Starting From Here

Bigelow, Lisa Jenn. Starting From Here. Amazon Children's Publishing, 2012.

Colby's mom died of cancer just a couple of years ago. Her dad is a truck driver, so he spends most of his time on the road. At the beginning of this book, Colby's girlfriend breaks up with her, only to show up at school the next day hand-in-hand with a boy. Then, when Colby is picking up cans with a friend, a stray dog chases after them and is hit by a truck. The dog survives, but has to have one of its legs amputated. Colby and her dog are both trying to adjust to life as it is, but the dog is much more successful than Colby.

I don't like the way Colby's ex-girlfriend treated her, but to be fair, Colby treated just about everyone badly - her dad, her best friend, the vet who saves her dog, her new girlfriend, etc. This book was sweet and heartfelt and easy to read, and even though it wasn't a Disney-style story, it did have a satisfying ending: Colby recognizes that she's been a jerk and starts to change, starting from here.

I enjoyed this book so much that I actually considered "losing" the library's copy and keeping it for myself.  Instead, I'll return the book and get my own copy.  This one is definitely going in my library.