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Sit, Stay, Love
Cecilia Murray has been wishing for a dog for as long as she can remember. And when a cute pug named Potato is brought in to Orphan Paws, the shelter where she volunteers, she knows he is the dog she's been waiting for. There's just one problem: Eric Chung -- a popular, arrogant boy from school -- adopts Potato first. What's worse, he hopes to train the little tater to become a show-dog superstar. Cecilia knows that Potato is not cut out for a life of sparkly collars and snobby judges, so she sets out to sabotage Eric's plans.
But the more time Cecilia spends with Potato and Eric, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about dog shows ... and a certain cute show-dog trainer. Can Cecilia save Potato -- while also listening to her heart?
But the more time Cecilia spends with Potato and Eric, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about dog shows ... and a certain cute show-dog trainer. Can Cecilia save Potato -- while also listening to her heart?
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 26, 2016
86 people are currently reading
1393 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Howard
10 books189 followersJ.J. Howard writes YA and MG books. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her assistant is named Willow—a miniature dachshund with a lot of great ideas—most of them involving dinner or at least snacks. Her books include the young adult novels THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS and TRACERS. Her middle grade novels include SIT, STAY, LOVE, Z ON LOCATION (an American Girls Book), PUGS AND KISSES, PUGS IN A BLANKET, THE LOVE PUG, and GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE PUGS.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
January 3, 2016
We need more books like this flooding the book market! There are so few middle grade novels that feel like they are actually meant for our younger students and children. Cecilia's story is an innocent story of a girl's love for an adorable puppy. JJ Howard infuses her characters with "real" personalities, even Potato the Pug has his own voice. Dynamic writing with imagery that brings the reader into Cecilia's world, it's a must read for tweens and teens (and maybe some adults too). Reader beware: you're going to want to adopt a puppy after reading. :)
September 24, 2021
I thought that it was a quick read for me, and I found that the plot of the book didn't really interest me that much because I'm not that into dogs or romance. I think it would be a good book if your into that kind of stuff but it wasn't a book for me.
August 24, 2020
Cute, sweet, funny. This book caught me and wouldn't let me go until I finished it, a few seconds ago... So WHY the 3 star rating you ask? This book just wasn't for me. It was too young sounding for the age frame that it was trying to portray (8th grade) which I know I wouldn't do anything like this in 8th grade and would appeal more to my younger sister. Not to say that some others might enjoy this one, and it is nice to very my reading every once and awhile.
PARENT NOTE: Nothing more than kissing.
AGE RECOMMENDATION: 4th graders and up who are interested in romance but are not to sure about it. Good first romance book.
ROMANCE: Very clean.
SWEARING: None.
VIOLENCE: None.
PARENT NOTE: Nothing more than kissing.
AGE RECOMMENDATION: 4th graders and up who are interested in romance but are not to sure about it. Good first romance book.
ROMANCE: Very clean.
SWEARING: None.
VIOLENCE: None.
February 5, 2022
Mostly, this story was adorable. What a cute purebred pug puppy Potato was! I really enjoyed him. The themes of grief, family, friendship, and choosing to do the right thing were well written and added so much depth to this little story.
I really struggled to understand the lead’s mindset that was so against breeding dogs and dog shows. She felt they were “irresponsible,” but these are institutions that have been well revered for years upon years. I personally know a woman who responsibly bred dogs for years. She always took great care of her dogs and puppies, never overworking the parents and always finding really great forever homes for the puppies once they were weaned and old enough to be separated from their parents. I understand the character in this book preferred for people to rescue animals from shelters, but each person should get to decide whether they want a rescue dog or a purebred dog, as neither option is wrong per se. I don’t get why there was such a huge anti-breeding perspective in this book, particularly since the lead herself loved a purebred dog — which means he would have originally come from a dog breeder’s litter of purebred pups, no matter that he ended up at the shelter somehow when she came upon him.
I did get hooked into the story, and the finale was super adorable.
Content: replacement profanity, replacement expletives, profanity
I really struggled to understand the lead’s mindset that was so against breeding dogs and dog shows. She felt they were “irresponsible,” but these are institutions that have been well revered for years upon years. I personally know a woman who responsibly bred dogs for years. She always took great care of her dogs and puppies, never overworking the parents and always finding really great forever homes for the puppies once they were weaned and old enough to be separated from their parents. I understand the character in this book preferred for people to rescue animals from shelters, but each person should get to decide whether they want a rescue dog or a purebred dog, as neither option is wrong per se. I don’t get why there was such a huge anti-breeding perspective in this book, particularly since the lead herself loved a purebred dog — which means he would have originally come from a dog breeder’s litter of purebred pups, no matter that he ended up at the shelter somehow when she came upon him.
