The Underneath
is the story of an unlikely family -- a bloodhound named Ranger, a calico cat, and her two kittens, Sabine and Puck -- who live underneath the house of Ranger's owner, a social outcast who lives to hunt animals. When Puck, against his mother's warnings, adventures out from under the house, all of their lives change in ways they couldn't have imagined. Woven into their stories is the story of Grandmother Snake, her beloved daughter, Night Music, her husband Hawk Man, and their daughter. Appelt has a gorgeous writing style, one that brings to mind timelessness and interconnectedness of all nature. She weaves together themes of love and hate, betrayal and redemption, and how we can build a family out of unlikely relationships. There are some difficult scenes in this book (the fact that the blurb likens it to Sounder, Shiloh and The Yearling should give you a hint!) but it is a story for the ages.
NY: Atheneum Books for Young Adults
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