GRAPHIC NOVEL REALISTIC FICTION : Pawcasso by Remy Lai
ABOUT THE BOOK
Excited to make new friends, Jo reluctantly hides the truth and agrees to let “her” dog model for an art class the kids attend. What could go wrong? But what starts as a Chihuahua-sized lie quickly grows Great Dane-sized when animal control receives complaints about a dog roaming the streets off-leash. With Pawcasso’s freedom at stake, is Jo willing to spill the truth and risk her new friendships?
REVIEW
Pawcasso takes the reader on a journey with a lonely young girl and a lovable, well-trained dog. Jo I knew to town and doesn't yet have any friends when she sees the dog trotting down the street with a basket in his mouth. She follows him to the shopping district and watches as he visits different stories with his basket. When the dog goes into the book store called Dog Ears, she follows him in and is mistaken for his owner. At first Jo tries to tell people that she isn't the dog's owner, but when the kids attending an art class beg her to bring him back so they can use him as a model, Jo gives in to the temptation to let them believe the dog is hers. She calls him Pawcasso. As time goes by, Jo gets in deeper and deeper into her deception and as one might expect, it eventually blows up in her face and she's left trying to make amends.
Jo is a likable character despite the fact that she makes some very poor decisions in the course of the story. It's clear to the reader that Jo is lonely, her teenage sister and little twin brothers don't provide much companionship and her mother is busy running the household because her father is working overseas. She is struggling with her father's absence which she resents and so she avoids her father when he is home because she doesn't want to deal with missing him when he leaves again. All of this leads her to make the mistake of pretending to be Pawcasso's owner when the people around her are so welcoming to the friendly dog and her by extension. She knows it's wrong but goes along with it anyway.
Through the dog, Jo gets to know the people around her, including the dog's actual owners, as well as the grumpy old man who complains about the dog being off his leash. The complaint about the dog leads to an online petition and people dividing into two groups, one who supports Pawcasso's shopping on his own, and the other group who things the dog should be on a leash. To Jo's surprise, she finds herself in the middle of this growing conflict on top of her own deception.
The dog provides the humor and lighter side of the story by behaving like a dog. The dog loves treats and the attention he gets. He also loves poop (he rolls in it at one point).
It's interesting how Jo's initial deception leads to much bigger issues and concerns that finally forces Jo to face the consequences. The story is well constructed and beautifully illustrated. Young readers are bound to enjoy Pawcasso's antics and empathize with Jo's struggles.
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