No More Dead Dogs

by Gordon Korman

No More Dead Dogs

Genres: Young Adult, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, School

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Robin Hobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a family favorite for many years now, so perhaps it is time to actually write a review of it. As usual, my effort will be to let you know about the book while avoiding spoilers.

The title says a great deal. No More Dead Dogs.

In my long ago school years, we had required summer reading. And so MANY of the books were heart wrenching stories of animals that died! Why did coming of age stories have to be so depressing? Even as a kid, I felt manipulated into emotions I didn't enjoy.

A short list:
The Yearling
Where the Red Fern Grows
Black Beauty (at least it had a happy ending!)
Lassie, Come Home
Old Yeller

So this tale is about a young student who is braver than I ever was, in that he refuses to write a positive book report about a classic 'dead dog' book. That refusal has consequences, of course, but leads him into new experiences. I don't want to get more specific than that.

I consider it to be a good tale about standing up for your heartfelt opinions, and the places where that can lead you. That makes this sound like it's a very serious book. It isn't, but it's a thought
and laughter provoking story for middle graders.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wallace Wallace has been "big fished" a few too many times by his dad. WW can NOT tell a lie. His moral high horse becomes a bit uncomfortable when there is a disagreement with his English teacher over his intense dislike for the classic Old Shep, My Pal. A detention sentence sets in motion a quick-moving train that will soon encompass all of Beford Middle School. This has got to be my favorite read from Korman. Reading the perspectives of our boy Wallace Wallace, Rachel Turner the president of the Drama Club and Julia Roberts superfan, Trudi Davis the wannabe gf of Wallace Wallace, Parker Schmidt's questionable newspaper articles, and Mr. Fogelman the English teacher; we learn about athletic fervor and the wisdom of letting the talent of the performers shape the production. Perhaps the dog doesn't always have to die.

[Harun Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

করম্যানের নায়কদের মধ্যে এক ধরনের "এক্স ফ্যাক্টর" থাকে। এদের আচরণ একটু বিচিত্র হয়। না চাইতেও লোকজন তাদের বিশ্বাস করে ও বিচিত্র সব ঘটনার জন্ম দ্যায়। "নো মোর ডেড ডগস" এর নায়ক ওয়ালেস হচ্ছে শতভাগ সত্যবাদী। ডিটেনশনে থাকা অবস্থায় তাকে "ওল্ড শেপ, মাই পেল" বইয়ের রিভিউ লিখতে বলা হয়। রিভিউ দেখে ক্ষিপ্ত হয়ে শিক্ষক মি. ফোগলম্যান তার ডিটেনশন বাড়াতেই থাকে আর ওয়ালেস তার প্রিয় ফুটবল দল থেকে বহিষ্কৃত হয়।ঘটনা মোচড় নেয় অন্যদিকে যখন "ওল্ড শেপ, মাই পেল" নিয়ে অনুষ্ঠিতব্য মঞ্চ নাটকের রিহার্সেলে ফোগলম্যানের বদলে ওয়ালেসের আধিপত্য বাড়তে থাকে আর একের পর এক ঘটতে থাকে মজার ঘটনা।একই ফর্মুলা অনুসরণ করে করম্যান বই লেখেন কিন্তু প্রায় প্রতিবারই তার ফর্মুলা নিখুঁতভাবে কাজ করে।আশ্চর্য ব্যাপার!

[Yael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it four stars, but it really irks me how the main character doesn't seem to actually learn anything, aside from the fact that his football friends aren't necessarily the nicest people. I mean, I like the premise of the book (boy hates book, writes scathing review, teacher is angry), but the fact is that the teacher had a point. If he had written an intelligent review, where he had explained why he didn't like the book, the teacher would have been fine. It was his simple dismissal of the book that upset the teacher. I'm probably reading too much into it, but Wallace was just too perfect. Couldn't there have been at least some sort of conversation with the teacher, where they dicussed why people actually do like the book, how even if it may be dated, there are still important life lessons or whatever? I guess I'm just irritated, since too often in real life people dismiss books without actually understanding them (myself included), and I don't think that's necessarily something to applaud.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute middle grade book that pretty much sums up how we all feel about books with dogs on the cover: The dog will die, and therefore the book sucks. Though classic dead dog books like OLD YELLER and WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS are mentioned, the book within the book is fake, allowing Korman and his main character, Wallace Wallace, to rip it to shreds without offending fans of a real book, which makes sense because fans and their obsessions are an even bigger part of this book then OLD SHEP, MY PAL (the book within the book). Because their English teacher is a huge fan of OLD SHEP, he will not accept Wallace's negative review of the book. Because Wallace helped win a championship football game the year before, he has fans outraged that he now has detention, and so on. The fans of football, dead dog books, drama, rollerblading, and so much more clash here, and it's fun to watch. I do wish that there had been more depth to some of the characters, it's never clear if the teacher ever understands Wallace's point of view, and several of the other characters make rapid changes as well. Throughout the book, Wallace refers to another football player as his ex-best friend, and suspects him of sabotaging the school play, but we never find out why they aren't friends any more. And that's what kept me from loving this book more. It's a hilarious premise, and I have always loved Korman's swift, witty books, but this one needed more meat for Old Shep to sink his teeth into (before he dies).

