Dog's Best Friend

Middle School #8

by James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts, Jomike Tejido (Illustrator)

Discover the series that inspired the Middle School movie with this hilarious installment of James Patterson's hit series starring everyone's favorite underdog, with non-stop laughs on every page.


It's a dog-eat-dog world, and Rafe Khatchadorian is just trying to live in it. Life in middle school is finally starting to seem bearable-until Rafe spots his grandmother standing on the free-meal line at the local soup kitchen. In order to help bring in more money, Rafe concocts a brilliant plan: a dog-walking business that soon turns into a huge money-making neighborhood empire. He'll even have extra cash to buy his own WormHole Deluxe Multi-Platform GameBox!


That is, until two terrible twins launch the Great Dog War by sabotaging Rafe's flyers and stealing his customers. Plus, his bratty kid sister Georgia has skipped a grade, so now she's in all of Rafe's classes. Throw a kid a bone!

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

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2016

About the author

Official US Site
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JIMMY Patterson Books
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I start one of these, I wonder if this will be the one that lets me down and makes me tired of the series. But every time...nope. Still adorable, still funny. Rafe has a new scheme, new enemies, and new challenges at school.

I love watching Rafe grow up and try to make smart decisions--he's come so far since the first book. The family dynamic is great (although I do miss Leo...even though his presence maybe wasn't the best for Rafe). Overall another great addition to the series.

[Landry Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dogs, and this book is all about them. Rafe's dog is very crazy and loves hanging around other dogs. While his dog is cool, Rafe is not. He starts a dog waling business leading him to fights.
I rated this book 5 stars because dog is mans best friend and Middle School is the king of all books.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventures continue when Rafe starts a dog walking business. The antics kept me and my kids entertained and we enjoyed it from start to finish. This is a fun and funny series that's great for a middle grader reader.

[Gabi C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I enjoy this series overall. This book talks about the main character Rafe and how he didn't get what he wanted for Christmas, a video game console. He's trying to think of ways to earn money and then he finds it - dog walking. He makes flyers and puts them up at the dog park to see if anyone needed a dog walking service. He also goes door-to-door around his neighbourhood to promote his new business. But, a new dog walking service was started by two twins and Rafe and the twins end up in a thing called "The Great Dog War of January". It all started because the twins had ripped down Rafe's flyers and put up their own.

Overall this book was very interesting and funny and I would definitely recommend it for ages 9+.

[Dakota D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is an awesome choice to read. It has adventures, mysteries and revenge plots throughout it. I love this book most of all out of the series, because I love dogs and it is full of them.

[Joseph Alvarado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now the reason why I read this was because I like dogs so thats how it got my attention and I'm glad I got this because it shows him helping the community and I really like that. Also his sister acts like the big brother and Pretty much thats how I act with my brother, just that I'm a boy .

[Itamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the history of books.

[Ethan Z C1]

The book was good overall and had a interesting timeline.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great one, of course

[Zadan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it cause it cause kinda like Rafe thinks somebody is stealing his business and he wants it back.

[Santiago Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The exiting book “Middle School: Dog’s Best Friend” by James Patterson, is about a boy named Rafe Khatchadorian that has tried to form a dog-walking business and so far he has a new enemy. Cheap walks. It’s hard to deal with when he has an annoying sister, Georgia. The book includes a few drawings of Rafe failing, failing, and pranking his sister. I would recommend this book to people that like funny stories and like dogs.

[Danielgantuangco · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the previous books in the "Middle School" series I had concerns on reading this book. As soon as I finished reading "Middle School: Dog's Best Friend" I realized the books wasn't as that bad. But it did have some terrible jokes. Even though the book had some low comedy, it still had some high comedy shown. I would say the writing wasn't as that good because the pages were short and it's just like any other comedy book made by James Patterson. There were some pros and cons of this book. A pro was that it made me laugh. Note, I only laughed five times during my session with this book. The con of this book was that the plot was pretty bad. Who would read a book about a person trying to start a dog-walking business? If another book would drop from the "Middle School" series I would read the first couple pages and check if the book is worth my time and effort. Would I consider this a good book to read? Probably yes, but only meant for really younger viewers. Overall, "Middle School: Dog's Best Friend" was an alright book.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle School: Dog’s Best Friend is the eighth book in the series. In this one Rafe is wiser and more responsible and starts a dog walking business to get money to buy his very own Gamebox and help his family with money when he spots his grandma in the soup kitchen getting food. Everything was going fine until two new twins to the neighborhood start their very own dog walking business and starts a war when they throw away Rafe’s sign. To add on to all this he finds out his sister skipped a grade and now is in all of his classes. Just like in his other books Rafe has a new scheme to solve his problems and take care of his enemies

