Roxy's Rescue

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Synopsis

Roxy is a high school senior whose home life sucks. Her single mother is more interested in serial dating losers than being a parent, and Roxy is treated more like a servant than a daughter in her own house. The only good thing in her life right now is Logan, the stray dog she's been taking care of. After her mom's latest boyfriend manhandles her, Roxy decides she's had enough and wants to run away with Logan. But following a trip to the vet after Logan is injured by a car, Roxy discovers that he's not just an ordinary dog.

Review

Roxy's Rescue is a young adult short story with a paranormal twist at the end. Roxy is a high school senior, who feels more like a servant in her own home. She's expected to cook, clean, and keep up her grades, while her single mom dates a string of questionable men. The only bright spot in Roxy's life is Logan, the stray dog that she took in and has been caring for. After her mom's latest boyfriend grabs her by the hair and her mom stands by, doing nothing, Roxy's had enough. She starts making plans to run away with Logan, but before she can, the boyfriend hits Logan with his car, injuring him. Roxy rushes the dog to an emergency vet, who tells her he'll be fine, but when she goes to pick him up the next day, she discovers that her beloved pet is no ordinary dog.

Back when I first purchased Roxy's Rescue a number of years ago, it was listed as the first in a series. I was no longer able to find it, but I think that's because it was combined with the other stories in the series into one longer novelette called Roxy's Road Trip. That's probably a good thing, because this story is extremely short, clocking in at only about six pages on my Kobo (without the cover and front matter). With it being so short there's not much to it. What I've outlined above is pretty much the gist of the entire plot. I only got the barest sense of who Roxy is. She seems like a good girl in a bad situation, a Cinderella-esque character, except that it's her own mom treating her like a servant. Beyond that, I had a lot of questions, both about the plot and the characters. For this reason, I don't think that Roxy's Rescue stands very well on its own. It feels like it's just the first chapter of a longer story, which it appears it was. I could see the potential in it, though, for becoming more interesting if it was fleshed out better, which is why I gave it three stars. Perhaps at some point, I'll pick up Roxy's Road Trip to see what happened after the final page of this book.

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Julie Kimbrell @ GoodReads