Shiloh

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds (1991). Shiloh. New York, NY: Atheneum.

One day 11 year old Marty Preson comes upon a stray beagle near his home in West Virginia. After many attempts to loose the dog, he continues to follow Marty. Against his morals and ethical views, he decides to keep the dog because he knows the dog is abused and mistreated. He names him Shiloh. When his family says "NO" to keeping the dog, Marty decides to keep the dog hidden, hoping that the dog's owner Judd won't find him. Judd eventually finds out that he has his dog and demands him back. Marty asks to keep the dog (so he can keep him safe) and Judd says no. One day, Marty catches Judd doing some illegal deer hunting and decides to use that to blackmail him into letting him keep the dog. Judd makes and agreement that if Marty helps with manual labor around his house, he will let him keep the dog. After a lot of hard work, Judd does not keep his word and tells Marty no again. With much struggle and some bonding, Judd decides to let Marty keep the dog because he "EARNED" him. Marty is so happy in the end because he saved Shiloh and learned so much in the end.

The Author uses dialogue to show the connections between the characters very well. Marty, as the narrator,opens up and shows us what a great child he is and he is driven to do good. A very unexpected insight by the author was Judd giving in and giving Marty the dog on the last page of the book.