SOLVED. boy who can talk to animals [s]

[Anthony]

the story starts in a city that is seperated between the rich and the poor, the poor side is farthe divided by neighor hoods or gangs, or maybe it was districts i think districts, the main character is a male who can talk to animals i think he hunts rats to eat at at some point n the story he ends up convincing a dog to leave his pack and join hm soon afterwards he leaves the city being chased by rich people on horses he gets away by spooking one of the horses he eventualy the daughter frrom a rich family finds out she has the same power and leaves the city with her maid who teaches her how to use her power eventually she meets up with the male and the maid teaches him too
i am sorry that this is all i remember but i would really appreaciate help in finding this book

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Sounds really interesting Anthony. Hope that someone finds it, as I would also like to read it.

[Cheryl]

Children's book, or for teens? When did you read it?

[Anthony]

teen book i read it approximately 5 or 6 years ago

[Andria]

Your description makes me think of The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, but the details don't exactly match and it may be too new.

There's also Taronga, which is set in Australia and has a dystopian setting and teens who can communicate with animals.

[Anthony]

it is neither of these books although i may read taronga it sounds fun

[Andria]

Oh well, I'll keep thinking!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Hum, I'd first thought of Andre Norton's The Beast Master series, but that didn't fit. Then I got to thinking--perhaps it is The X Factorbook? This one has the city that is divided, but NOT dogs. It has cats, foxes, and a simian.

If not that particular one, there are several more of the Dipple series that feature somewhat the same idea.

These are Sci-fi, and not sure if that's what yours was or not, but I'm thinking "not" since you mention the horses and chasing him. But the Beastmaster series (there are 5 books in the series now) has the sci-fi tech plus the use of horses and other animals on some of the more "backwards" colony planets. Still even if none of these is your book, they are definately worth a look if you like this type of story.

[Anthony]

it doesn't appear to be any of the dipple series although i could have missed one thank you for trying though

[Dylan]

Salt by Maurice Gee

[Anthony]

yes that is the book thank you