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118th out of 124 books
—
125 voters
Fetching
A crew of middle school nobodies secretly use dog training techniques on their classmates to go from eighth-grade underdogs to leaders of the pack, only to discover being top dog isn’t all they expected it to be.
Published
2011
by Disney Hyperion
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Fetching by Kiera Stewart is a darling mix of middle school, friendship and dogs.
Olivia, the protagonist, is plagued by feelings of inadequacy since her mother's mental illness meant she had to be hospitalized. Olivia feels that she herself is a ticking time bomb -- just waiting for the "crazy" gene to appear -- when she'll be institutionalized also.
Olivia has moved to be with her grandmother, Corny, an eccentric woman who collects stray dogs, trains them, and works training others' dogs. Once O...more
Olivia, the protagonist, is plagued by feelings of inadequacy since her mother's mental illness meant she had to be hospitalized. Olivia feels that she herself is a ticking time bomb -- just waiting for the "crazy" gene to appear -- when she'll be institutionalized also.
Olivia has moved to be with her grandmother, Corny, an eccentric woman who collects stray dogs, trains them, and works training others' dogs. Once O...more
I started this book and put it down, not sure why I picked it back up... but I got interested and started to think, 'this might actually make a decent Middle school read aloud' then the story went sideways again.
The bullies in this book are truly mean, I think Kiera Stewart tries to justify Brynne, (horrible alpha girl)beautiful, funny and absolutely demonic, by painting her mother as card carrying crazy- it doesn't wash; I can find no motivation for her relentless pranks and attacks on her cla...more
The bullies in this book are truly mean, I think Kiera Stewart tries to justify Brynne, (horrible alpha girl)beautiful, funny and absolutely demonic, by painting her mother as card carrying crazy- it doesn't wash; I can find no motivation for her relentless pranks and attacks on her cla...more
This was a great story about the ups and downs of middle school. Olivia and her friends are tired of being the social outcasts of the school. When Olivia decides that they should try some of the techniques the her grandmother uses in dog training on their fellow students, they are skeptical but willing to try. And, all too soon, they begin seeing the positive results of their actions. The former alpha dog - Brynne - is now the social outcast and all of the kids are going through changes.
Olivia i...more
Olivia i...more
Summary:
Brynne Shawnson is the meanest of all mean girls, and Olivia Albert has had just about enough of her, the endless rounds of humiliating pranks and the incessant name-calling. Olivia and her friends have done nothing to deserve such treatment from Brynne and her legion of admiring fans, but that doesn't stop the queen bee from torturing Olivia further.
Normally, Olivia and her friends go for the try-to-ignore/duck-and-cover approach to dealing with Brynne's meanness. That all changes when...more
Brynne Shawnson is the meanest of all mean girls, and Olivia Albert has had just about enough of her, the endless rounds of humiliating pranks and the incessant name-calling. Olivia and her friends have done nothing to deserve such treatment from Brynne and her legion of admiring fans, but that doesn't stop the queen bee from torturing Olivia further.
Normally, Olivia and her friends go for the try-to-ignore/duck-and-cover approach to dealing with Brynne's meanness. That all changes when...more
Summary from Amazon
Olivia has just about had it with the popular kids at school. She and her friends have done nothing to deserve evil pranks and awful name-calling, but that doesn’t stop queen bee Brynne from humiliating them on a daily basis. If only Olivia’s classmates were more like the adorable dogs she helps her grandmother train—poorly behaved, but improvable.
Wait...what if her tormentors' behavior actually could be modified using the same type of training that works on dogs? Olivia and h...more
Olivia has just about had it with the popular kids at school. She and her friends have done nothing to deserve evil pranks and awful name-calling, but that doesn’t stop queen bee Brynne from humiliating them on a daily basis. If only Olivia’s classmates were more like the adorable dogs she helps her grandmother train—poorly behaved, but improvable.
Wait...what if her tormentors' behavior actually could be modified using the same type of training that works on dogs? Olivia and h...more
Fetching
by Keira Stewart
Realistic Fiction
296 pages
Fetching is a fictionous tale told from Olivia, an eighth grader at Hubert C. Frost Middle School. Olivia encounters many events inluding popular girls, new friendhips, and dogs. The teen lives with her crazy dog trainer, and grandmother Corny because her parents seperated. Olivia divides the many groups in middle school into categories according to the way they act, for example the toy breeds which are the populars. Even though Olivia is the und...more
by Keira Stewart
Realistic Fiction
296 pages
Fetching is a fictionous tale told from Olivia, an eighth grader at Hubert C. Frost Middle School. Olivia encounters many events inluding popular girls, new friendhips, and dogs. The teen lives with her crazy dog trainer, and grandmother Corny because her parents seperated. Olivia divides the many groups in middle school into categories according to the way they act, for example the toy breeds which are the populars. Even though Olivia is the und...more
Olivia and her friends are tired of being at the bottom of the middle school food chain. They constantly get picked on, especially by the most popular girl in school, Brynne. Olivia's grandma is a dog lover and dog trainer and she often assists her grandma during training sessions. Olivia gets the crazy idea to employ dog training tactics on her middle school classmates..and it actually works! All of a sudden Brynne is no longer the alpha dog and Olivia's friends are the popular crowd. Now that...more
Aug 21, 2011
Stacie Johnson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
young-adult
The characters in Fetching are totally believable and it's easy to relate to Olivia and her peers. Everyone is trying their best to navigate the ins and outs of the social minefield that is middle school – which anyone with half a memory will know is pretty rough. As Olivia and her friends try to find their place, reinvent themselves, and "train" others not to see them as losers to ignore and bully, they learn to be more accepting of themselves and others.
