End of the Race #12

Vet Volunteers #12

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Maggie learns all about dog racing when an injured greyhound is brought to the clinic. She goes to the track with Dr. Mac and Taryn, the newest Vet Volunteer, to check on the condition of the dogs. It's risky, but it will be worth it if they can save these greyhounds!

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

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 2002

About the author

UPDATE! Rebellion 1776 is out! The New York Times wrote, "Filled with immersive detail, expert delineations of complex characters, and both harsh and loving reality, Rebellion 1776 provides young readers with a true experience of a historic moment in time that resonates with today's world." Huzzah!

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking, modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages.

In 2023, Anderson was named the Laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, long considered to be the de facto 'Nobel Prize for Children's Literature.'

A passionate spokesperson for the need to combat censorship, she has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. She lives near Philadelphia. Go Birds!

Follow Laurie on Bluesky at @halseanderson.bsky.social, Instagram at halseanderson, and Facebook at lauriehalseanderson, or by visiting her website, madwomanintheforest.com.

Reviews

[Alessandra Gluck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Vet Volunteers book contains the perfect mix of school versus moral issues that seamlessly work together to create an uplifting yet tension filled story. It centers around Maggie and her grandmother, who is a doctor at the vet clinic, and what they uncover when a woman brings in an injured greyhound. They find out about the dog racing taking place and make plans to not only save the injured greyhounds but find a way to make the racing business more ethical. Throughout this process, Maggie also faces her own internal conflicts, with Taryn taking up a job position at the clinic and her team-rival taking her victories on the basketball team. Maggie ends up working with both friends and supposed rivals to do what is right and save these injured dogs. By the end, Maggie learns valuable lessons on how to handle bullies in her life, bad thoughts from herself, and injustices out in the real world.
I think this book is perfectly suited to the younger-end of the young adult audience. It is a simple story with very clear and distinct messages, and it makes for a very clear and understandable learning lesson. This book is less about self identification but more about connecting with specific thoughts or habits we see in our own young lives as we grow up. It perfectly represents school adversaries, internal enemies and tough decisions. The use of the dog racing and greyhound rescue serves as a very engaging and universally approachable subject for young readers to latch onto. The other conflicts in Maggie's life are represented to also fit into each individual's own life at some point or another, and I think this is what really makes it a successful young adult book. It has both a mix of identifiable and unique themes that entertain and teach its audience all at the same time.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story, "End of the Race" by Laurie Halse Anderson it is about a girl named Maggie and she learns all about dogs racing when an injured greyhound is brought to the clinic. In the story Maggie goes to the track with another character named Dr.Mac and another vet Volunteer to check on the conditions of the dogs. It's risky but it will be worth it if they can save these greyhounds. So this story is about dogs.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son brought this book home from the school library. He really liked this book, so I thought I'd read it too. My daughter used to read some of the books in this series, and then I would read them after her. So I knew what these books were about, there is just a different story every book. I've truthfully never been a greyhound person, but I honestly did learn a lot through this book. These books also always have good life lessons to be learned by teenagers. I recommend this to young readers.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so thrilled that Laurie Halse Anderson is writing about the horrible sport of Greyhound Racing. I have met two rescued greyhounds in my life and the first one could not walk and the second one trembled when a car backfired. Kudos, however the plot is thin and I could not stand the character of Maggie!

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anderson is a great author and whilst this series is not my favourite of her works, it shows she has the talent to write well for different age groups.
It is still a decent story, and maybe will get younger people interested in volunteering for the welfare of animals.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reinforced to me that greyhound racing is bad news for the dogs. It’s a great story about how great causes can bring people together.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It helps encourage kids to do something about illegal dog racing.

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young readers will not encounter great literary achievement with this series. Vet Volunteers are quickie paperbacks directed toward animal-loving ‘tween’ girls. While the Vet books contain more depth regarding animal issues than most books of their ilk, they still often fall frustratingly short of recognizing kindness toward all animals.

This installment focuses on greyhound racing. The veterinary clinic takes in a greyhound whose injuries are consistent with being overworked at the track. This gives the characters opportunities to discuss the injuries racing greyhounds can suffer, as well as impart facts critical of the dog racing industry. A brief section at the end of the book discusses the greyhound breed, the development of modern racing, and some of the problems associated with it. All good stuff.

Through a highly unlikely scenario, the middle school protagonist catches a greyhound owner illegally doping his dogs at the track kennel. This doesn’t result in the closing of the track (of course), but our heroines do convince the track manager to set up a greyhound adoption booth on the premises.

The main story is a positive one. It questions the values of the greyhound racing industry and informs its young readers of the adoptability of retired racers. It’s also nice to see that, despite scattered pockets of strength, the dog racing industry has fallen from grace enough to be criticized in a very mainstream juvenile fiction book.

What I find hard to digest (literally) is the author’s insistence of having her young animal advocates shake their heads at the senselessness of animal cruelty and killing all the while digging into plates of meat. End of the Race is an improvement over the earliest series installments, as at least here some of the girls are choosing plant-based meals at lunchtime. However, the book’s main character, Maggie, dismisses these foods with a “Yuck! Too healthy!” and grabs a hamburger. And at the end of the story, everyone happily gobbles pork and chicken at the fundraiser for the new adoption center. (Sigh...)

Despite its very positive message about protecting racing greyhounds, I have some reservations about End of the Race. I purchased this book for my library.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a woman brings in a badly injured greyhound, Dr. Mac asks her if the dog races. The stress fractures and lacerations are common in a dog that falls while running. The woman plays dumb, but Maggie senses that she’s scared to answer truthfully. The next day, another woman brings in a kitten mauled by her neighbor’s greyhound. The neighbor is the woman who brought in the injured greyhound. Roselyn tells Dr. Mac and Maggie about the racetrack her brother runs in Connecticut and about the unscrupulous and inhumane treatment of the dogs. She takes in the dogs that can’t race to save them from death. She rehabilitates them and finds them good homes. Maggie researches greyhound racing practices and vows to uncover the inhumane treatment. When Dr. Mac goes to a conference near the racetrack, she lets Maggie go with her. They’ll visit the track with they are there. Now, all Maggie needs to do catch some of the unscrupulous dog owners red-handed.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Ella Reiss]

I thought this book was amazing I just love these books I want to read some more but has anyone ever tryed the wishbone books I almost like them as much as I like these although I am only 12 I still love to read these I know someone who is about to turn 8 and she loves to read these she thought they were so wonderful that she went deeper and deeper in to this book. Also this is for all the people out there with bad memory I just want to tell u that it's okay if u don't remember a lot of stuff and if haven't heard this saying yet get this stuck in your mind

For those who have bad bad memory when they are young they will have good memories in the future.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.