[Kate Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Korman creatively sets up this story like a screenplay with a list of characters at the very beginning of the story. Each chapter “enters” (or features) a different character (1st person point of view). Readers are hooked from the beginning with the humor of his father’s habit of lying. Because of this Wallace, at a very young age, swore to a life of honesty, no matter what. “My earliest memory is of my mother complaining that the laundry shrunk her new pants. “Your pants didn’t get smaller, Mommy,” I assured her. Your butt got bigger.” (p.2) “For me, honesty wasn’t just the best policy; it was the only one.” So when Wallace had to write a review of Old Shep, My Pal for Mr. Fogelman, he was brutally honest about how he hated the book. Mr. Fogelman gave him detention until he could write a “proper review.” Wallace, who was the most popular player on the Giants football team, had to serve his detention with the drama club as they rehearsed for the play Old Shep, My Pal. Despite numerous pleas to get Wallace to lie and just write a review that Ms. Fogelman would accept, Wallace stuck to his beliefs and would NOT lie about how he felt about the book. This honesty also showed during rehearsals as Wallace sat and observed. He began to make “suggestions” on what the dialogue should be to sound more realistic, claiming that “that’s not how people talk.” “I know for a fact that I’ve never said anything as stupid as, ‘Great heavens, this dog has suffered an injury!’” (p.35) The kids bought into his ideas and soon, not only was all the dialogue changed, but there were kids on rollerblades and moving stuffed dog (playing as Shep), and a band the Dead Mangoes (with Mr. Fogelman on the keyboard). All the while, there was someone trying to sabotage the play with one prank after another. Wallace ends up getting blamed for this and banned from the play the day of the performance, but he goes anyway, knowing they’re going to need his help. And he was right! This is a cute story about choices, loyalty, honesty, trust, friendships, courage, peer pressure, and moral dilemmas all wrapped up in a humorous story that YA's could definitely identify with.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, look. I read this book last year, just after WHEN YOU REACH ME and needed a fun-lighthearted book. And that is exactly what I got.

I actually reread this one quite recently and I loved it just the same the second time around.

I’m not really sure what it is about it. Maybe it’s the characters - who were all so prominent and quirky and I just loved them so much. Maybe it’s the writing style? Gordon Korman always has a really great writing style. I’m not really sure, but I am sure that I loved it.

All in all, it’s definitely a great read if you’re looking for something fluffy and cute and hilarious.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one never fails to crack me up (read: in my case, smile). While there is no actual dog, the cover art and the title/message of the book more than makes up for that deficiency. It's a funny little romp with crazy, enjoyable characters and a truly surprising twist. I'm sure I'll never get tired of it!

[Cait]

just thinking about this, The Only Good Middle-Grade Novel, after having finished a student's clearly covid-informed post-apocalyptic short story in which THE DOG DIES....keep in mind that this child has been eating lunch in my classroom for the past three years and so I ask: why would u do this 2 me, your favorite english teacher......great short story....I hated it thanks

(and yes fölks these impeccable writing skills are EXACTLY why they pay me the big bucks to teach high school english, thanks for asking!)

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, G-rated, middle-grade, comedy of errors, from 2000


Ever since 12-year-old Wallace Wallace was very young, he has insisted on telling the truth at all times, because his father is a pathological liar. Unfortunately, no one has ever explained to him the difference between fact and opinion. And the "honesty" he tends to share with everyone in his life is almost always his negative, insulting, personal opinion.

Ever since Wallace scored the winning touchdown for the Bedford Middle School football team in the championship game the previous school year--the only touchdown he's ever scored, because he is a perpetual bench warmer--he has been very popular. But he has also lost his best friend, the QB, Steve Cavanaugh, who is the actual star of the football team and has been unfairly shown up by Wallace.

When Wallace's English teacher, Mr Fogelman, who is only 29 but acts like a stuffy 50-year-old, informs his class that they must write a book report on the novel they just read, Old Shep, My Pal (OSMP), Wallace has nothing positive to say about this book, because the dog dies at the end. He is sick and tired of the dog dying every time one appears in a book that kids are forced to read in English class. In his report, he states exactly how he feels about the novel, and Mr F is outraged. Because the novel was his favorite book as a child, he feels very protective of it. And it soon becomes clear--in a classic case of students' being forced to parrot the opinions of their teacher in order to pass a class--that nothing less than complete dishonesty on the part of Wallace, in the form of a positive review of OSMP, will satisfy Mr F. He remands Wallace to detention after school, and because detention happens at the same time as football practice, Wallace has to miss it.

Since Mr F is the sponsor of the drama club, and he is currently directing a dramatic adaptation of OSMP, the script of which was written by Mr F himself, Wallace is forced to sit in the gym and witness play practice. Additional exposure to the plot of OSMP does nothing to improve Wallace's aversion to it, and his rewritten book report is just as negative as the first edition. Mr F clearly takes this as a personal insult and an act of defiance and declares that, until Wallace writes a proper (that is, appropriately obsequious) book report, he will remain in detention indefinitely and, in the meantime, he will not be allowed to either attend football practice or play in any games.

