Nugly

by M.C. Ross

Wonder meets The Incredible Journey in this heartwarming story about a puppy who learns to love himself for what’s on the inside.
The one thing Nugget, a cute puppy, has ever known to do is love, and his cuteness has always been enough for others to love him back. But when Nugget is put up for adoption, he thinks it's because no one loves him anymore -- that he isn't cute anymore. So he does the only thing he can think of: he runs away.

Now Nugget is alone on the streets of Boston, where he quickly learns that not everyone is kind. After an unfortunate run-in with another animal leaves him disfigured, he can't rely on his cuteness to get by like he used to. As Nugget learns to navigate his new life, searching for a family to give all his love ... will he learn to love himself, too?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Contemporary, Dogs, Adventure

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2023

Reviews

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dogs are pretty simple to figure out: all they want is to be loved and to love in return. You have to at least repect the simplicity of that. They don't care about your race, religion, gender, or sexual preference. They don't care about your political affiliations, your income level, or what kind of car you drive. They truly embody the concept of unconditional love. It's no coincidence that "dog" spelled backwards is "god".

M.C. Ross's novel "Nugly" is about as wonderful a novel about dogs as one can get. It must also be said that no dogs die in this book.

The protagonist of the novel is an adorable puppy named Nugget, who runs away from his birth home when he hears that the family that he has grown to love is going to give him and his siblings away. He ends up running around the streets of Boston, where he ends up at a zoo. After a near-death encounter with a tiger, Nugly wakes up in an animal shelter to find that his face is horribly deformed. He is afraid that the one thing that made him lovable---his cuteness---is now gone, and that nobody will love him.

What follows is a funny and movng adventure in which Nugget learns important lessons about life and love.

My daughter and I read this a few chapters at a time at bedtime, and we both loved it. Highly recommended for anybody who loves dogs.

[Laura Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I snatched this at the book fair (don’t tempt me with a cute dog book) and it is SO CUTE AND SWEET and perfect 🫶

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My nine-year-old insisted I read this and it didn’t disappoint!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My eight-year-old picked this up at the Scholastic book fair at school solely because there was a dog on the cover. It’s definitely above her current reading level, so without knowing what it was about, we read Nugly together before bedtime.

We both noted the big, beautiful eyes on the cute dog pictured. Ironically, neither of us noticed anything unusual his appearance until we were halfway into the book.

A few times, I was worried about the increasingly heavy direction of events. My second grader watched me cry out of sadness — and eventually happiness — with this one.

What a beautifully written story grounded with the most heartwarming lessons. I’m so glad we experienced it together.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would’ve never picked this book, but my 10yo did at the book fair (god, I love a book fair), and it was actually pretty devastating and also so hopeful and lovely. Some of the vocabulary, humor, and themes were pretty advanced for 5th grade, so an overall win.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandson dared me to read this book without crying. I took the challenge. I didn’t cry but don’t tell him that. But…..it is a sad story with a happy ending. Nugget is disfigured by a lion’s brutal claw swipe so he thinks he’s too ugly for anyone to love him. I’m sure the moral of the story is that beauty is on the inside. If it’s good enough for my grandson to read, it’s good enough for me!

[Cali Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great children's book. I did almost cry at the beginning to be honest. 😂 My friends little brother recommended this book to me on the way to a hotel. So all the drive there I got busy reading. It's a great book! I don't care what y'all say. Nugget is adorable! 🥰

[Katie Holloman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok I’ll say it. I ended up loving this lil book. Totally tugged at my heart strings and was actually such a rich metaphor for life, belonging, and the gospel. Healed my inner child. 4 stars

[Megan Melton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my 11 year old daughter every night for the past few weeks before bed. There were many nights of a “please! Just one more chapter!” This book touched every emotion and has the most amazing life lessons. Life lessons that were perfect for my preteen to hear but also myself. It’s such an amazing book for all ages.

We did start about 1/3 in listening to this on audible through the Alexa and it advanced the whole book. The voice actor was amazing at getting all of the characters voices right and really made it enjoyable.

If I could rate this higher than 5 stars I would!

