Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger

 Hello!

I have been a HUGE fan of Kody Keplinger's since almost the beginning.  I read The DUFF back at the beginning of 2011, and absolutely fell in love with that book!  I ended up rereading it almost immediately, and have since read it at least half a dozen times.  The movie adaptation also came out really well!  

Since then, I have read every Kody Keplinger book ever released.  So I was really surprised when I realized a few weeks back that I had missed one!

Last year's release. Lila and Hadley.  Now to be fair I was pregnant when this one came out last year, we were about to move, and preoccupied with getting everything ready for our son to arrive in a few short months, so I was not reading very much, let alone keeping up with what was being released.  But when I found out about Lila and Hadley, I immediately added it to my Amazon cart, and two days later opened that package greedily.  

It was added to my June TBR pile and here we are...

From Goodreads:

Can a lost girl save a found dog? Find out in this unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness. 

Hadley is angry about a lot of things: Her mom going to jail. Leaving her friends and her school behind. And going blind.

But then Hadley meets Lila.

Lila is an abandoned dog who spends her days just quietly lying around the local dog rescue where Beth works.  She doesn't listen to directions or play with the other dogs or show any interest in people. So when Lila comes and sits by Hadley (which is hardly anything, but it's more than she's done with others), Beth thinks maybe Hadley can help Lila. She tells Hadley they'll bring Lila home as a foster dog and Hadley can teach her to follow commands, walk on a leash, and be more of a people dog so she'll be ready to be adopted.

Only working with Lila is harder than Hadley though, and so is the mobility training she starts taking to help with her failing vision. It feels like Lila is too stubborn to train and like learning to use a cane is impossible. But unless Hadley can help Lila, she'll never be adopted into a home. If Hadley could just let go of her anger, she might be able to save Lila...and herself.

New Yorks Times bestselling author Kody Keplinger weaves an unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness.

My Thoughts:

This book is geared towards a younger audience, then Kody normally writes for, besides Kody's 2014 release The Swift Boys and Me.  However, Lila and Hadley is a touching story about a legally blind girl who meets a rescue dog, that changes her outlook on life.  Sixth grader Hadley has been through a really rough time recently.  Her mom is in jail for the next year; she's had to go live with her older sister, who she's been estranged from the last five years, and hardly knows; she's had to move away from her home, friends', and school; and Hadley vision is getting worse and worse, having recently been officially diagnosed as legally blind.  

Lila comes into Hadley's life just in the right time.  They need each other.  Hadley starts training Lila to become a more people-friendly dog, so she can hopefully find her forever home, and Hadley starts taking Mobility classes so she can learn to use a cane and do day-to-day things as her vision gets worse.  

I love Kody Keplinger's books, I've read every single one of them, including her latest graphic novel, Poison Ivy: Thorns.  I'm glad I found out about this one, and while I was hesitant because it was geared towards the middle grade audience, I don't know what I was afraid of.  Kody is a very talented writer, and there is a reason she is on my auto-buy list.  

Overall Rating:

I sped through this one.  I really enjoyed it.  My only complaint was the use of "ain't" throughout the book, but I honestly got used to it after a while, and realized it was just part of Hadley's character and her being young still.  If you're looking for a nice easy read about self-discovery I think definitely check it out!  It's also definitely worth a read for the younger audiences!

The Romance Bookie :)