Since Wallace is absolutely adamant about his vow of eternal honesty, the situation becomes a stalemate. Initially, Wallace is excruciatingly bored during his enforced attendance of play practice, but before long, he finds himself making suggestions about how the dialogue, which is extremely clunky and unrealistic, could be improved. The student performers like his ideas much better than those of Mr F, and more and more of the performers begin begging Wallace to rewrite their dialogue as well, much to the irritation of Mr F and Rachel Turner, the president of the drama club.

When an unknown person vandalizes the props for the play and begins sabotaging the performers during rehearsals, Rachel is convinced that Wallace is the culprit. But all the other performers idolize Wallace because of how much he is improving the play, and they refuse to believe that he is the one responsible.

This novel was originally published in 2000, but even though it is almost a quarter century old at the present date that I am reading it, in early 2024, it does not seem outdated, other than the fact that there are no cell phones and the internet is not mentioned. But since the story takes place almost entirely during school hours, where those things are not permitted even today, their lack is not noticeable.

As is the case for many of the comedies written by GK, this story is told from multiple points of view. Wallace is a sympathetically quirky central character, and the other viewpoint characters all have their own unique appeal as well. They make for a delightful ensemble cast. The many contrasting perceptions of the same events of the story add to the "comedy of errors" type of humor of the novel.

I obtained access to the audiobook recording of this novel via Hoopla. Each chapter is narrated in a different character's viewpoint, and each of those characters is performed by a different voice actor. Every one of these actors is quite talented and does an excellent job, which greatly enhanced my overall enjoyment of this novel.

This story, as is the case with most all the books written by this author, is G-rated, middle-grade fiction, which is geared toward children 8-10 years old.

[Jentry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wallace Wallace never lies. He’s kind of known for it. He gets detention for writing a book report that says he hated the assigned book. Because of this, he has to sit with the drama department as they work on their play, based on the same book, after school every day until he can complete the assignment to the teacher’s satisfaction.

So, I liked this book overall, but this was one of my first gripes. Wallace is allowed to hate the assigned book. Maybe the first report could’ve explained better why Wallace didn’t like it, but after he redoes the report and explains his thoughts, it’s still not accepted. This pissed me off. You’re totally allowed to hate a book. It’s a completely valid viewpoint. The teacher in question seemed nice enough and there wouldn’t be a story without this plot point, but man, this annoyed me.

Another thing I didn’t love about this book is that the characters all seem to think, act, feel, etc… older than the 5th-7th graders that they are (with a few exceptions). It’s like reading the middle school book version of Dawson’s Creek.

Something I enjoyed: After all the “improvements” that Wallace suggests for the play (i.e. making the characters be on roller skates, rapping the lines, etc...) this is a play I REALLY want to see… ;)

Not my new favorite book, but it was still entertaining and mostly enjoyable.

[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you imagine having the name "Wallace Wallace"? Well, that's not the worst thing that has happened to Wallace in his life.

Right now the worst thing in Wallace's life is that when he wrote his book report on "Old Shep, My Pal", he was brutally honest, and I shall quote his book report...
"Old Shep, My Pal" by Zack Paris is the most boring book I've read in my entire life. I did not have a favorite character. I hated everybody equally. The most interesting part came on the last page where it said "The End." This book couldn't be any lousier if it came with a letter bomb. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy."

And so starts a stand-off between Wallace, his English teacher (who expects Wallace to write a REAL book report - like that's going happen, NOT), his football team and coach, as he has been suspended from football practice until he writes it the way it is supposed to be written - and his punishment is that he has to attend the school's drama club rehearsals of the play "Old Shep, My Pal."
Wallace does the only thing he can, he keeps making suggestions about scenes in the play, much to the chagrin of his English teacher and drama instructor!!!! Because, Wallace completely re-writes the entire story, unfortunately someone keeps sabotaging drama rehearsals making it appear that Wallace is the "bad guy"...……………..

[lulu wilford · Rating 4 out of 5]

kind of a slay

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can confirm I'll never get tired of this one. It's just silly fun.

I think the only criticisms I would have are:
(1) the preteen romance isn't terribly well done, at least on one side, but it's such a minimal part of the book that it hardly matters;
(2) I've personally grown tired of the admiration for people who "tell it like it is" who are actually just being rude. Honesty is great. Meanness is not. So it would have been great to see that come through more strongly, but Wallace does seem to tone it down as the book goes on, so it's not a major complaint.

First review
This one never fails to crack me up (read: in my case, smile). While there is no actual dog, the cover art and the title/message of the book more than makes up for that deficiency. It's a funny little romp with crazy, enjoyable characters and a truly surprising twist. I'm sure I'll never get tired of it!