I did get hooked into the story, and the finale was super adorable.
Content: replacement profanity, replacement expletives, profanity
December 15, 2015
Another fantastic read from J.J. Howard! Even as a cat person, I loved this book. It's impossible not to fall for the poor rejected puppy tended by a little girl with a big heart, or her cute classmate who adopts the dog (Potato). Sit, Stay, Love is a perfect bite-sized book that will definitely make you smile. The characters are lovable, the story is sweet, and the puppy is precious. This is a great story for kids, families, or anyone who even remotely cares about animals.
February 25, 2023
I love this pug so much, even without pictures he’s perfect
May 5, 2016
When a cute little pug named potato is brought to this shelter called Orphan Paws a girl named Cecilia Murray volunteers at that shelter. Cecilia knows that the dog at the shelter is the dog she’s been waiting for. There’s just one problem.
June 24, 2021
Actual Rating: 3.5
Sit, Stay, Love captivated me the first time I read it and I was obsessed. Now, I found it a bit juvenile. It's a great story for girls 12-14, and even being older than that, I still had a little fun reading it.
My problem as an older reader was that the "conflicts" of the story were pretty anticlimactic. I guess that means that this is a great representation of middle school. All of Cecilia's problems were easily fixed (except maybe her house being burned down), and the drama was so not-dramatic that it was laughable. I can get why I liked this book five years ago, but it's not for me anymore.
The dialogue was also a bit cheesy, and I cringed to remember the days when I had sounded just like Cecilia. What this means for younger girls is that the main character is relatable and speaks like them, which is important.
Sit, Stay, Love was not a bad book and was still fun to read for teens, although the best audience for this book is tweens in middle school.
Sit, Stay, Love captivated me the first time I read it and I was obsessed. Now, I found it a bit juvenile. It's a great story for girls 12-14, and even being older than that, I still had a little fun reading it.
My problem as an older reader was that the "conflicts" of the story were pretty anticlimactic. I guess that means that this is a great representation of middle school. All of Cecilia's problems were easily fixed (except maybe her house being burned down), and the drama was so not-dramatic that it was laughable. I can get why I liked this book five years ago, but it's not for me anymore.
The dialogue was also a bit cheesy, and I cringed to remember the days when I had sounded just like Cecilia. What this means for younger girls is that the main character is relatable and speaks like them, which is important.
Sit, Stay, Love was not a bad book and was still fun to read for teens, although the best audience for this book is tweens in middle school.
August 26, 2018
had to read this one Pug on the cover really enjoyed the story wasn't sure how it was going to end until I got there
November 17, 2018
In this book we meet Cecelia whom is having a rough time, after her house gets condemned after a fire she finds herself and her dad moving in with her aunt Pam.
Meanwhile she adores dogs and dreams of owning one of her own and the sooner the better for her however as she works voluntarily at an adoption centre for dogs, she falls in love with a pug she calls Potato.
However as she finds a friend in Lily at school, she discovers Lilys brother Eric wants to adopt Potato into their family's show dog brood!
Can she get her dream dog before he's snatched away from her for good?
Another cute pug related love story that was a bit more serious than the previous one as Potato looks set to be forced into a life just for the stage and performing, not going to a solely loving and fun caring home like Cecelia would provide. I found myself wishing for Cecelia to get to keep him and not let her fall for Eric but alas the inevitable happens after a twist in the tale!
Meanwhile she adores dogs and dreams of owning one of her own and the sooner the better for her however as she works voluntarily at an adoption centre for dogs, she falls in love with a pug she calls Potato.
However as she finds a friend in Lily at school, she discovers Lilys brother Eric wants to adopt Potato into their family's show dog brood!
Can she get her dream dog before he's snatched away from her for good?
Another cute pug related love story that was a bit more serious than the previous one as Potato looks set to be forced into a life just for the stage and performing, not going to a solely loving and fun caring home like Cecelia would provide. I found myself wishing for Cecelia to get to keep him and not let her fall for Eric but alas the inevitable happens after a twist in the tale!
June 14, 2019
Fun quick read. It was a nice story with a happy ending. But also I dont think a realistic ending. It also was very easy to see how it would end.
September 12, 2018
I think this is probably the best chapter book I have ever read so far! This book originally seemed like a book I would not pick up but, I gave it a try and could NOT be happier with the end results! I won't spoil the ending but, I will say I LOVED IT! I would recommend this book to anyone because I thought I wouldn't like it but LOVED IT!!! This is a must read!
