And because Denny Swift, his owner, is a mechanic who's training to race cars, he and Enzo watch countless hours of race footage. Enzo has spent years watching daytime TV, mostly documentaries and the Weather Channel (It's 'not about weather, it is about the world'). Enzo, a shepherd-poodle-terrier mix, is ready. (I have no interest in car racing, and I look askance at sports analogies.) And the author has described it as 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' for dogs.' (That book is tied with 'The Giving Tree' as my Least Favorite Ever.) So what do I find to praise? The concept: 'When a dog is finished living his lifetimes as a dog, his next incarnation will be as a man.' Not all dogs. It contains many insights about car racing. To my great astonishment, it's told by a dog. I have finally found a new novel I can stand to read. Garth Stein is to be congratulated on writing a book that is sure to become a classic.

With a wonderful storyline and characters you become attached to this book is cathartic. The Art of Racing is a book you've got to read, especially if you love dogs (or animals in general). Reading The Art of Racing in the Rain is like sitting through Old Yeller as a young boy and not crying. Without giving too much away let me just say that I haven't felt compelled to tear up so often by a book in a long time. This book will tear at you in so many ways and on so many levels. In the end, the parents of Eve decide to challenge Denny for custody to Zoe and do so in a manner that isn't befitting grandparents. But then Eve develops cancer and decides to remove herself to her parents home along with Zoe. Enzo is part of a happy family, Denny, the racer Denny's wife Eve, and his daughter Zoe. To become a man might not be an upward move.

Anyone who is aware of 'man's' human nature knows that dogs, as a creature, are much nobler. Here is the only aspect of the book I might doubt. Enzo, the narrator, is a dog and Enzo wants nothing more than to be a man. It was one of those moments, as a reader, you'll remember for a while. I picked The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein simply because, being a dog lover and seeing the dog on the cover, I couldn't resist. It is the only true ending that fits the whole buildup of where Denny and Enzo placed their energy. What happens in the end is what has to happen. Where you focus your energy is what happens in your life. As Enzo says, we are all extensions of everything. Anyone who thinks this book has anything to do with bad luck (I've seen some of the reviews) is really missing the message. I recommend this book to anyone who is open to the ideas of creating your own life and not being a victim. I needed to ask questions about the custody battle and Eve's sickness.

And, dramatically speaking, intention is everything.' Because I'm 12, I did have to discuss the book with my parents. While the facts may be less than accurate, please understand that the emotion is true. Doesn't anyone remember Charlotte's Web? Enzo says, 'My intent, here, is to tell our story in a dramatically truthful way. It's about spiritual and emotional truths. But this book is not about what real dogs think. Obviously, you might say that a dog could not think like a human, so how could it be truthful. It wasn't that it was sad, it was just that it was told in such a beautiful and truthful way. I cried at two points in the book because of the way the author was able describe it. It made me feel the pain, the happiness, the sadness, and the humor in the characters lives. When I read this book, I felt a connection with it that I haven't felt with any other book.

But I've read a pretty good amount of books for someone my age. Since I am a young teenager, you might think it doesn't mean much for me to say that this is the best book ever.

The art of racing in the rain