Grace Abernathy has had a rough year. Ever since her police officer father was killed a few months ago, she hasn’t wanted to do much of anything. She’s pulled away from her friends, and her grades are dropping. But when her older sister Regan drags her into her plan to train a shelter dog as a service dog, her life takes another unexpected turn. Especially when the mutt named Rex starts talking to her. Has Grace lost her mind? Or is this dog something really special? An angel? A spirit? Either way, he just might be the therapy Grace needs.

I liked the service dog classes Grace takes with Rex. The dogs in the book are taught to do amazing things like push elevator buttons with their nose and flick light switches. My favorite one was helping a person in a wheelchair shop for groceries. It’s incredible all the work that goes into training a dog.

Service dogs are trained to help people with different physical and mental disabilities, including muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, blindness and hearing impairments, and autism.

It is not easy training a service dog, and I could never train service dogs for a living. I know, I have one. His name is Dude, and I am a complete pushover when it comes to him. Just look at him.

How can anyone say no to that face?