[Letsego · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was great.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe has two very important reasons for making money: 1. to buy a WormHole Premium Multi-Platform GameBox and 2. he wants to supplement his single mom's income to help out the family especially since he saw his grandma standing in the soup-kitchen line for a meal. He decides to start a dog-walking business and calls it "Dogs to Go".

At first, he is very successful and he accomplishes his goal of saving money, but a few days later he realizes he has some competition that is undercutting his prices and services. YIKES! Eventually, after speaking with the culprits and getting nowhere, he enlists the help of his nemesis, his sister Georgia who is both a help and a hindrance.

Dog's Best Friend is full of the laugh-out-loud humor and wacky adventures that we've seen from Rafe before. A quick read for those reluctant readers who want a funny book full of hilarious dialogue with a smattering of comic illustrations.

[Oliver Wady · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Good book.I thought most people would relate to most people in world.And that's a good thing cuz i'm in Middle school too.Also I loved the comc strip and the part were Gorgias crying cuz she got detention.Also I loved the twins in the book they were like to face the villian.The only bad thing I have to say is I got lost in premis at one point cuz a little bit later in the book they stop talking about the dog insted a Magician and I got confussed.So overall it's a good book.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book.

[Kaden Dybdahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

[hirumei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I've dropped some spoilers around the road, so thread with care. ;)