[mill mill :] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean I didn’t really like it that much but it was still cool
:]

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was funny, happy in some places and sad in others but I really liked the ending. I usually like medium sized chapters, but the short chapters definitely fit the age range. I loved how it went from Nugget thinking being cute was his value, to Nugget being okay with who he was, to Ugly hating the way he looked, to Nugly loving himself and knowing that the way he loved was his value. Not being cute.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ten year old granddaughter and I read this book for our book club. It is endearing with a heartwarming theme of love, kindness, and acceptance. Perfect for upper elementary aged children.

[Gariel Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute children’s book! I read it to my 5th grade class and they loved it! Highly recommend :-)

[ava | reading slump · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off pretty boring and I almost DNF it but I kept going because I wanted to see if it would get better and it did.
I loved watching Nugly evolve and grow to love the way he looked. I also loved the happy ending and I read for almost two hours just to finish the book cause it was so interesting.
I think that you should definitely give this book a try! I don’t usually read this kind of book and I liked it! Plus it is a pretty quick read.
Overall 4 stars only because the start of the book was pretty slow but besides that it was a good book!

[Tyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book! Loved reading this with my 4th grader.

[ZOE FORAN-LOEPPKE · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me happy cry a few times. i love it, recomend.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nugget is born in Boston to Wendy, a mixed breed dog. His father is not mentioned. He has six brothers and sisters, and they all have names like Frosty and Cheese Fries. There is a girl, Taylor, who takes good care of him, and he finds that being cute is very important, even though Wendy cautions him that his true value lies in his ability to love. When the family has to move to San Francisco for the father's job, Taylor is okay with embracing the opportunity until she realizes that the family can only take Wendy. Nugget runs away, and ends up befriending a porcupine, Lucky, at the Franklin Park Zoo. Lucky manages to find a place for Nugget to live, and gets food for him from other animals. An encounter with a lion ends with Nugget in a last chance shelter, badly injured and facially disfigured. Ms. Tran, who runs a restaurant, takes him home as a surprise for her daughter Emily, and encourages her to take the dog to field hockey practice. Other girls on the team are very mean about the dog and want Emily to name him "Ugly". Emily is struggling with their actions, and also worries that her mother is working too hard at the restaurant. When the girls put a collar on Nugget labeled "Ugly", he runs away again. He ends up with the large Flanagan clan, where he bonds with Sam, a boy with a large port wine stain birthmark, who champions the dog's cause and names him "Nugly" for NOT ugly. When Nugly feels unloved even in this household, he makes a final break, but this time, all of the people in his past come together to find him and make sure he feels valued and secure.
Strengths: This was a solid dog adventure book, and the Boston setting was interesting, especially the zoo. Nugget gets to live with a variety of different families, and it is very sad when he constantly runs away. There's some on trend messaging about the fact that Nugget's cuteness is not his entire value even though it occasionally seems like this is the case. He has many trust issues, and it's interesting to see him work through these.
Weaknesses: Taking a small dog to field hockey practice seemed like a bad idea. It was overly coincidental that all of the people who came in contact with Nugly showed up at the end.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough dogs books like Hoyle's Just Gus or Stevenson's Midnight at the Shelter.

My favorite part of this is Lucky's advice. "The closer they get to anyone, the more everyone's going to get hurt. The way I see it, that's life. You can't rely on anyone else. You can't get your hopes up for someone to like you. It only ends in pain." This is absolutely correct, but I have a feeling we are supposed to think Lucky is wrong. He's not. At least with dogs, the only thing they do to break our hearts is to die, and that's not their fault.

[Nicole Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this out loud to my 5- and 9-year old children over the course of a few weeks. The reading level was much higher than the intended audience, assuming because I found this in my second grader's Scholastic book order that it's intended for that age, but it works pretty well for a readaloud as kids tend to be able to comprehend more advanced texts when they're hearing them versus reading them. That said, it's funny, warm, and earnest.

Toward the end of the book, my 5 year old boy was begging me to find the movie so we could watch it. He was so sure one existed because we recently read through and then watched BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, and this one has a similar wholesome dog-story trope. And it would make a great family movie -- though maybe it would be a better fit by Pixar in an animated style versus ultra-realistic or live-action.

This is a darling story. It is far-fetched in some aspects, and in contrast to BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE this is told from the POV of the dog, rather than any of the people caring for or interacting with the dog. But the plot dynamic is turned on its head, as BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE is only showing what happens to a dog within one family. Where was Winn-Dixie born? Who did he escape from before he found Opal? Are Opal and the Preacher his forever owner, or will something eventually happen that leads him to be with another family?

