ZEUS

Cameron once again tackles the subject he is known for: adventure-seeking dogs and the humans who love them.

Zeus, a chocolate Labrador puppy, enjoys a simple life of food, lying in the sun, chewing sticks, and playing with his mom and siblings. But one by one, the others, his mom included, leave home with new adoptive families. Only Troy and Zeus, the two largest puppies in the litter, are left when Italian American paramedic Marco Ricci from the Oahu Search and Rescue team arrives. He takes them both for testing, evaluating their abilities and courage in situations including wave pools and waterslides. When single father Marco’s 13-year-old son, Kimo, returns from his Native Hawaiian mother’s house in Indiana, Zeus immediately bonds with the boy: “Every dog has a person. This one was mine.” Training dogs for search and rescue is his business, yet Marco feels moved by his son’s love for Zeus. Additional complications arise when Bear, a dog Marco kept after he failed a critical search and rescue test and couldn’t be sold, struggles with hearing loss and depression. Written from Zeus’ first-person perspective, this novel offers fascinating details about the lives of working dogs and explores relatable themes of purpose, love, and finding family that will resonate with middle-grade dog lovers.

An absorbing read celebrating canine courage and heart.