It's a new adventure for Rafe Kachadorian, our beloved creative middle schooler, who decides to start a business, this time, in order to save up some money for a gaming console.
The idea comes rather quickly, one day right after his mother's scolding him for forgetting to walk his dog, Junior. Naturally, his business should be centered around walking the neighbors' dogs for a small fee.
As always,  we are exposed to his daydreams where he manages to build a whole business empire where his dog is the Vice President along with his best friend, Flip. And, of course, his family is no longer poor, his mother doesn't have to work extra, his grandmother has her own private island and, surprise, surprise, his little sister also receives something  - a pair of socks. Now, even though he mostly claims that he does not care for her, he still shows the contrary through all the little things he does, one such example showing up right at the end of the story, for instance, when they finally get the gaming platform and they are seen playing together. It's actually refreshing to see them get along and quite the treat, even though miscief still rules their relationship.
Sadly, Rafe's still a magnet for trouble throughout the entire book even though this time it's not entirely his fault. Furthermore, he does show some signs of improvement, of growing up, as he constantly tries to think in a more mature way and solve things the adult way rather than being childish and acting on his first impulse as he usually did previously. The problem starts when a pair of twins decides to crpeate a business similar to his and then he finds a poster of his competitors' business replacing his own at the dog park. Naturally, he believes that the twins snatched his poster, threw it in the bin and replaced it with their own. Of course, as soon as he gets the chance, he does the same: he throws the competitors' poster in the trash bin and puts his own up thus marking the beginning of the war. Afterwards, he also learns how the evil twin geniuses stole his customers and even pull pranks on him by calling his neighbors in advance and pretending to be him. He claims he started the war, but the truth is a bit more complicated, really.
Back to Rafe, the sad part is, he still has no self-confidence and he still views himself as being on the losing side regardless of his actions throughout the story. But there are also some moments when he does actually apprecite his own actions and trusts his judgement. In a way, the author managed to portray how growth is anything but linear. There are, of course, ups and downs. One minute, Rafe is all mature and discusses his issues with his mother, the next he stoops down to the twins' level and fights them in the same manner. It is thus not surprising when everything backfires.
Towards the end of the story, he finally decides to go by the principle of united we stand, divided, we lose. As a result, he finally teams up with his sister, Georgia, and continues the business together, on top of fighting against the twins. The results are impressive; after only two days they manage to get back their customers, earn some more, and even break the twins' reign of terror.
However they later learn the truth behind the missing poster and, since, surprisingly, it is not the fault of the twins, Rafe decides to take responsibility for hsi actions and apologize for all his wrongdoings. However, since the twins refuse to listen to him, he finally does the first thing that comes to mind and cuffs himself to one of them. Once again, his luck is terrible as things don't go his way and he ends up creating more trouble at the school's carnival.
Overall, the story is quite simplistic (it's written for kids after all) but one thing that I really liked was how natural the character's actions were and how easily they flowed. Also, what I enjoyed most about Rafe's character was, besides his creativity, that whenever he mentioned his sister, he showcased a little bit of care, and even though we know from "My Brother Is A Big Fat Liar" about her disability, he never mentioned it and even drew her as prettily as possible. Talk about brotherly love.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever thought having a simple business of dog walking could be so hard. I read the book “Middle School Dog's Best Friend”, by James Patterson. I love books that James Patterson writes. I'm still looking forward to reading a lot more of his books. I've read only some, but for some reason they catch my attention and I can never put down the book. I'm always wanting to keep reading it, especially on my little vacations every weekend!
Rafe K. the main character is trying to start a business so he can buy his favorite video game. He starts off by putting a poster on a board at the dog park for advertisement. He then goes there a couple days later and it's gone and replaced with another business. He couldn't believe his eyes! His business just got replaced with another one. So he got mad and tore it down. But he did get seen, and put it back. He was so mad he just had to find these people controlling this business.
He went to go pick up a dog to walk it and it wasn't there. The owner said that he already took him, but he really didn't. So he knew that something was up with this person. He asked where the dog was like what direction it was heading. So then Rafe found the boy walking the dog. But then he turned the corner and saw the same boy walking another dog. How could this be? They were TWINS!! He had to sneak up on their business to see what was up. He then saw the business name was Cheap Walks, and they were only $4 a day not $5. He told his mom, and his mom said to set up a date to where he can go over to their house and talk about it.
Rafe went over to their house and talked about why it isn't ok to do that to Rafe’s business. They promised to leave their business alone. But that promises didn't last to long. Rafe’s sister was getting upset that the twins were stealing Rafe's business. Georgia took a strike over there one day and saw that the dogs weren't getting walked they were walking on treadmills. She just had to show Rafe. Then Rafe took it to their house and talked to them again. They really promised that time to leave each other alone. But then they found out that they were coming to Rafe's school.
I rate the book a 5 out of 5 because it was an amazing book for me. I also love the books James Patterson writes. People that like the books IFunny would totally love reading this book and other Middle School books. People that don't like books that make them anxious about what happens next, this is not a good book for you. This book is going to keep you reading because you always want to know what happens next.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine yourself walking into Hills Village Middle School. And smelling dirty lockers smells and dirty socks. Also seeing disgusting and pretty faces or just normal faces. When you walk in your classes and see your little sister sitting in the some of the classrooms that you are in. And during this you have twins taking over your job. This book is called "Middle School Dog's Best Friends." Which is book 8 in the series. The author is James Patterson.
The main character is Rafe Khatchadorian. Who is a middle school student and started his own dog-walking job. Which goes horribly wrong in one day. The book takes place at Hills Village Middle School and the dog park. One of the main conflict is that the twins start a dog-walking job too. And become a huge problem. Then finds out that his grandma goes to the soup kitchen to get food after her work. That she goes there every day, but they are not homeless.
Some reason why I like this book is that I can relate to it. By me being in middle school and having a job. Also having one of your best friend trying to get job or take it away from you. And it is about dogs which are one of the cutest things ever and I love them. And there is a little sister in the book and I have one of those too. The book has teach me to leave her alone at all times or when your parents tell you to go play with your sister.
Some more characters are the twins. Their names or Eddie and Ethan. And the sister's name is Georgia Khatchadorian. If you think you like the conflict is the best of the story. And if you read it you will not think that anymore. Because the ending of the problem is the best of the story. But this is the first one of this I read and this book is book 8 of the series. So if you could tell me about 1-7 books that would be the best. The only reason why I read this one first is that my mom got this one for me for Christmas. And she had no idea that it was book 8 of the series.
Do you think you would like this book? I did, I rated it a 5 out of 5 stars. If you like Middle School The Worst Years Of My Life the movie, you will love this book. Also I recommend this book to anyone who likes Diaries Of A Wimpy Kid book. I connect to it a lot about my life. How can you connect to the book or can you connect to it? Also you would like this book if you like books about conflicts. But after reading this go read the "Middle School Dog's Best Friend." Author is James Patterson. The End!

