The Art of Racing in the Rain by: Garth Stein

[Olivia]

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein tells the story of Enzo, the dog, and his family. This book is easy to get into, unlike books where you have to read five chapters before it becomes interesting, The Art of Racing in the Rain draws you in at the very beginning. The different point of view of the book contributes to that the most, The Art of Racing in the Rain is told in first person from Enzo's point of view. Enzo tells the readers where he was born, when and how Denny, Enzo’s owner, came to adopt him. Then to when Denny married his wife Eve and when their daughter was born. Enzo is more human than most people, with an abnormal obsession of opposable thumbs, his empathy, compassion, kindness, curiosity about the world and society and loyalty all contribute to readers being able to easily fall in love with Enzo and stay attached to Enzo throughout the book. The Art of Racing in the Rain had very strong character development, there were characters such as Denny, Eve and Zoe that were easy to love, then characters such as Zoe's grandparents, Eve's parents, that were very hard to like for the majority of the book, then every once in a while you change your mind, but then go right back to not liking them. The Art of Racing in the Rain revolves around Denny’s racing career as a race car driver, Eve and Zoe, and Enzo trying to keep his family intact and happy at whatever cost and sacrifice. The twists in the plot and story are what keeps the book so captivating through its entirety. I highly recommend reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein to fall in love with a dog who only wants to be human and a story that will leave you not wanting to put the book down and completely captivated.