Left Behind

Vet Volunteers #17

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Another moving installment in Laurie Halse Anderson's award-winning Vet Volunteers series!

When Sunita joins Dr. Gabe and another Vet Volunteer on a house call at a local horse farm, she is concerned to discover a lone lamb housed in one of the stalls. She knows that sheep are flock animals, and that without other sheep and lambs around, this little lamb will not thrive. Can she and her fellow Vet Volunteers help educate the owner, and find a new home for it with others of its kind?

Genres: Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2016

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

[Speak to the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the first couple books in this series, and while they were great introductory animal books, the characters were sometimes a little one-dimensional. Left Behind surprised me with a wonderfully drawn main character. Sunita is that all too rare personality in children's books - the reserved, shy girl who is painfully concerned with being polite, continually gives up her own wants for others, and flinches away from conflict of any kind. Yet she manages to avoid the Mary Sue character deathtrap. Instead the reader sees her gradually building resentment as her friends, who have much more assertive personalities, trample over her desires when she is unwilling to speak up for herself. She also feels "left behind" as her acceptance of change as logical distances her from her more emotionally reactionary friends. One reason that perhaps Sunita's character and personality seem much more nuanced in this book is that it falls much later in the series than books I previously read, which were trying to set up the entire group of characters. All this being said, I am biased because I recognize my younger self in Sunita and strongly identified with her difficulties in speaking up for herself.

Honestly, Sunita's personal struggles and changes in the vet clinic overshadowed the animal plotline in this book. While I didn't mind, I suspect that younger readers who are invested in the series for the animals might feel a hint of disappointment that they don't see more of Sylvester the sheep.

Overall, the best of the series that I've read so far.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunita has some great news to share but her bff Maggie is distracted by a new vet tech in the clinic. Less about the animals and working with the animals in this Volume 17 of the series but still interesting - especially for those who love animals.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books because the characters continue to learn about themselves and we get to learn too. I love the characters and the writing.

[Océane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le thème abordé dans le livre est vraiment bien

[Lise Jackowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

livres touchant pour ceux qui aiment les animaux

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

While her brother and sister go to New Jersey to stay with cousins, Sunita gets permission to spend the long holiday weekend at Dr. Mac’s place. She and Maggie will be the only volunteers there, and Sunita plans some things that she and Maggie can do together. Soon after Sunita arrives, Dr. Gabe gets a call from the Van Hoven horse farm. Maggie and Sunita go with him. While the doctor attends to his patient, Sunita walks around the stable. In one of the stalls, she finds a lamb. Sylvester was given to Mrs. Van Hoven in exchange for overdue boarding fees. Sunita sees that the lamb is well cared for but she knows that he should be part of a flock. Mrs. Van Hoven is also concerned so Dr. Gabe agrees to ask other farmers if they have a lamb or two that she can buy. As the weekend progresses, Sunita’s hopes for some special time with Maggie are dashed. Brenna spends the night, and she and Maggie plan all of the activities. Sunita feels like Sylvester- left behind. As Sunita works out a solution for the lonely lamb, she learns how to communicate her feelings to her friends.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

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