Saving Sam

by Susan Brocker

A boy and a dog in danger - can they both be saved? Ben's mother is dead, his father in jail, and his older brother is heading off the rails at a million kilometres an hour. the social worker is fast running out of options, when the boys' aunt and uncle reluctantly agree to take them in. Just as well: they were the last on her list. Ben's uncle has bought a guard dog from a man at the pub, but she's useless - afraid of loud voices and frightened of her own shadow - and he's decided to have her put down. Ben and the unwanted dog recognize each other for what they are - damaged goods - and find some comfort and companionship together, which slowly grows into love and trust. that love will be needed when Ben's brother gets into seriously bad trouble, and Ben's trust in his dog is put to the ultimate test. For boys and girls alike, aged 12 - 14.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2010

About the author

Susan Brocker is the award-winning author of books for older children and teens. She lives in New Zealand on a small farm with her horses and many pets. Her close affinity and love of animals shines through in much of her writing. She also has a history degree and a great love of social history that is often reflected in her books.

Reviews

[Issie Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I was at the airport and I wanted a book to read while I was on the plane. I chose this book because it was written by a New Zealand author so I thought that I might be able to relate to the story better. Also because I would know about the places in the book and would therefore be able to visualise them in my head making the story more realistic.

This book completes the category "a book with a male main character". I don't read many books with male main characters, but I was really drawn to this book and decided to read it. I think that having a male main character pulls together the ideas of bullying and drug abuse nicely. This is because this sort of stuff is more common for boys to do rather than girls, this makes it more realistic.

The character I found most interesting was Ben's older brother Sam. This is because he starts out in the book as being really nice and caring towards his brother Ben however his attitude changes through out the book. we later learn that this is because Sam's basket ball coach is selling Sam drugs and causing Sam to act a lot differently towards Ben. What I find interesting about it is why would someone so kind go down that path in the first place?

A quote I find fascinating is "'I'm not visiting that waster in prison. He's a loser and a liar!' Ben and his uncle could hear Sam screaming from the kitchen when they arrived home. Sam's words didn't surprise Ben. Sam had always felt that way about their father. But the way he was saying them frightened him. He sounded totally out of control. Sam had always spoken his mind by using humour or wit - never anger. Well, not until recently.". The reason I find it fascinating is because I would have thought that even though his farther is in prison, he would still want to see him. Not only this but also the way he says it, because as Ben said, he had never seen his brother act that way.

What I learned from this book is that you should never subside to peer pressure, no matter how bad it gets. This is because it can result in getting arrested or worse, and ultimately being bullied and ridiculed is better than going to prison. This book focuses a lot on bullying and I think the way that Ben deals with it is great to teach the readers how to react if they were in the same situation.

[Ankez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows a teenager and his dog, both underdogs in society. As the boy trains the dog to be more confident again, the boy develops quite similarly and takes action. In the end they are vital to the rescue of Sam who made some bad choices in his new life. The story is very well-written with strong characters, a good pace and realistic human interaction of the characters. The sideline of the cousin is a deviation unless it is meant to represent the boy’s gratefulness to the aunt and uncle. Interesting choice to let the dog narrate the beginning and end only. Excellent narrative of second chances and taking a leap of faith.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me think about bullying when BJ said "He's a freak, don't listen to him."
The author is teaching us about bullying because you never know how much people are going through, and how much people are suffering. But then you can overcome it and the bully may end up being your friend!
In my opinion, bullying is horrible. People suffer so much from it with out telling anyone and it just gets worse and worse. People need to be more aware about bullying and how many people are affected by it.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to say 3 and a half stars. It took a while to get started. When it did get off to something it seemed a bit too unreal. Powerful themes. What I'm most happy with, it describes a major nz city and has put the place on the map

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book,very exciting!!!
Great that it's a New Zealand book.

[Annie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL STORY.

[Issaaabella savill · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book really show's some of the hard ships faced by lesser fortunate childre, broker rally depicts some of these situations amazingly by showing the relationship of trust that lacks beetween adult and child by showing the way it really is through the eyes of dog and child.

[ColaTacowaffle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving Sam
This is an awesome book. The detailand plot is great and I love the characters. This is one of Susan Brocker's best books. :)

[MissStan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very NZ read. Great characters and intense drama. It works really well as a read aloud too.