The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules by Lauren Brown

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

HAS THE DOG WALKERS' STRIKE LANDED YOU IN THE DOGHOUSE? DOES YOUR POOCH NEED A CRASH COURSE IN MANNERS? IS YOUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND'S STYLE SO LAST YEAR? The Doggy Divas are here to save the day!

From head of the pack to lone, lone wolf!

Roxy Davis is in the dog house. Big time. After kissing her BFF’s crush over summer break, Roxy finds herself banished to the company of Monroe Middle School misfits Georgia and Kim. And when things can’t get any worse, the town dog walkers go on strike.

Dogs are running wild, giving Roxy the bright idea to recruit her fellow outcasts to start their very own dog walking business. Roxy soon learns that pampering pooches will not only earn her points for cleaning up the neighborhood, but will also teach her a thing or two about friendship.

Review:

The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules was a funny, adorable, and quick read perfect for any tween girl or even younger age teen.

Roxy's Rules starts at the beginning of Roxy's seventh grade year. This is year is supposed to perfect, Roxy thinks, because not only will Roxy be ruling the school with her best friend Liz, but she may have just found the perfect boyfriend in charmingly adorable Matt. Though, everything soon changes, when Liz suddenly throws Roxy to the dogs when Liz finds out that Roxy shared a movie-perfect kiss with Matt, the boy who was supposed to be Liz's seventh grade year crush! Ooops! Now Roxy is banished to the land of the misfits where she finds Kim and Georgie, two girls who have also had their bad run-ins with Liz over the years. Though, trying to look on the bright side, Roxy quickly befriends Kim and Georgia and soon starts her own business with them called Doggy Divas. Though, will Liz try to ruin the day? And better yet, what about Matt... he keeps sending Roxy all these mixed signals. Lastly, are Kim and Georgie actually better friends than Liz was all those years? Only time will tell in this cute tale of dog businesses, middle-school rivalries, and crushes gone wrong!

Roxy is the kind of girl all girls are at least once in life...cast away by a supposedly "BFF" only to find out that friend was nothing like what you thought. I thought Lauren did a great job of perfectly captured the feeling of being abandoned by a friend with Roxy's character, and I also enjoyed the fact that she didn't have Roxy really mope over it, instead she moved on. Though, I will say I didn't always like the way Roxy looked down upon Georgie and Kim at times, but other than that I thought she was a great lead character and someone I do think is a decent role model type character for tweens out there. I also loved the secondary characters in this such as Georgie, Roxy's sarcastic and funny co-business owner, and Kim, Roxy's other co-business owner whose love of dogs always amazed me. I have to admit, though, that I wasn't always the biggest fan of Matt, since I hated how he stood by and left Kim rip Roxy to pieces, but I will say he does kind of make-up for everything in the end.

Another thing I enjoyed about Roxy's Rules was the plot. I loved the fact that Lauren included the girls' business and all that misshapes and fun that came with it, as well as the dog's they walked POVs as well. Both were cute additions and my favorite parts of the story. I enjoyed the little morals that came with the book as well.

Brown's writing was decent and definitely read like the typical middle-grade book, so I'm sure that age group will simply love it!

In all, The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules is the perfect read for any tween girl you know out or maybe even you if you're a dog lover or a fan of adorable, quick reads. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Brown has in store for us in the next installment.

Grade: B+

The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules is now out!

Source: Kay at Sourcebooks. Thanks, Kay!

*Check back tomorrow for a giveaway with Lauren and a giveaway for a copy of Roxy's Rules!*