The Art of Racing in the Rain

     When I was a child, many of the books I read had an animal as a main character, most famously E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. I was not prepared, however, to encounter the same phenomenon when opening a book intended for young adults. Nevertheless, that is exactly what I found when I started reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This book's main character is an elderly dog named Enzo who narrates in the first person. In this book Enzo is at the end of his life and starts to think back on his life with his human, Denny, an aspiring race car driver.  Enzo reminisces about the joys, sorrows, and challenges that he and Denny experienced, including marriage, the birth of a child, two lengthy court cases, and hours upon hours spent watching videos of famous car races.

     This book was required summer reading at my school this year. It was a rough year for us because one of our best and brightest students passed away before Thanksgiving at the age of 17. It was a horrible tragedy. I was not prepared to open The Art of Racing in the Rain and read about a character in the book fighting the same disease that took our girl. But that is a personal reaction to what went on in my life this past year, and it doesn't change the fact that the book is profound, sweet, and unique.

I very much recommend this book but dog lovers beware - you may find yourself choking up and even crying at the end! 4 1/2 stars.