[Riess Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle School Dog's best friend
By James Patterson
Choice book #4 Quarter #2
Middle School Dog's best friend is a book by James Patterson.
This book takes place in Hills Village.
Rafe is the main character. For Christmas he got nothing we wanted so he decided to start his dog walking business so he could get what he wanted it was all going fine, until the new kids moved in and also started the same business and took all his customers.
Georgia is Rafe's little sister and the co-owner of his business he has always hated Georgia but Georgia helped him a lot with trying to stop the twins that just moved to Hills Village. I think Rafes a static character because he has always hated Georgia but once she started to help him, he started to like her more. I think Georgia is a dynamic character because she still hates him and I think she always will.
The author believes that even when a person faces challenges in their life they can overcome them and choose to make a better choice.
1. Rafe stays away from the twins and talked to his mom about them and she helped him get his customers back.
2. Georgia helps him outsmart them and get photo evidence that they aren't even walking the dogs.
3. When both come together they get Rafes business back and Georgia starts to get some money from it too.
I think this book is person vs. person because Rafe had the twins take over his business and that made him mad because they were also taking his money that he was saving for Christmas stuff he asked for.
I enjoyed the book because James Patterson wrote every single sentence with detail and I like how he had new people that came into the book, My favorite part of the book was when the twins moved and they started to be back and forth with the dog business, another thing I like is that this one does not take place at school like all the other books in the series so you get to know what his house and neighborhood look like.

[Joshua Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Dog’s Best Friend by James Patterson the main character Rafe wants to raise money for his family. He thinks his family is poor so he starts a dog walking business to get money for his family. Later he puts up a poster to advertise his company in the dog park. The next day he goes back to the park and sees somebody tore down his poster and put another dog walking company poster over his. His sister helps him find out who did it and it was kids maned Eddie and Ethan. They hated each other and they became dog walking rivals. At their school fair they all get in trouble and get sent to the office to work things out with their “companies” Rafe apologizes and solves the problem by taking the both out of business but the still hated each other.

I really liked the book because i can relate to the main character Rafe because of all the not so smart things he does. The only thing I would change in the book is that their mom had to work on christmas day to get some money. Other than that i really t liked the book and wouldn’t change anything else.

I would recommend this book to seventh or eighth graders. I would recommend it to them because it is about a middle schooler who explains the troubles he goes through in his life.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rafe Katchadorian is back for his 8th little adventure, and this time he is looking to make a little bit of money to help out the family after he comes to realize that his grandmother actually goes to a food bank on a weekly basis. Since he loves his dog so much, he has decided to start a dog-walking business, and it turns out to go quite well. At least, it does until a pair of twins moves in nearby, and they decide to start their own dog-walking business. As you can imagine, Rafe is less than thrilled, and since he is known for not thinking before he acts, you can imagine what he does in response. In fact, it includes bringing in his younger sister Georgia to help. One thing for sure is that their will be loads of fun and laughs.

Like the earlier books in the series, Patterson and Tebbetts rise to the occasion to present an interesting tale for tweens while also having a few interesting lessons hidden in the background. Tebbetts' illustrations work quite nice, and the story keeps the pages turning as the reader wants to find out what will happen to Rafe, Georgia, and their family.

[Adrian I$ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted to do something good for someone but end up in some trouble on the way. This book is a fast paced Story from the perspective of Rafe Khatchadorian. I have no grievances with this book. James Patterson did an immaculate job explaining the way that Rafe thinks in this book. He seems to do it better with each book of the series. James has this specific style and does a great job explaining how Rafe(a middle schooler) would be thinking. He does it so well you would think its coming out of an 8th graders mouth. He has a special and perfect choice of words and thoughts coming from the character. He includes pauses, in context thought process and gives unsound reason for Rafe to do what he does just like a kid would do. His Symbolic premis shows some true hardships and bad times and trying to embody hard work and failure no matter the amount of effort. It is truly a contrast from his other books. I would recommend this for anyone and everyone but if i had to be explicit id say and middle school boys because his problems are relatable. This is a definite good read and i Hope you guys enjoy it as much as i did.