NUGLY is an epic compared to BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE. I think an especially sensitive child would find it suspenseful and sad in places, so proceed with caution based on how well you know your kid.

As for me, I want to immediately add any dog books this author has ever published to my TBR list.

[Trudy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio. I wasn't sure I would continue at the very beginning. Way too much "CUTE." Also, it concerned me that they had a dog, who had apparently been loose, and was not spayed. Worst of all, there was no mention of the responsibility a pet owner has to make sure there are no unexpected, and unwanted puppies being produced! I understand this is a children's book, and obviously, it would have to be dealt with at their level, a discussion with the parents, for example. Also, children should be prepared that these unexpected puppies (or kittens) will not just become part of the household. The little girl who was getting so attached to all the puppies, Nugget, in particular, should have been warned from the beginning that these puppies would go to other homes in about 8 weeks.
I lost track of those original concerns as the story progressed. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the theme about the value of animals and people who may not fit the "norm."
I would recommend this to my grandchildren, but before they started reading, I would personally have the discussion with them about how important it is to spay and neuter pets because there are just too many in the world.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave some unexpected surprises and interesting story.

Nugly, is the story of a dog named Nugget, who goes on an adventure to not only find himself and his place in the world, but to find love for himself. I really enjoyed this story because is wasn't predictable. The journey that Nugget takes has many twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, and I found all the people in the story to be interesting.

I personally liked the journey that Nuggest took with himself- his face was mutilated after an incident with another animal, destroying his confidence and love for himself. Nugget learns that he is not defined by his cute looks, but for the lovable puppy that he is.

I think the great message of this story is that all dogs (and other creatures) are worthy of love no matter what they look like. I appreciate the author writing about a dog whose face is not typical. These types of dogs with such injuries still deserve a loving home and family. But from a personal perspective, we all need to learn to love ourselves.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I am not the intended audience for this book, but I am a middle school library assistant and mostly read books for middle school students. I don't seek out animal stories, but I will read them if they are a Volunteer State Book Award nominee. I enjoyed The One and Only Ivan, A Dog Like Daisy, and Odder.
I realize there is a great deal of suspension of disbelief in an animal story, but this one was just too much. I can only give it two stars. However, I do get the point of the story.
Its Accelerated Reader Level is 6.0, which may be too high for the intended audience.
My first objection is lack of responsibility of the humans. First, how Nugget (later known as Nugly) even came to exist. A mutt female surely would have been spayed. Further into the story, he wasn't microchipped. I thought that was common practice in an animal control center. Then, his third family delayed taking him to the vet for what seemed some time.
There are way too many human emotions given to Nugget. He seems to know too much for such a young puppy. And then doesn't know things you would expect. He ran like he was stealing second base but didn't know what stealing second base meant. And he seemed to me to be an awful young puppy to get so far. Oh, and he can read. He is scared of bears but not lions.
Lucky being a porcupine is nocturnal, but then he entertains the visitors during the day. Muntjac deer (from whom Lucky gets meat for Nugget) are herbivores. South African porcupines don't climb. Lucky is not afraid of lions which are South African porcupines number one predator. (He is more afraid of a peacock!) My objection to misrepresenting little facts is that you have students who will take what they read to be fact (even if it is a fiction book) because they can't always separate the two. Initially, the animals in the zoo are said to be Sox fans (baseball) then later Bruins fans (hockey) which is fine, but there was no mention of hockey when Nugget was at the zoo.
This is just nit-picking, but his initial wounds are referred to as scars. Scars are what what form after healing. Naturally, wounds are going to look much scarier. We were told that Taylor would be going into high school in the fall, and then later we discover that she is only twelve. That is sixth grade age. That's the second book this summer that I have come across that.
I think I had some more objections, but I have lost my notes.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story from the dog's perspective, mostly third person but you know the dog's thoughts and conversations with other animals. I love the asides to the reader throughout, like all of chapter 11 "A brief note on Boston." There are tons of positive messages about families, friendship, and love. This quote from page 122:
"Hopeless is something you feel, not something you are. Even if you cannot summon a shred of hope from within yourself, it is worth sticking around because hope can walk in from outside, infusing your life with something vital when you thought all was lost. Like rain in a desert. Or hot sauce on a mediocre burrito.
In exactly this way, hope arrived for Nugget when he least expected it."
Highly recommend for anyone who loves dog stories.
Note: There is a Vietnamese family that runs a pho restaurant in the book, so younger readers may need some help with some of the names or words.

[Amanda Gilles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book because I saw a preview video clip for it for my junior high school's student bookfair. I was in tears and just had to find out about this poor dog-who frankly I related to since I too often feel "nugly" inside and out.

I bought the book for my classroom, and as many teachers do, decided to read it for myself prior to putting it on my shelf.

I am glad I did. HEADs UP (and a bit of a duh but...) this is a TEAR JERKER. I read it at the gym, so I used my sweat as a cover for my tears. Also as I read, I often ended a chapter wanting to run to my own 18 month old puppy to snuggle just a bit tighter.

Despite the tears, as the prelude summary says, it is page-by-page root for the underdog and well worth it because Nugly sure does win with a "happy ever after" or "woofy ever after"

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful story of Nugget, a puppy who has quickly learned from his first human family that he is loved, lovable and very cute. However, when he is put up for adoption, Nugget is confused, feels very unloved and runs away. On the streets of Boston, Nugget experiences the harshness of life, including being injured and disfigured in an incident at Boston Zoo. Nugget feels even more unlovable and now, very ugly.
Luckily, there is hope, and Nugget, who becomes "Nugly", encounters people who are willing to love him unconditionally. He learns that looks are not everything, character is more important, and he is worthy of love.
Would make a great primary read-aloud with lots of great themes, adventure and cuteness!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an emotional roller coaster this story is!

Told with tongue in cheek humour at times, but deadly serious at others, this is the story of eternally cute Nugget, a puppy who seems to be hard-wired for adventure.

The book feels like a dog version of Wonder has collided with Lassie, as Nugget’s adventures result in him not being so cute any more after an altercation with a lion… yes, a lion! So as well as finding himself on the run more than once in the story, he also has to come to terms with losing his cute factor. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters whose lives are changed by this (not so) cute character!

I think this has the potential for being a great readaloud or for someone who has enjoyed The One and Only Ivan or Just a Dog by Sharon Creech.

[Ellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars (I loved it)

Let me start by saying, I am not a dog person.

But this book was a featured book for my fall Book Fair and my students were hyped about it. It "sold out" in the first class that came. The 5th graders were running to the case and fighting over the book!
I decided I needed to read it.

It's a heartwarming book. There is lot of adventure and a great message. Also, I really enjoyed the author's writing. It's kind of snarky and that is right up my alley.

After reading the book, I almost think that the book trailer didn't do the book justice but who really cares because it got me to read it!

Trailer: https://x.com/Scholastic/status/17075...

[Matt DosSantos DiSorbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

M.C. Ross does it again! This is that special type of book that is wonderful for both children and adults. It's got vivid, nuanced characters, plenty of laughs & action and a strong moral compass that leans into warm, comfortable, homespun wisdom. It's got a wry sense of humor that will leave Mom & Dad chuckling; it captures the beating heart of the proud city of Boston. Well worth your time, and I'll be eagerly awaiting Ross' next release!

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a 5th grader who will only take my suggestions if I can assure her she will be emotionally wrecked - she was elated to hear that this one got me. A very sweet, super easy read for any struggling middle grade readers who want a little adventure.

"Family isn't a checklist you need to cross off. It's just the people you choose, who choose you back... And I am so glad you chose me, so I got to choose you back."

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather sweet story that would be enjoyed by animal lovers. The only thing I had a problem with is the premise that “family is what you choose”. It just sounds too much like the inclusive stuff going on in today’s age. It’s not terrible, just tired of having the same thing pounded into our brains by just about every book being written. Kids of divorced families could also understand some of the feelings of Nugly in this book because of the resolution. Although it is not classic material, this is one that I will probably purchase for my school library.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book recommended to me by elementary school kids at the library. And another winner! Some books are dumbed down for their audience; and that's dumb. Not this one. Well-written. You don't have to be a dog-lover to love the story of someone (in this case, a dog) learning to love themselves and love and trust others. Very sweet, empowering ending. If only we could all have a happy ending like that.

Not just for kids. Great story for anyone, of any age.