How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life by Art Corriveau

I should note that the main character, Nicky, is not a vegetarian. And while his mother initially battles depression and a drinking problem, she too turns over a healthy leaf, stepping up to her parental responsibilities and (you’ll be happy to hear) turning to exercise and healthy food rather than wine. Still, in the end Nicky is selfless, forgiving, and genuinely sorry for his actions. Read from a parent’s perspective, there are some troubling elements of the plot - Nicky runs away from home, breaks into an empty house, hitchhikes and nearly accepts a ride from a sketchy man, and puts his own interests before Reggie’s. What it takes the entire novel for Nicky to realize is what Reggie needs in his. Soon, however, he recognizes that Reggie’s loyalty, bravery, and companionship are exactly what he needs in his life. The last thing he wants is another change, so he’s dismayed when his mother brings a former guide dog named Reggie home from the local shelter. When Nicky’s parents split up, he must move to a new town, start a new school, and help his mother cope with returning to the workforce.

9-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Slated for release in May, Art Corriveau‘s middle-grade novel How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life (and a Dog) deals in equal measure with the pain of divorce and the trials of adopting a dog. Nicky's first-person narration tends to make light of his own anger-management issues, but readers will applaud when he comes to recognize and control them. Corriveau weaves in interesting information about Boston's Freedom Trail and provides significant suspense when Nicky and Reggie actually run away. There's a lot going on in this story: making new friends, adjusting to school and family changes, dealing with flawed parents, even the training of guide dogs. Through his investigation of Reggie's background, he comes to recognize how he's shut his eyes to what had been going on around him and also what it would be like to be truly blind. Instead, he ends up chronicling his own growing acceptance of his new situation and love for the dog, Reggie. Reeling from his parents' separation, his move from a comfortable suburban home and perennially postponed visits with his father, almost-12-year-old Nicky Flynn begins a log to record his mother's 'lying' when she brings home a former seeing-eye dog to share their tiny apartment in Charlestown, near Boston. Reviews provided by Syndetics Kirkus Book Review

How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life by Art Corriveau