Shana R. (LynniePennie) reviewed Cherished: 21 Writers on Animals They Have Loved and Lost on + 169 more book reviews
First off, I'd actually give this book 3 stars, I rounded up to 3.5 because they are donating the royalties from this book to a great organization The Best Friends Animal Society which runs the largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals.
I loved the premise of this book- 21 short stories about losing much loved pets. Most of the stories consist of dogs, horses and cats. I'm an avid animal person (grew up on a farm, 3 dogs & 5 cats!)and on a personal note my 20 year old cat Tony passed away of a stroke last summer. He was my best buddy for years and I still miss him! So, I couldn't wait to start reading this book.
As a whole this book didn't touch me as much as I thought it would. As other reviewers have mentioned this book is quite the mixed bag of stories. Some of the stories will have you touched and in tears(in my case the story of "Hope". Other stories in this book will have you bordering on anger towards an irresponsible pet owner. I also agree with previous reviewers that some of the stories lacked (or seemed to lack) any real emotion on the part of the author.
Besides the few stories that just seemed to be void of emotion, I did enjoy the stories where the author really put their emotions about their pet on display. A book like this needs emotion and when that emotion about their pets really showed, this book was great.
Minus a few stories, this book is still worth a read if you're an animal lover or if you have recently lost a pet. Plus, the royalties go for a great organization.
I loved the premise of this book- 21 short stories about losing much loved pets. Most of the stories consist of dogs, horses and cats. I'm an avid animal person (grew up on a farm, 3 dogs & 5 cats!)and on a personal note my 20 year old cat Tony passed away of a stroke last summer. He was my best buddy for years and I still miss him! So, I couldn't wait to start reading this book.
As a whole this book didn't touch me as much as I thought it would. As other reviewers have mentioned this book is quite the mixed bag of stories. Some of the stories will have you touched and in tears(in my case the story of "Hope". Other stories in this book will have you bordering on anger towards an irresponsible pet owner. I also agree with previous reviewers that some of the stories lacked (or seemed to lack) any real emotion on the part of the author.
Besides the few stories that just seemed to be void of emotion, I did enjoy the stories where the author really put their emotions about their pet on display. A book like this needs emotion and when that emotion about their pets really showed, this book was great.
Minus a few stories, this book is still worth a read if you're an animal lover or if you have recently lost a pet. Plus, the royalties go for a great organization.