May 17, 2016
This book tells about a girl named Celia who spends all of her time at a pet shelter called, "Orphan Paws." A pug introduced itself into Celia's heart. The only thing was that the dog she was taking care of was adopted by Eric Chung. She was determined to get potato back in her life, creating drama with Eric
The book made me connect with the characters and want to keep reading. This book would be great be for kids who like animals especially dogs. This book would be a 4 out of 5 stars because some of the writing was too predictable. This book is good for ages 7-15
The book made me connect with the characters and want to keep reading. This book would be great be for kids who like animals especially dogs. This book would be a 4 out of 5 stars because some of the writing was too predictable. This book is good for ages 7-15
March 18, 2016
I LOVE THIS BOOK .... <3 This book was about a girl who falls in love with a puppy and she names him potato but she can't adopted him so this boys adopted the puppy and the only reason he adopted him was because.... read this book and you will find out.
March 5, 2016
Wow! Love this story! A must read for all dog lovers! :)
September 24, 2016
4.5 stars
November 21, 2019
I really like this book because it has great plot and they make every page an amazing one! I would definetly recommend this book!
February 10, 2020
It is a nice story, with a cute ending. It reminds me of a Halmark
February 23, 2025
This story was such a sweet and cute read. I loved reading about the pups too❤️
September 23, 2019
{My thoughts} – Cecillia is a smart girl that has a passion and a love for animals. She spends her spare time helping at the local animal rescue called Orphan Paws. While she is there one afternoon a cute little pug comes in and he’s in horrible shape. She is the one that ends up cleaning him up and gaining his trust. She bonds with him and really wants to keep him, but has to figure out how to ask her dad if she can have a dog or not.
Lori the person that runs the shelter, tries to give her the time she needs to talk to her dad. However, it doesn’t seem to work out in Cecillia’s favor because a boy from her class ends up coming to the shelter and his family adopts the pug. She feels betrayed and sad and hurt and wants to just spend as much time with the pug as she can before he goes off to live with his new owners. It turns out though that she becomes friends with the boy {Eric’s} twin sister and gets to spend a lot of time around the pug. She settles for that option but then Eric asks her to help him train the pug so that it can take part in dog shows. She agrees, because it means she can spend even more time with the pug.
I have to admit, this wasn’t quite what I was expecting when I’d started to read this book. I have a habit of not reading a books synopsis before I start the book. I do that so then I don’t judge a book without giving it a good go. I try to read the first few chapters and judge from there. This book turned out to be more then I had expected. It was incredible. I love that it was about animal rescue. I love that Cecillia was so passionate about helping animals that she continued to volunteer at the shelter even after she’d lost the pug to her classmates. I love that meeting that sweet little pug was what helped her to come out of her shell! This book was just so incredible. It made me laugh, it made me tear up and it made me think about how even young children have a hard time dealing with the toughness of some of the situations that they are forced to deal with on a regular basis.
I think that any child that reads this book will be able to learn something from it’s pages. There is so much within the pages, that there is so much to take away. So, so much, that I highly recommend this book for children, middle grade and even junior high! I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
Lori the person that runs the shelter, tries to give her the time she needs to talk to her dad. However, it doesn’t seem to work out in Cecillia’s favor because a boy from her class ends up coming to the shelter and his family adopts the pug. She feels betrayed and sad and hurt and wants to just spend as much time with the pug as she can before he goes off to live with his new owners. It turns out though that she becomes friends with the boy {Eric’s} twin sister and gets to spend a lot of time around the pug. She settles for that option but then Eric asks her to help him train the pug so that it can take part in dog shows. She agrees, because it means she can spend even more time with the pug.
I have to admit, this wasn’t quite what I was expecting when I’d started to read this book. I have a habit of not reading a books synopsis before I start the book. I do that so then I don’t judge a book without giving it a good go. I try to read the first few chapters and judge from there. This book turned out to be more then I had expected. It was incredible. I love that it was about animal rescue. I love that Cecillia was so passionate about helping animals that she continued to volunteer at the shelter even after she’d lost the pug to her classmates. I love that meeting that sweet little pug was what helped her to come out of her shell! This book was just so incredible. It made me laugh, it made me tear up and it made me think about how even young children have a hard time dealing with the toughness of some of the situations that they are forced to deal with on a regular basis.
