Protecting Marie

By Kevin Henkes

Book Overview

How can she help falling in love with the perfect dog?

Fanny has wanted a dog all her life. For a brief moment her dream came true, but then her father decided the puppy brought too much chaos to his neat, ordered home. Fanny has never been able to forgive him for it.

So when Fanny's father brings home a new, older dog, she's not sure she can trust him. She reasons that perhaps she shouldn't get too attached, in case this one is taken from her as well.

This is Fanny's story--a story about wanting and getting and realizing that nothing is simple or easy.

"Moving and heartwarming," --VOYA

Multiple award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Kevin Henkes brings his insightful, gentle, real-world insight to middle grade novels, including:

Billy Miller Makes a WishBird Lake MoonThe Birthday RoomJunoniaOlive's OceanProtecting MarieSun & SpoonSweeping Up the HeartTwo Under ParWords of StoneThe Year of Billy MillerThe Zebra Wall

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061288764
• ISBN13: 9780061288760
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

I LOVE this book!! Absolute must.

I bought this book in the fourth grade. It sat on my bookshelf for four months until I read it over Christmas break.Oh. My. God.Most phenomenal book I have ever read. I just love it. It is so poignant, so heartbreakingly honest that is so lovely. I adore Henkes' style. You must read it. It is my favorite book in the world.

A heartfelt exploration of a father-daughter relationship

Not being a big fan of "dog stories," I picked this book up from the library only because I admire Kevin Henkes' writing. I didn't even open it until the evening before it was due. As it turned out, I was hooked from the first paragraph and stayed up until midnight to read the whole thing. I was surprised how thoroughly the book brought me into into this 12-year-old girl's head and life, and how stirringly it depicted Fanny's strained relationship with her father. Every detail seemed perfect. The dogs in the story are terribly important to Fanny, and are important measures of her relationship with her father, but the problems in the relationship go deeper than that, and the new dog isn't a cure-all for the problems. I expected a simple story about a girl wanting a dog, but this book delivered much more. I had to return the book to the library, but I plan to buy a copy to keep.

Protecting Marie

This is a compelling story of a very alert twelve-year-old, fanny. Fanny has always wanted a dog but her short tempered father has not allowed one. when he finally gives in he gets annoyed by the young puppy that ruins his concentration on his paintings. fanny is forced to give up this young dog. Fanny is furious. then a few months later her father gets another dog dinner. dinner is a three year old trained german shepard mix but fanny always catches her selfprotecting dinner, and wonders if she has will have to give this dog away too.

What an amazing display of emotion...

I never really thought I would get into this book. I just nonchalantly picked it up off of the bookshelf in the library. I began to read it. I was pulled in by the very real display of emotion, and the dialog was also very realistic. The characters were described so well, I could almost see them. The story line was also something that actually does happen. Dogs do get taken away because of destructive habits. As I read the story, It felt like it was really winter outside, and I imagined myself sitting in front of a warm fireplace, listening to it crackle, and drinking hot chocolate. Just like Fanny. I read the whole book in less than a day. I couldn't disconnect myself from it. I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

HEART WARMING

Protecting Marie was a fabulous story. It was sad, but at the same time happy. It was around Christmas time and also Fanny's father's birthday. They had everything ready. They had guests coming, cakes baking, decorations hung but there was only one thing missing. Fanny's father Henry, he had disappeared on his birthday. Fanny thinks that he left because of her. Ellen, Fanny's mother, thinks he left because he is going through a mid life crisis. Fanny has always wanted a dog. She got one but it was taken away and given to another family. The reason why the dog was taken away was because it was eating many valuable things. Fanny thinks that her dad is going to get her another dog. Will she?? Will her dad even return??