[Jag Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe Khatchadorian wants to earn some money himself so, he opens his own dog walking business to get brand new game system. After a few weeks some new kids, Ethan and Eddie, move to town and with the same idea to earn money. They steal Rafe’s customers, and supposedly took down his flyers at the dog park, and threw them Rafe tries to go and talk to them himself and act like a mature adult get them to stop but, that didn’t work. Rafe got this customer who was a retired magician and he's pretty good at what he does. Rafe decides to tell his mom what happened about Ethan and Eddie and she decided that Rafe and his mom were going over to their house and resolve the problem at hand. They both agreed that this was going stop and it wouldn’t happen again. The very next day Ethan and Eddie struck again after their agreement w/ them. They just don’t know when to stop so, he needed help. As much as he hated his sister, she was an evil little genius that had a plan for everything. So she snuck on them and took pictures of them evidently in what they were doing and they were lying to their customers they put the dogs on treadmills and made it look like they were actually taking the dogs on walks. And they went to their house and said if they wouldn’t quit messing with their business they were going to send those pictures to all of their customers so they stopped and they pretty much hate each other at this point. Rafe's sister got a video about what really happened to his flyer. He kept on trying to go to them and try to apologize to them and tell them that he started it all but, they would just ignore him. That friday there was a school carnival and he set a booth and it was a magician booth and it was “brought to you by dogs to go” (his dog walking company) and when Ethan and Eddie walked up to his booth to the magic show he handcuffed himself to Eddie he was sorry but they wouldn’t listed and then they got in trouble because the principal came on them hard. Both of their mom’s had to come over and to resolve this situation and shut both of their businesses down. Rafe now got gigs for the magician magic murray.

I like this book because it show some real maturity from Rafe. I have to like that all the time. No matter what I always have to be the responsible one because people in some of my classes can just be plain stupid sometimes.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with the Middle School series by James Patterson and I’ve put his books in the hands of countless number of students. The question I always get is “Ms. Logan, which book in the series is your favorite?” to which the answer has always been Book 2 Middle School: Get Me Outta Here. Until today. Book 8 in the series is my new favorite with its highly engaging storyline and adventure that leaves you wanting more. Rafe is a character most kids can relate to and boy does he take you on a wild ride in this book. Finished in one sitting because I literally could not put it down. Well done.

[Edson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book called “Dogs best friends” Is a really interesting book about siblings. Since the main character's little sister is smarter than him, she enters middle school. The book was written and published by James Peterson. The one part I loved about the book is that the boy is surprised that his little sister is in most of his classes and thinks it’s unfair. A major thing about this book is brother betrayed his sister by telling her a lie about a science fair. My favorite character is the kid because he has an imagination so good that he writes comics. This is a good book and I enjoyed it.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rafe's mother has to work on Christmas because the pay is so good they need the money. He does not receive an expensive game console. While walking his dog, Junior, he has the bright idea to start a dog walking business, so he starts making money and not a minute too soon as he sees Grandma going to the soup kitchen. All is not well, as a pair of twins start also walking dogs - now the Dog Wars are on!
Generally I hate Rafe, but in this book he's actually not as bad, and he finally is likeable because he finally owns up to his mistake, and deals with the problems in a mature way. Good for you, Rafe! Also, adding an additional star, just because I love doggos.

[Joshua Piro]

The book Middle School dog's best friend is a book in a series of Voice books and it is about a boy who gets a dog and starts a dog walking business but sometimes he accuses of tearing down here in paper and putting up theirs for the dog walking business so he does not walk as many dogs go to the twins dogs then there's a big fight about it and who plays for the football didn't know he could play football and he started scoring about 7 touchdowns.
I would write this book as 6 out of 10 a good book but it just wasn't my favorite. I'd say that if you like the book series Big Nate then you would like this book.