I think that any child that reads this book will be able to learn something from it’s pages. There is so much within the pages, that there is so much to take away. So, so much, that I highly recommend this book for children, middle grade and even junior high! I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
November 15, 2017
Sit,Stay,Love is a awesome romantic book telling a story of Cecilia, a teenager who has been dying to have a dog since as long as she can remember. There was nothing Cecilia did with her life but hang out with her only friend Melody, read, hope to have a dog, and work at a animal shelter name Orphan Paws. When Melody moves away and something tragic and life changing happens with Cecilia's living situation how will she have a dog when she comes to live with her aunt Pam, who is allergic to dogs, and her dad who has nothing to do except be depressed about the situation he has brought his daughter into. None of this was his plan. Matters are made worse when Eric a popular annoying guy from Cecilia's school adopts the cutest dog Cecilia named Potato at Orphan Paws. The problem is Potato and Cecilia have a unbreaking relationship. Cecilia feels better when she makes a new friend Lily, but of course Cecilia is soon to find out that Lily and Eric are twins. Cecilia doesn't know if being friends with Lily would be good because she gets to see Potato or bad because she will see Eric. Soon Eric asks if Cecilia could help train Potato for a dog show. Is this what Cecilia wants? Why does Eric need her help? While hanging out with Eric so often will Cecilia and him become friends? Or even more ? This book includes understanding jokes and undesirable friendship. I would recommend this book to girls in 5th through 8th grade because J.J. Howard the author of this book writes this to show how to deal with hard times and still get what everyone wants.
September 20, 2017
The book Sit, Stay, Love by J.J. Howard is a novel about a young girl Cecilia who works at a puppy orphanage. While working at the orphanage Cecilia meets a puppy Potato Cecilia really wants who she instantly falls in love with. Before she is able to tell anyone she really, really wants Potato a popular boy from her school, Eric gets Potato first to train him to be a show dog. So Cecilia has a plan to sabotage their performance.
I gave Sit Stay Love a four star rating because it is a very relatable book with humor and drama but some parts were a little boring. I did like the story line but some parts were a little weird. Being a person who doesn't like reading “romantic”books i didn't enjoy the whole love part of the book. I would of liked to read more drama at the end and not so much the sweet obvious ending.Even though the ending wasn’t my favorite part about the novel the middle of it was a page turner and I wanted to keep reading which in other books I find the middle flat and not interesting. I totally recommend this book because it is a quick read and left me with suspense.
December 31, 2018
The book “Sit, Stay, Love” is a realistic fiction book. The main character, Cecilia, works at a dog shelter almost everyday after school. Soon enough, she is attracted to a cute little pug that arrived at the shelter, and named him Potato. She then realized that the pug was injured. She went home that night and asked her father if she could get the day and keep it but, without surprise, he dad will not let her keep the dog. Since Cecilia’s father said “no” to keeping the dog, a boy named Eric adopted Potato and Cecilia does not like Eric because he is mean and arrogant. She soon found out that Eric wanted to make Potato a show dog. Later on in this story, Cecilia wants to set Eric up for failure so she can get “her” dog back (that isn’t even her dog but she wants it to be her dog). Read this story to find out what happens next with Eric, Cecilia, and Potato.
I rate this book an 8/10 because I love how Cecilia wants to get Potato back and she won’t stop fighting until she does. If you like the book “Pugs in a Blanket” by J.J. Howard you will love “Sit, Stay, Love” by J.J Howard as well.
I rate this book an 8/10 because I love how Cecilia wants to get Potato back and she won’t stop fighting until she does. If you like the book “Pugs in a Blanket” by J.J. Howard you will love “Sit, Stay, Love” by J.J Howard as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2018
The latest book I read, was Sit, Stay, Love by J.J Howard! Ahhh! I love this book so much. The book is about this pug named potato and the owners love. Eric Chung decides to adopt potato and that makes Cecilia mad. But little did we all know, Cecelia has a huge crush on Eric Chung. Cecelia loves potato so much and can connect with potato better than anyone else can. At the end of the book, Cecelia enters potato in a dog contest and wins it! This makes Eric and Cecelia so happy that Eric let’s Cecelia adopt potato and Cecelia is very happy!
I love this book so much! My favorite part was at the dog contest when Eric gave Cecilia potato for the rest of her life. This book is so much fun and I would definitely read it four out of five stars or five out of five. I would totally read it again and I hope I can someday!
I would recommend this book to dog lovers, or shy people. Cecelia is very shy and she loves dogs with all her heart. I would recommend it also to people that need a book to read very fast, because it’s not the longest Book ever. I love this book so much!
I love this book so much! My favorite part was at the dog contest when Eric gave Cecilia potato for the rest of her life. This book is so much fun and I would definitely read it four out of five stars or five out of five. I would totally read it again and I hope I can someday!
I would recommend this book to dog lovers, or shy people. Cecelia is very shy and she loves dogs with all her heart. I would recommend it also to people that need a book to read very fast, because it’s not the longest Book ever. I love this book so much!
