I Live in a Doghouse

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I LIve in a Doghouse
by Beverly Stowe McClure
Genre Middle Grade/Tween Family/Animals
Tags Dog, cat, sister, brother, catering, father, mother, lost, skateboarding, stepfather, gardener, race car driver, stepsister
Release January 6, 2015
Cover Designer Charlotte Volnek
Words 27367
Pages 115
ISBN 978-1-77127-637-5
Price $4.50
Back Cover
Eleven-year-old Nick Cassidy's stepsister delights in calling him gross names. His half-sister loves for Nick to push her in the stroller, to his embarrassment. What if the guys from school see him? All Nick wants is his father to come back and take him away from this crazy family. Is it any wonder he sometimes lives in the doghouse?
I LIVE IN A DOGHOUSE is the story of a boy's struggles to accept his new family while he longs for the old. When his father finally returns, will Nick's dreams come true? Or will he discover that memories sometimes are faulty, and it’s best to forget the past and treasure the present?
Excerpt
Grace tugged on my arm. “You’re walking too fast, Cassidy. Slow down.”
Bossy, bossy. Always giving orders. It wasn’t my fault her legs were short and she couldn’t keep up with me. And why she insisted on calling me by my last name was one of those mysteries that defied explanation. I asked her once why she did it.
“Cause I want to,” she said.
Okay, I wanted to walk fast. My legs pumped. I could outrun her, no contest. The stroller bounced over the cracked sidewalk. Lily screeched, “Ki-Ki!” The kid took after me. She loved wheels of any kind. She was making way too much noise, however.
I halted before she woke the neighborhood. “Hush, Lil,” I said, and glanced around to make sure nobody had heard.
Lily pushed out her lips. Tears smeared the dried cereal on her face. Mom asked me to wash her breakfast off, but I forgot. Lily held up her arms. “Ki-Ki.” She was hiccupping and turning red in the face.
“See what you did!” Grace yelled. “You made Lily cry.”
I wanted to shout back, “You don’t have to yell. I can hear you.” I clamped my jaws shut instead. I was no match for Grace’s sharp tongue.