[Amberdenise Puckett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wallace Wallace (no, that's not a typo) doesn't lie. He absolutely refuses to lie. His father lies all the time to Wallace and about silly things. Since Wallace hates that his father lies constantly, he decides to NEVER lie. A decision that will get him in to a ton of trouble later, especially when he has to write a review on a book called Old Shep, My Pal (not a real book) and hates the book with a passion. His English teacher, Mr. Fogelman refuses to accept the paper and makes Wallace attend rehearsals for the upcoming school play, Old Shep, My Pal directed by the one and only Mr. Fogelman (go figure). Needless to say, this does not go very well. While on detention, Wallace Wallace can not even play football. (He was last season's hero, accidentally.) For Wallace, banishment from the team is horrible, but he refuses to jeopardize his morals to lie about a book he absolutely hated. Even when his team starts to turn away from him and someone starts to sabotage the play, Wallace sticks to his principles and refuses to lie. When the sabotage points to Wallace, he continues to tell the truth and eventually becomes the school pariah.
~~
No More Dead Dogs is a decent book. I have to admit, I hated 2/3 of the book, but eventually began to like it a litte. I was annoyed by the constant pov shifts-- from Wallace to Rachel to Wallace to Rachel to Wallace to Trui to Mr. Fogelman, it was excessive. The chapters were short, so by the time I was able to get into one characters head, it was time to shift to another person. I think Gordan Korman would have been better off keeping this story in one P.O.V. instead of five.
The part of this book that aggravated me the most has to be Wallace Wallace being punished for telling the TRUTH!!! Honesty is probably the most important character trait a person can have and what does this book do, it trashes honesty. First with Wallace's father lying all the time to look important to his son, then the English teacher refusing to accept an essay because he doesn't agree with it, to Wallace's team trying to get him to lie and say he loved the book. Throughout No More Dead Dogs we are shown that honesty is not as important as pleasing other people and that's wrong.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

wallace is a football player and he writes an engish paper about a book that he read but he didnt like it o he got in trouble and got kicked off the football team. rachel writes to julia roberts. since wallace got kicked off the team has lost 3 games in a row. wallace kind of takes over the play and he changes it so that the people are on roller blades. wallace got a band to play callled the dead mangos. mr. fogelman let him off detention so he can play football. then walllace gets band from the play because someone shreaded the scripts of the play and they think he did it. dylan rachels brother really was the one messing up everything. it was also the kind of book that could have reallly happened but it didn't.

[Dahminick Murison]

i really like this book my favorite part was when Wallace Wallace saved the play spoiler 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[Liz Friend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my very favorite Gordon Korman book--I've read it several times, and it still makes me laugh every time. Even though it's getting a bit dated now (mentions of the 1999-2000 football seasons, and Rachel Turner writing to then-hot Julia Roberts) it's still a great read.

Annotation with spoilers: Wallace Wallace's father was a big fat fibber--so Wallace has spent his 14 years vowing never to tell a lie. His "honesty is the only policy" approach means trouble, though, when he refuses to give a glowing review to "Old Shep, My Pal"--one of those award-winning books where the dog ends up dead. His teacher, Mr. Fogelman, is outraged by his disrespectful treatment of a classic (and a personal favorite) and he puts Wallace on detention until he comes up with a suitable book report (read: one that enthuses over the merits of the book). Wallace? Ain't gonna lie. He'd rather serve detention.

But there's a problem with that. Wallace is on the Bedford Middle School Giants football team, and last year--after an entire season of warming the bench--he made a surprise play that won the game and thereby the championship. So now he's famous (far more famous than actually talented!) and his personal fans, along with his friends on the team, are puzzled and bummed that he won't produce the required book report.

Since Mr. Fogelman is currently directing the drama club's production of Old Shep, Wallace has to serve his detention under the teacher's eye in the auditorium...and it isn't long before Wallace starts changing the direction of the play. First, he convinces everyone that the dialogue is too stilted and needs to be lightened up. Next, Old Shep (who in the script had been hit by a car before the curtain even went up) is attached to a remote control car, chased by a dogcatcher on roller blades, and run over by a kid on a mo-ped. And it just spirals out from them. At first, Mr. Fogelman tries to resist, but eventually even he is overcome by the tidal wave that is Wallace Wallace, and things continue onward out of control.

In the meantime, Wallace is "getting to know" the drama geeks: Rachel Turner, president of the drama club, who finds him incredibly annoying; Trudi Davis, Rachel's friend and an airhead, who finds Wallace incredibly cute, Nathaniel Spitzner, a drama dork--and then all the "extras" Wallace recruits to make the play "better"--like the Dead Mangoes (a rock band), and the school interpretive dance team. Fogelman, in desperation, declares that Wallace's "help" on the play has taken much more effort than any paper, and so lets him off detention. But Wallace--thinking about how the team has been giving him the cold shoulder while the drama kids turned out to rake his lawn--announces at the big pep rally that he's quitting the team and going back to the play. All the sports fans think he's a traitor (especially since the team is 0-4 at this point).

Just as bad are the newspaper articles written by Parker Schmidt (aka Porker Zit). He is a true yellow journalist, inventing facts and printing them--such as the "fact" that Trudi Davis is Wallace's girl friend, that Wallace is a "secret agent" spying, and so forth. Every time an article is printed, Wallace is deeper in trouble with SOMEBODY.

Plus, all is not well in DramaLand--someone is playing mean practical jokes, like spray painting "Old Shep, Dead Mutt" on the set, launching a pepper bomb, and rolling marbles across the floor in a wave aimed at the rollerbladers. Because Wallace is in detention, he's the obvious suspect (and this is one of the reasons why Rachel can't stand him--she's convinced he's trying to sabotage the play as revenge for being off the team. His friends on the football team are starting to give him the cold shoulder because he won't just say whatever is needful to get the paper written and get off detention. So it could be one of theets him off detention. But Wallace--thinking about how the team has been giving him the cold shoulder while the drama kids turned out to rake his lawn--announces at the big pep rally that he's quitting the team and going back to the play. All the sports fans think he's a traitor (especially since the team is 0-4 at this point).

Mr. Fogelman has pretty much given up on keeping Wallace's "improvements" out of the play and he decides to chill out by joining the Dead Mangoes as their keyboard man. But just as they're ready for the dress rehearsal, someone takes the 45 new scripts (with all the changes Wallace has made), steals the shredder from the front office, and shreds them all. Conveniently, Wallace's scrimmage shirt is left in the blizzard of paper shreds, and everyone instantly goes back to believing that he's guilty...everyone but Rachel, that is. After talking to Cavanaugh (Wallace's former best friend, alienated by Wallace's getting all the glory for winning the game last year when Cavanaugh is a way better player and did all the work) who points out to her that Wallace wouldn't tell a lie to save his mother from cannibals, Rachel reluctantly goes over to Wallace's side and offers to help clear him. But what can she do? He's been banished.

But Wallace realizes that the prankster will probably try to sabotage the performance of Old Shep in front of 700 audience members...so he sneaks in to keep an eye on things. With the help of his friend Rick, they look at the video of last year's championship celebration and realize that the person who stole his shirt was...Rachel's little brother, Dylan, who's been super bummed that Wallace isn't playing (which in his mind is the reason the Giants are losing). Wallace is just in time to repeat his flying tackle from last year's game, this time to smother a cherry bomb that Dylan has planted on the rolling Old Shep--so even though the dog blows up, no one gets hurt and the kids change up the end of the play so that Old Shep doesn't die after all (even though he got blown up!). Author Zack Paris would never have recognized his story, so improved was it.
WHen Rachel demands to know who's responsible, for the first time in his life, Wallace blurts out a lie--just to save her from the hurt and humiliation that will accompany her discovery that her little brother is the perp. But of course, everything comes out and Wallace is exonerated, while Dylan is grounded to his bedroom for the next 800 years.

Rachel finally gets a note back from Julia Roberts, telling her that (after reading all the letters Rachel has sent detailing the events of the show) Rachel is clearly crazy about Wallace and shouldn't let him get away. So she invites him to see a movie with her--and with Trudi and HER new boyfriend, Cavanaugh. It's a date! AND it looks like Stevie and Wally may just be able to be friends again, just like old times. Happy ending (my favorite kind)!

June Cleaver's rating: G. (Only PG moment is the repeated use of "Jackass Jackass" as Cavanaugh's not-very-nice nickname for Wallace Wallace.)

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this at some point...I think back in college for my kidlit class, but it might have even been before then, and I remember enjoying it. Since we owned multiple copies, it became one of our book club reads this year (it helps that it's short!). I haven't heard from the kids yet, since we haven't had book club yet, but I enjoyed it just as thoroughly as I remembered, and I like how it's funny and fast-moving, but also explores themes of honesty, loyalty, and dedication to a cause.

[Sha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may or may not (okay, definitely may) have raved about Gordan Korman’s talent for creating humourous and original characters before. He does this in spades in No More Dead Dogs. Wallace Wallace is indeed the “reluctant football hero” as pitched by the book’s summary (considering he’s really just a bench-warmer who lucked out and caught the touchdown pass that won last year’s championship game). He also categorically refuses to tell a lie under any circumstances: which includes his book report on his English teacher’s favourite (but super boring) book, Old Shep, My Pal.

As the story plays out, readers learn the effects of lies VS truth VS that shady gray area on friendship. Korman does a great job of illustrating how easy it is to make assumptions and believe that what you see is the truth — and how those quick assumptions hurt those around you. For example, Rachel Turner, an actress in the book’s play, struggles to see the difference between fact and assumption.

This book is indeed middle grade, so be aware of that before diving in. Sometimes the narrative includes exclamation marks (which you really only see in middle grade or children’s books) and feels so odd because who thinks in exclamation marks? But obviously this isn’t the end of the world. The characters also have interests/issues that can appear trivial to older readers — i.e. will my crush ever notice me?? Man, that boy is so annoying! — but the end of the world to the characters. However, I can also consider this upper middle grade, not because of serious topics but because the characters are very mature. Wallace does a lot of chores around the house and emphasizes the importance of helping those around you, Rachel emphasizes the importance of respecting authority, etc. I’m in my early twenties and could still enjoy the book — use this as a gauge for yourself!

In terms of plot, the book is well paced and delivers a spectacle at the end (typical of Korman books). The characters learn a lesson on the meaning of friendship, telling the truth (and when it is relevant), and even the English teacher ends up learning something (I’ll leave you to see what it is). I was laughing throughout the book at Rachel’s attempts to block Wallace from “taking over the play.”

One thing that stood out in particular was the reason Wallace was in detention: that he did not write a “good” book report. I’m sure everyone here has had to write a book report for school before. The worst ones, though, are when teachers demand that students share the same feelings as the teacher about the book. NO NO NO! Every person needs to be allowed to experience a book in their own way! Wallace hated Old Shep, My Pal … and that needs to be okay! (He even submitted well-thought out reasons why!) Books are personal experiences, and teachers/critics/etc cannot structure how people enjoy them. WHICH IS WHY I particularly like how the book ended… But you would have to see that for yourself!

Four crowns because the book was a quick read (which is how I best enjoy humour), a good laugh, the characters were stand outs, and I always love me some Korman.

[Jaina Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also available on my blog, Read TIll Dawn.

This is one of my all-time favorites of Korman's - and that's saying a lot! I've read the vast majority of his books, and loved the vast majority of those. His books are funny, clever, witty, and always leave you with a smile at the end of the day. I own a bunch of Gordon Kormans, but this is one of my favorites - right up there with Schooled and The Chicken Doesn't Skate. I've read it literally more times than I can count, coming back to it again and again whenever I need cheering up or a reminder of why I love to read. I finally bought my own copy with one of the gift cards I got for Christmas, and I loved re-reading it yet again! It never grows old for me, and I could literally read it over and over again and never get sick of it.

This is a character-driven book, full of characters with just enough quirk to be hilarious and charming, but not enough to be over-the-top obnoxiously quirky. The traditional school roles of the jocks and the drama nerds are simultaneously affirmed and trampled in this book where the most happening event of the school year is the play, and the star of the football team spends far more time back-stage than he does on the field.

Speaking of Wallace Wallace (no typo, his first name is also his last name!), he is both heartwarming and hilarious. He unerringly tells the truth no matter what the question, or who is listening. This means that he is absolutely, rolling-on-the-ground, hilarious when people ask him questions that really warrant a white lie, not a detailed (and completely truthful) answer. I love him for being so honest, so straightforward, and so matter-of-fact about things. He wants more than anything else to be honest, but along the way he creates a big mess.

Of course, the story is not just about Wallace. It switches POV between many other characters as well, including Rachel (president of the drama club), Trudi (Rachel's ditzy best friend with a crush on Wallace), and Mr. Fogelman (the teacher who forces Wallace to participate in the play until he writes a positive essay about Old Shep, My Pal). The POV switches often enough to keep things fresh, without confusing the reader. Every chapter is narrated in first person by a different character, but each of them has such a different voice that it is impossible to forget who is talking. My favorite narrator would have to be Rachel, because I love her by herself and because I love seeing Wallace through her eyes.

I can't put into words why exactly I love this book so much, but I do, and I wholeheartedly reccomend it to anyone and everyone. Please, read it. You'll thank me once you're finished.

[Antof9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really, really loved this book. I recently complained about dog books on Twitter -- I really hate them because the dog ALWAYS dies in them -- and a friend suggested this one. Why? Because

"I wasn't surprised," I said. "I knew Old Shep was going to die before I started page one."

"Don't be ridiculous," the teacher snapped. "How?"

I shrugged. "Because the dog always dies. Go to the library and pick out a book with an award sticker and a dog on the cover. Trust me, that dog is going down."

That is the whole point behind the book, and the dog doesn't die in it :) It's cute and it's charming and it's funny and even teaches a few good lessons. It could use an editor, but on the other hand, it actually sounds like it was written by an 8th-grade boy.

And at the bottom of the "Cast of characters" page, it says, "The characters in this book are fictional. Any resemblance you may find to actual persons or dogs, living or dead, proves that you have a lot of strange friends."

So really, how could I not like this?

I'm left with a question, though - did the author get Julia Roberts' permission for that one thing?

[Ailsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

No More Dead Dogs is a unique story starring a football player that’s as honest as anything, a serious seventh-grade actress, and a play. Wallace Wallace, the football hero of Bedford, is not allowed on the team after he writes a terrible report on the book Old Shep, My Pal. He has nowhere to go during detention, so he works with the play, shelling out ideas and practically takes it over. Will he rewrite his unpleasing review to return to his team, or give it up for the play?

Unlike Wallace, I had no idea how this book would turn out. I had thought it would be a boring football novel, but when Wallace got involved with the play, it turned out much different. There are so many unsuspected twists to it, you find yourself needing to read on. It has a very fun and creative storyline, and every moment is engaging. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend, or anyone really.

[Courtney McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one turned out to be way better than expected!! Fast paced, well-written, and very funny! My students were horrified by the cover at first but when I explained that the main character hates that the dog always dies at the end of books and wants to change that, they could all relate! Then after reading the first few pages and seeing how witty it is, they were excited to read it! They also all knew Gordon Korman books already and like him. He does a great job writing entertaining stories that kids can relate to. Can’t wait to use this book next month for book groups!

[AuroraIce]

This is another of my bookshelf rereads. It came out much earlier than I thought, but I guess that makes sense. It’s only about 150 pages, so I was able to read it all within a few hours in one day, but it gets its entire story told, with established characterization and world and everything.

I liked this book. I’m reading to remember these books and then get rid of them, but I’m unsure if I’ll get rid of this one.

The main character is Wallace Wallace, with no explanation why his parents named him this. Because his dad was constantly lying, Wallace developed an aversion to lying and so he never lies, which gets him into trouble because he also doesn’t sugarcoat things. Yet only some people are aware of his severe, chronic honesty.

He is a member of the football team, without much passion for it, but he enjoys being part of the team and having friends through that. He’s a bench-warmer, but in the previous year he helped score the winning touchdown that was the first extreme victory their town has had, so it got associated with him and everyone regards him as a hero and the best player on the team because of that, even though it was pure luck and he’s not that good, as he keeps telling people. That resulted in his closest friend ending their friendship out of bitterness since he actually is the best player, but he always gets overlooked for Wallace now.

In class, they have to write a book report on their teacher’s favorite book, “Old Shep, My Pal.” Wallace hates the book, so his book report reflects that. He fulfilled all the requirements of the report, but the teacher becomes very offended by the negativity and demands he rewrite it, and gives him detention for it. I felt like he was making it personal just because he loved the book and couldn’t handle anyone feeling differently, but whatever; it was necessary for the story.

Since Wallace refuses to lie by making his report pleasant, his detention rewrites don’t change his circumstances. Detention takes place in the gym where the drama club is preparing for the play the teacher is directing, a stage adaptation of “Old Shep, My Pal.” (Honestly, I don’t get the point of that book either. The dog gets hit by a car at the beginning of the book and spends the whole time being nursed back to health and not doing anything else, and then dies, so I don’t know where the big title friendship comes about. Wallace points out that dying is obvious because that’s what they always do to dogs in award-winning books, and it’s awful, and I’ve got to agree with that too.)

Wallace keeps making suggestions during the rehearsals to make it better, and he rapidly wins over most of the drama club and inadvertently takes charge of the play, getting invested. At the same time, someone keeps trying to sabotage the play, such as filling the stage with marbles when they’re skating, or painting things on the set pieces.

The football team grows frustrated that he’s not trying harder to get out of detention and return to the team, since he can’t participate at all when in detention (the book says “on detention”, which I think is weird). They blame him for all the games they lose, even though he keeps telling them he wouldn’t be able to change that. The coach knows it.

The team starts to abandon him and turn against him, which hurts because Wallace thought they were truly friends, not just close because of football. Two of the guys still show up for him, and one of them is the most dedicated to believing Wallace is the hero.

Wallace isn’t the only main character. There’s also the drama club president, Rachel Turner, who takes a quick disliking to Wallace and is certain he’s sabotaging them even as the rest of the club starts to adore him. She slowly, begrudgingly acknowledges when his changes make improvements. She also constantly writes to Julia Roberts, as it is common for her to write letters to famous actresses, since she wants to be one, and she’s a very straight-forward talker, which Wallace appreciates despite knowing she hates him and feeling mutual displeasure.

Trudy Davis is Rachel’s friend because they always have been, though Rachel is very snarky toward her while Trudy is oblivious. Trudy is boy crazy and instantly obsessed with Wallace, which is apparently a common problem of hers. She’s very ditzy.

I didn’t think it was fair for Rachel to be so rude to Trudy. I thought she had depth at first … at first. But I did have positive feelings for her, and she brought some good comedic moments:

”The fair? We’ve got no time for that. Wallace is raking leaves on Saturday!”

After spilling her lunch tray on his shoes before she knew him: I couldn’t resist blurting, “Do you want to come to the mall with me this afternoon?”
I’ll never forget his reply from the floor as he tried to pick up the slop:
“No.”
What a great guy! On top of everyone else, he was so nice! After all, he could easily have said something really negative! That’s when I knew it was more than my third crush of the year. This time it was, like, love. You know?

I’m not sure the first one was the quote I wanted, but I searched the book looking for the funny part I couldn’t remember and I couldn’t find anything else, so maybe it was that one. Maybe I’ll read it again one day and find the correct one.

The book mostly jumps back and forth between Wallace’s and Rachel’s perspectives, but every once in a while it throws in Trudy’s or the teacher’s, whose chapters are full of memos. I’m not sure those two add much except to speed through events and add different viewpoints so you can better understand why they act the way they do or something.

The teacher is upset by all the changes Wallace has made, but he feels powerless because the cast and crew love it so much and revolt if he refuses, so he decides to say Wallace’s contributions have made up for his incomplete grade and he’s no longer trapped in detention.

After seeing how happy the drama club is for him despite losing him, Wallace appreciates their friendship and hard work, and reports to the rest of the school that he’s off detention but is quitting the football team to keep helping the theater. He himself didn’t expect to say this, but he only speaks the truth so he trusts the words that come out of his mouth.

This turns the rest of the team against him, which is mostly just the two remaining friends he had. The rest of the team had been treating him poorly. Normally the whole team would come when he invited them to help him with chores so his mom would have less work, but now they don’t come. He wakes up one Saturday to find the drama club, much larger than the football team, already raking his yard even though he didn’t ask them too. Even Rachel, who dislikes him, is helping. He feels further touched by this, and defends them when his ex-friend shows up for food.