August 26, 2020
Cecilia Murray's life is not the happiest. First her mom leaves, then her best friend moves away, and then she and her dad lose their house to a fire. The only place she can escape is at Orphan Paws, and there, she falls in love with a pug puppy she named Potato. She wants to adopt him, but she can't while she's living with her fussy aunt. Yet the popular Eric Chung adopts Potato and asks Cecilia to help train the dog for shows, she can't say no because it means more time with the adorable pug. But is it the right life for Potato? Maybe she could sabotage the show, but it doesn't help when she starts to really like Eric.
I read this MG book with my ten-year-old and it's so much fun. Of course, there is the obligatory cute pug puppy. Lots of adorable moments with Potato. Yet it's about more than that. It's about a girl dealing with hard times and worrying her father might not be able to provide for them. It's about making new friends, and getting to know someone who she didn't like before. It's about figuring out how to do the right thing. A fun and entertaining read!
I read this MG book with my ten-year-old and it's so much fun. Of course, there is the obligatory cute pug puppy. Lots of adorable moments with Potato. Yet it's about more than that. It's about a girl dealing with hard times and worrying her father might not be able to provide for them. It's about making new friends, and getting to know someone who she didn't like before. It's about figuring out how to do the right thing. A fun and entertaining read!
April 12, 2021
This book was decent, though it was way below my reading level. Judging it fairly, I think a lot of younger kids would enjoy this. The characters are simple but mainly likeable, and the plot is interesting, though for me, it fell short. All in all, it was pretty predictable, which was to be expected, but the character interactions felt a little weird to me. Cecilia mentions several times over that she hates Eric, but the book never shows us anything he did wrong. He seemed to be nice to her for the most part, even before they became friends. Cecilia's interest in the dog, Potato, was cute, and I loved the plot concept, but it just fell short for me. For a book trying to portray 8th graders, it fell short and felt a little too childish. I was obviously looking for too much in a book for much younger audiences, so I think a lot of younger readers will love this book.
March 7, 2024
The first thing about this book after the years since its publication is that I still love and enjoy reading it and there are some spoilers in this review. I’ve noticed my thought process about it has changed though. When I was younger I loved the romance and dogs and how the characters interacted with one another but now that I am older I still enjoy it there were instances where I found the main character Cecilia to be annoying and jugemental but took into consideration that she is still young and is going to make mistakes. I also realized that other than learning about Eric being popular, good at sports, and loving animals I didn’t get to know more about him in depth. I was also confused about Eric's reaction to Cecilia sabotaging the dog competition after being so focused and determined to show that a dog from a shelter could win and instead overlooked that after she let it slip she was interested in him. My final thought is that you will have a different opinion depending on your age. A younger middle schooler would probably enjoy reading this book for romance, dogs, and how everything always falls into place but a college student or older probably wouldn’t enjoy reading this book finding the main character annoying and questioning how the characters mess up entire competitions and don’t even get in trouble for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2017
Sit,Stay ,Love by j.j. Howard, is a really good book and if I were to rate from 5 stars, then I would rate it, 5 Stars! So the book is about this girl named Cecilia Murray and the pet clinic pug that she had named potato! So Cecilia Murray is going through a lot, but the only thing keeping her with a smile on her face is little potato. Potato and Cecilia are also perfect together because potato has also been through a lot as well! Cecilia and potato can even understand each other! Then the rich boy at school, wants to prove a point to his mother but, he has to take the little potato! Now how is Cecilia gonna take him now! Then at the end it takes an interesting turn (Kind of in the middle to!)! I highly recommend this book, and you are going to love it!
October 10, 2017
I read this one to my daughters and they absolutely loved it. It had all of the required elements- a cute dog named Potato, an awkward young girl who wasn't popular, and a handsome, popular boy who was in love with the awkward girl. My 11 year old and 8 year old sighed a bunch (in a delighted and dreamy way) as I read. Meanwhile, I nearly laughed out loud several times because of the predictable "love" scenes. Even though I didn't appreciate the book all that much, I will admit that it really wasn't meant for me. Sooooo...my opinion doesn't matter. Will preteen and tweens love this one? Probably.
November 22, 2017
Sit, stay, love is a story of a girl named Cecilia who’s been through a rough time from, her mother leaving her father, to her house getting caught on fire... Things are looking up as she falls in love with a pug that she takes care of at Orphan paws, she named him Potato. As their love grew stronger she would have to face the fact of Potato being rescued. When Potato get's rescued by Eric Chung a popular, she thinks the world has come crashing down. But what she didn’t expect was for Eric to ask for her help to train Potato to be a show dog, not happy with the idea she comes up with a plan to sabotage the performance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews