Book Review: A Dog's Purpose

[Prof. Arielle Lemoyne]

Title of the book: A Dog's Purpose: A Novel for Humans
Authors: W. Bruce Cameron
Genres: Fiction for animal-lovers

This book is coming out as a movie in January, and the trailer made me cry, so I was really interested in reading the book. The story is told from the point of view of a dog, which, as much as I love dogs, was a little hard to get into at first, and a little corny at times. But after a few chapters I was engaged, and I liked parts of the dog's perspective, like how perceptive he was of human emotion. The main premise of the book is that the dog dies and is reincarnated several times (always fully remembering his past lives). Each of his lives teaches him an important lesson that brings him to realize and fulfill his true purpose. The message felt a little forced, but the story kept me interested, and there are definitely some heartwarming moments. I don't know that I'll run out and get the sequel, but I am excited to see what they do with the movie! I still think the trailer is fantastic!

[Louis Walles]

I have bought the book after watching the movie. I absolutely loved the movie but I have to admit I cried pretty much every 10 minutes (which led to my family laughing from me). The book itself was less emotional and I definitely did not cry that much. I found the book extremely cute, a bit personal as well. I have lost my cat a long time ago and because I believe in reincarnation, I have to admit I was always hoping I will reunite with my friend. This book made me feel a lot of different feelings. Recently, there has been a second movie based on the same book. I am a huge fan of this series and I definitely recommend this book.