Raising Lumie is a heartwarming story about a girl and her dog. The girl, 12-year-old Olive, is recently orphaned and has to move to a new town where her older half-sister has found a job that can support them both. What Olive really needs to help with the loneliness and hurt of losing parents, friends, and home all in a very short amount of time…is a dog. At least according to Olive. Only time will tell if the new furry addition to their family is a healing help or brings a heavy burden of responsibility.

This novel is an exploration of grief and the emotional hard times that can come with it, but it is also an exploration of hope and how time, and love, can heal wounds. It illustrates what is important in life, and what makes life complete. Olive is a deeply introspective, emotionally aware almost-teenager who is forced to walk through troubles that would be daunting even to an adult, and she walks that path gracefully, bringing the audience along with her authentic voice. Lumie is a lovable pup who will capture the heart of readers from the minute she wriggles onto the pages of the book amidst a litter of puppy brothers and sisters.

While this book teaches some good lessons about hope, family, love, and responsibility, all of which are valuable lessons for its target audience of young readers, the first-person narration and self-examining style of speaking, that occasionally borders on the psychoanalytical, is unlikely to resonate with any but the most mature readers in that age group. The story is overall hopeful, but the reader must endure a fair amount of morose to get to the hope. This, also, is a good life lesson, that the brightness of hope often comes after the darkness of hardship, but it is not something that is likely to be entertaining to an young reader. Overall, this novel presents a beautiful story, but it misses the mark if it is aiming for elementary students.

Review an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Viking Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  An animal moves threateningly towards another; a few reports of past deaths; a savage fight between animals, including description of blood and exposed bone.

Sex/Nudity:  A man holds a woman’s hand.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of parent (in recent past); dealing with grief is a major theme of this book; mental illness (panic attacks, depression); divorce (with ex-spouse pressuring child to hate the other spouse); saying goodbye to a pet.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None