Shiloh

"HOOK"

  "The day Shiloh come, we're having us a big Sunday dinner. Dara Lynn's dipping bread in her glass of cold tea, the way she likes, and Becky pushes her beans up over the edge of her plate in her rush to get 'em down."
(page11)

  "It's only after I lie back down on the couch that night I realize what I've down. To Ma and Dad, for one thing. Ma's still awake. I can see the light in the bedroom as Dad goes on down the hall. And then I hear their voices. Not all of what they say, but enough:
  'Ray... told you I just found out about that dog myself. ..." (pg. 96.)


  "Night in West Virginia is as black as it could be. No car lights sweepin' across my walls or ceiling like when I stay overnight with David Howard down in Friendly. No street lamps shinin' in the windows, no lights from next-door houses. Where I live, there ain't no street lamps at all, no house close enough to see from our windows. My eyes are wide, anyway. I stare up into the darkness of the living room and the darkness stares back. I'm remembering how once, several years ago, when Ma bought milk chocolate rabbits one Easter for me and Dara Lynn, I'd finished eating mine, but Dara Lynn took only a nibble of hers everyday or so, keeping it up on her dresser in its pink and yellow tinfoil, driving me nuts. And one day I just crept in there and ate off one of the rabbits ears. Dara Lynn, of course, threw a fit, and when Ma asked me if I'd done it, I said no. I could feel my cheeks and neck burning red." (page 55)

Recommendation :
Have you ever witnessed animal abuse? Eleven-year old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home in Friendly, West Virginia. But one summer day, he comes across something unusual. A young beagle in the the road who has had a history of abuse. Marty names the dog Shiloh because he found him near the old Shiloh schoolhouse. Marty realizes that Shiloh belongs to Judd Travers, the meanest of them all. When Marty brings Shiloh to Judd's house, Judd realizes that Shiloh had run away and for punishment he kicks the dog. When Marty comes across Judd he realizes that he has a gun- the trouble begins. Will Judd find Shiloh and take him  or Will Marty get to keep the young beagle? Read to find out!!!

Book By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Blog By: Maddie P., Joey P., Jocelyn C.
Genre: Realistic Fiction