  A word of caution, have a tissue ready if you are going to read this story to your child—they (and you) might need it.  Heart of a Hero is a work of fiction, but is based on real events told to her by her grandmother.

Click here to purchase Heart of a Hero on Amazon.

Contact Ms. Tiner here

I'd like to thank Kathy for hosting this blog hop.

I'd also like to thank Candace and Lori for hosting the Saturday Situation blog hop.

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