Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger

Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger
Release: April 7th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Amazon

Synopsis:

Can a lost girl save a found dog? Find out in this unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness.

Hadley is angry about a lot of things: Her mom going to jail. Having to move to another state to live with her older sister, Beth, even though they haven’t spoken in five years. Leaving her friends and her school behind. And going blind.

But then Hadley meets Lila.

Lila is an abandoned dog who spends her days just quietly lying around at the local dog rescue where Beth works. She doesn’t listen to directions or play with the other dogs or show any interest in people.

So when Lila comes and sits by Hadley (which is hardly anything, but it’s more than she’s done with others), Beth thinks maybe Hadley can help Lila. She tells Hadley they’ll bring Lila home as a foster dog and Hadley can teach her to follow commands, walk on a leash, and be more of a people dog so she’ll be ready to be adopted.

Only working with Lila is harder than Hadley thought, and so is the mobility training she starts taking to help with her failing vision. It feels like Lila is too stubborn to train and like learning to use a cane is impossible. But unless Hadley can help Lila, she’ll never be adopted into a home. If Hadley could just let go of her anger, she might be able to save Lila… and herself.

New York Times bestselling author Kody Keplinger weaves an unforgettable story about discovering true friendship, finding home, and the possibilities of forgiveness.

Lila and Hadley Review:

The main reason I really enjoyed this story was because of its focus on dogs. I love dogs, and I loved Lila in the story. The pit-bull is cute and seems to understand Hadley’s needs as well. Hadley and Lila seem to complement each other, and help each other out during their darkest hours. I really liked the supporting characters as well like Beth and Shelby. Moreover, I thought the book ended really well on what happens to Lila. It was not what I was expecting, but I admire the author for making it realistic. The story also touches on how hard it is to forgive someone and how you have to be the better person to take the first step towards accepting it. I also liked the side romance between Beth and Vanessa.

However, I had quite a few problems with the story. The first being Hadley’s personality. I can understand why she is angry and frustrated. But she seems to consistently take it out on everyone throughout the book without any progress. She seems to lighten up a little towards the end, but it really did not make me like her any more. Secondly, I wasn’t really clear on how well Hadley could see. Although the author provides an overview of Hadley’s condition, I couldn’t visualize how well she was able to see while reading. In some scenes it looks like she has difficulty seeing anything, but in others she can see her cell phone to take selfies. Thirdly, I thought the author excessively used language like ‘aint’ and ‘ya’ll’ which was not necessary and frustrating at times.

Overall, I would have enjoyed this book had Hadley been more likable. But it is a nice story to read if you love dogs.