I've been waiting impatiently for this book ever since I read (and ADORED) Linda Urban's first novel, A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT (one of my favorite MG novels ever). Like CROOKED, HOUND DOG TRUE has wonderfully quirky (and very believable) characters and a lovely, warm vein of humor, but it also has a very different tone, stemming from a very different heroine.

Eleven-year-old Mattie is shy - but "shy" isn't a big enough word for how she feels. She is, ohhh, so achingly vulnerable, but she yearns so hard for a safe place - not just a home she can stay in long-term, but an emotional space where she can be safe to really reveal who she is, and friends who will like her for her secrets instead of shaming her for them (for her huge imagination, which she mostly keeps hidden; for her secret dream of being a writer).

While CROOKED was wacky and fun, even with the real issues underneath, HOUND DOG TRUE is deeply, deeply emotional - and beautifully written. As a writer, I wanted to learn from Urban as I read. As a reader, though, I just soaked in her words with so much delight.

And oh, how I felt for Mattie. There was one scene that made me cry - something I don't often do during books. I wanted SO BADLY for her to find that safety and reassurance she needed. I don't want to give away any details about the actual ending of the book - but I will say that I absolutely loved it. It was perfect for Mattie, perfect for all the wonderful, real characters I'd loved throughout the book...and when I closed the book at the end, I felt warm all through, and slightly weepy again but in the best possible way.

I'm so glad to own this one in hardcover - I want to read it again and again over the years. And I can't wait for Linda Urban's next novel.