However, the local school paper keeps twisting things, and more sabotage happens to the play that further cements that Wallace is the one doing it. While the club turns on him, including obsessive Trudy in an extreme way that cost her all the good will I felt, only Rachel, who heard him defend them before, believes he’s innocent. The teacher, who has finally accepted and appreciated the changes, kicks Wallace out and bans him from rehearsal and the performance.

Wallace feels completely betrayed, and when Rachel shows up to talk to him, he points out it’s her earlier insistence that he was guilty that made the club accept that conclusion with this final sabotage. So she goes looking for proof about who was actually responsible, and ends up talking to his ex-friend, who suggests she just ask Wallace if he did it. She says Wallace would just deny it, and he bursts out laughing and says they clearly don’t know Wallace at all, because he wouldn’t lie to save his beloved mother’s life and is 100% honest.

He also says Wallace is the best friend he’s ever had, which confuses me. I forgot about that line, but as soon as I read it, it felt famous in my ears. Or my head because I was reading silently. But I can’t make sense of it, because why did he end the friendship if he thought Wallace was such a good friend? Why does he continue to pick at Wallace?

The ex friend shows up to chores at Wallace’s for team solidarity, but he doesn’t help and just takes the benefit of food Wallace’s mom provides. He even shows up for food once the drama club finishes raking. He insults Wallace constantly during practice, makes a show of saying “reasonable” things to him that make Wallace look bad just so he can look good, and he’s bitter directly to Wallace’s face. Yet he never outwardly sabotages him. Wallace blames him for being a jerk, but is so honest that he acknowledges the other things his ex friend is justified to be angry about, and Wallace doesn’t seem that resentful of his treatment.

Anyway, Wallace decides that even though the town lacks loyalty, considering how rapidly everyone turned against him, he won’t be the same as them. He figures the saboteur might attack the performance, so he sneaks in to stop them and reunites with one of his football friends, and they figure out it was Rachel’s younger brother, who had been a huge fan of Wallace and desperately wanted him back on the football team, blaming the play for his departure.

He put a cherry bomb on the fake dog, which sounds dangerous and like it could have killed someone. The play decided to follow Wallace’s advice and let the dog live, but Wallace has to jump on top of it before it explodes, exactly mimicking his famous touchdown dive. The actors have to go on with the play, pretending the dog is fine even though it clearly blew up (it’s a stuffed animal on a RC car, don’t worry).

Since the play was ruined and Rachel feels like everyone’s cheering was in mockery, Wallace doesn’t want to hurt her worse by revealing it was her own brother who did this, so he claims he was responsible all along, lying for the first time. That bothered me, but I understand the impact of it.

For whatever reason, Rachel believed him at first. But then she got home and her brother had no idea Wallace hadn’t exposed him, so he exposed himself and got super grounded and did not repent nearly enough considering how much he tried to ruin his sister’s hard work for his own issues. She felt bad for blaming Wallace, and I have no idea if the rest of the school found out he was innocent or how, or if anyone else came to know who was really responsible, but she goes to apologize after Julia Robert writes back to all her many letters just saying it sounds like she’s living a romantic comedy herself, and she realizes she likes Wallace, and he apparently likes her back.

This book is good. There were plenty of funny moments, and even when Wallace was in situations that might be embarrassing or induce much uneasiness, he was so chill and didn’t seem to feel those things, so I didn’t have the stress I might usually have when reading that stuff happen in a book for the sake of the main character.

[Kenny Behl · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book No More Dead Dogs Wallace gets in a lot of trouble. One day he goes to football practice when he is supposed to be in detention so his coach yells at him and sends Wallace to detention. Wallace was not a good kid he found out that his mom wanted nothing but the truth so he told the truth to everyone if he did not like the person he told them that and he told them what he did not like about them and that made his mother mad, he told her he thought that she wanted nothing but the truth. The book No More Dead Dogs is Fiction. In the book the characters are Dylan, Trudy, Wallace Wallace, Mr. Fogelman, Rachel Turner, Steve Cavanaugh. Wallace Wallace is the main character the thing that makes him so interesting is that he gets in trouble a lot but he seems very nice and he is interesting because the author made the book sound like he and his friends are real people. They connect to each other because they are all trouble makers.. My favorite character was Wallace because he got in a lot of trouble and he seemed real even though he is not.

[Sarah Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a fun easy read! This was my book club’s pick for this month (which is called Children’s Literature for Adults at my local library) and I had such a great time reading it.

A great example of what life looks like when we listen to kids instead of trying to mold them into what we think they should be.

Highly recommend.

[Olivia Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book started with a plot eerily similar to High School Musical (I had to check the copyright information to assure myself that it was written before the movie came out), I was pleasantly surprised by the humorous antics in this novel. I did correctly predict who the "mystery" sabotager was before the person's identity was revealed, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. I recommend this book to those who love a good Gordon Korman read.

[redhotflamin's34 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this book,especially the ending,such a plot twist.

[EJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*stan freberg voice* great stuff!