As far as a middle school story, it was good although at 44, I'm not exactly the target audience, and I'm sure I don't even know what's good to a 12 year old. As a dog trainer though, this was all over the place. Sometimes they used positive dog training techniques and sometimes not at all. A bit confusing on the dog training. I wouldn't want someone using this book as a dog training guide but for a nasty 13 year old it's just fine.
*ARC received from NetGalley.*
This book is a great lesson in self-acceptance, standing up for oneself, remaining true to one's identity, and coming to terms with the past in order to live in the present. Olivia is a sympathetic character, and the decisions she makes in this book, good and bad, feel real, and readers will undoubtedly be able to see themselves in her shoes, and will understand exactly her desires to feel loved, befriended, needed, and sane. Dog lovers will adore the many canine ph...more
This book is a great lesson in self-acceptance, standing up for oneself, remaining true to one's identity, and coming to terms with the past in order to live in the present. Olivia is a sympathetic character, and the decisions she makes in this book, good and bad, feel real, and readers will undoubtedly be able to see themselves in her shoes, and will understand exactly her desires to feel loved, befriended, needed, and sane. Dog lovers will adore the many canine ph...more
This one of the best realistic fiction books I've ever read. I'm not huge into realistic fiction, but this book kept the pages turning all night long. Tell your daughters who are going into 8th grade or who are in middle school (preferably 7th-8th) to read this book. I'm sure they will be able to relate to something in it.
I stopped mid-book because I kept needing to put the book down and think, "What in the world am I reading?" The beginning was ridiculous and kinda stupid. I do not recommend this book. But, on the bright side, the cover is really adorable! :D (which was the reason I picked the book out.)
In the book Fetching,Olivia,one of the non-popular,dog obsessed kids at her school, is sick of being pushed around by the kids who rule the school. So, she gets all her friends together and develops a plan to train the 7th grade using dog training techniques.Will it work or just cause even more problems?
I just started middle school and this book made me so nervous to start!!! I got used to it and realized it was all for fun (mostly). I really got to enjoy the humor, but Olivia definitely gave me some ideas if some people start to dis behave.....
Nov 09, 2011
Jeff Raymond
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own,
read-ya-contemporary
I didn't think I'd really enjoy this book much when it was handed to me. It's sort of a mean girls story with a twist - a girl decides she's going to use dog training techniques to condition the rest of the class to like her and her friends and maybe even win the class presidency.
It's a silly premise, but it surprisingly works. A good fun read, and a different take on a somewhat tired basic premise.
It's a silly premise, but it surprisingly works. A good fun read, and a different take on a somewhat tired basic premise.
I would enthusiastically recommend this book to all my upper elementary reading groups and class book clubs. Fetching is a funny, emotional, sometimes silly story of 5 friends that are done being bullied. The social issues dealt with in Fetching are real and kids ages 10-14 will easily relate. The actual bullying that occurs in Fetching might be somewhat extreme, but the emotions and reactions of Olivia and her friends, as well as Brynne's are definitely not. While Olivia's group finds a very un...more
Cute story of a middle school girl who tries to elevate her social status by using the principles of dog training. Somewhat predictable, but fast and altogether cute.
Never use dog training on humans unless you need a confidence-booster and want to be a part of the popular pack instead of a middle school loser.
I just read this for mother daughter book club. It's a great story that shows the impact of your actions on others.
This book is so adorable! I love the idea of little ol nerds training the alpha pack to be nice. Of course the story is not totally believable, but it is cute and has a good ending that will give nerds the strength to hold their heads up high when they walk the halls in school.
The Dog Whisperer meets Mean Girls. Cute read for middle-schoolers.
A descent, well-paced book that has a whimsical plot. I liked the creative plan of Olivia and her friends using dog training methods on the nasty, mean kids that tease Olivia's group. A lot can happen in Middle school, it seems and that's what Olivia and her buddies have shown. I thought that it was a fun read that was written creatively. Not my favorite book, I'm not really even sure why i picked this up at Barnes and Noble. i guess the cover kind of drew me in. I like animal stories, but this...more
Totally describes middle school life!
Really cute!
Great premise but could have been shortened to really draw a middle school crowd.
this book was just disappointing. the first few pages were all I needed. It was in-your-face BE GLAD WHO YOU ARE!!! YOU'RE GROWING UP!!!DOGS ARE AWESOME!!! I mean really.
The characters were not memorable and the dog training techniques mentioned in the book felt like a regurgitated episode of The Dog Whisperer.
Cute MG novel about bullying and a plan to combat it that works a little too well.
More like 2.5. Cute but the voice was lacking something to take it to the next level.
Exactly what I was hoping it would be! Full review to come.
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