HAS THE DOG WALKERS' STRIKE LANDED YOU IN THE DOGHOUSE? DOES YOUR POOCH NEED A CRASH COURSE IN MANNERS? IS YOUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND'S STYLE SO LAST YEAR? **The Doggy Divas are here to save the day!**

***From head of the pack to lone, lone wolf!***

Roxy Davis is in the dog house.** **Big time. After kissing her BFF's crush over summer break, Roxy finds herself banished to the company of Monroe Middle School misfits Georgia and Kim. And when things can't get any worse, the town dog walkers go on strike.

Dogs are running wild, giving Roxy the bright idea to recruit her fellow outcasts to start their very own dog walking business. Roxy soon learns that pampering pooches will not only earn her points for cleaning up the neighborhood, but will also teach her a thing or two about friendship.

**"The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules is an adventure from the first page to the last! It's got the makings of a good read: drama, friendship, and most important...fun!"**

**-Julie Miller, TeenMag.com**

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### From School Library Journal

Gr 5-7–Roxy is excited about starting seventh grade. She plans to rule Monroe Middle School with her best friend and co-queen bee, Liz Craft. Then, on the first day, Liz finds out that her crush, Matt Billings, kissed Roxy over the summer. Roxy is exiled from the popular clique and forced to befriend two girls whom she had previously bullied. Things begin to turn around for Roxy when a local dog walkers' strike gives her an idea to start her own business, Doggy Divas. With the help of her new friends Kim and Georgia, it becomes a huge success, but everything is threatened when Liz becomes a client and tries to ruin everything. This fluff-filled novel never gets off the ground. The story falls flat with unlikable characters who are never fully developed. Roxy doesn't go through enough of a transformation to be satisfying to readers and the friendship that develops between her and the girls she used to torment feels hasty and insincere. Brown's inclusion of the dogs' perspectives may charm some readers, but will come off as gimmicky to others. The rushed, too-neat ending will not leave kids scrambling for the sequel.–Rachael Myers, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NYα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

### Review

"I would love to read more by this author because this book had a hook which grabbed my attention and I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to people who like friendship, romance, and drama. Hopefully there is a sequel!" - Parenthood.com, guest reviewer Julia (12) (Julia *Parenthood.com* 20101004)

"Lauren Brown's The Doggy Divas is a middle grade romp perfect for the impossible-to-buy-for tween in your family. It's a sure thing with an adorable cover that includes glitter!" - Unabashedly Bookish on bn.com, Melissa Walker (Melissa Walker *Unabashedly Bookish* 20101115)

"Lauren Brown's The Doggy Divas is a middle grade romp perfect for the impossible-to-buy-for tween in your family. It's a sure thing with an adorable cover that includes glitter!" - Melissa Walker on Unabashadly Bookish, bn.com (*Unabashadly Bookish* 20101119)

"...we suggest curling up with the first book of the hilarious (pet-friendly) series Doggy Divas from author Lauren Brown." - GirlsLife.com (*Girl's Life* )

"The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules was a funny, adorable, and quick read perfect for any tween girl or even younger age teen.

In all, The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules is the perfect read for any tween girl you know out or maybe even you if you're a dog lover or a fan of adorable, quick reads. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Brown has in store for us in the next installment." - Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf (*Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf* )

"I really enjoyed this syrupy sweet little book. The plot focused on the classic "popular girl falls from grace and discovers true friendship with underdogs" storyline that is so common in books of this genre. But plot isn't everything, the writing is much more important, and this book is very well written. It is obvious that the author of this book is very in the know on what technology kids are embracing, namely Twitter and Facebook. The author is also very in tune with tween girls and I felt that the book was quite authentic in the dialogue. She didn't go overboard with the teenspeak, which is good, because when an author does that, they don't make their book sound younger but instead end up aging themselves. There were lots of cute things about the book, but my favorite parts were the "Doggy Confessionals" which were featured at the end of each chapter. The dogs were observant,very insightful and sassy, much more so that their human counterparts. The Doggy Confessionals are definitely what sets The Doggy Divas: Roxy's Rules apart from other books with similar premises. Overall I really enjoyed this book, but as with many of the books written for those of a younger demographic, there were definitely some logic leaps where you have to force yourself not to over think. I don't really mind this, as I believe it to be a perfectly acceptable writing device in a book for a 9 year old girl. I tried not to think too hard on why a dog walker's strike would lead to dogs freely roaming the halls of the local middle school (why not just lock them up in cages and dog runs?), because ultimately, it didn't really matter. The book isn't meant to be a deep character study into the human condition blah blah blah, its just meant to be fluffy fun, and it absolutely is. This book is a great price and a good book for a young girl, I'd say, 2 Borders with a Coupon." - The Book Buff (*The Book Buff* )