The Dog Heist

Key Selling Points: The Dog Heist will appeal to young readers who enjoy adventure stories, animal rescue, and kids taking initiative. Valery and Caleb want to help the dog Lyra, so they decide to take matters into their own hands. The book treats middle graders as agents of change, who sometimes know better than adults. The Dog Heist is a heartfelt, humorous, and compelling story with high stakes moments.
Young readers will find both Valery and Caleb relatable and refreshing. The two perspectives, a nerdy girl and impulsive boy, allow the story to appeal to a broad audience. As they're very different, Valery and Caleb initially dislike each other. But they become close friends when they come together to help the dog, Lyra. The Dog Heist features several underrepresented, necessary perspectives for young readers.
Valery describes herself as fat, and is not focused on losing weight or looking at her size as a problem. Valery is also questioning why she doesn't seem to be developing sexual feelings like her friends, and she wonders about what it means to be asexual. The book also showcases neurodiversity in a realistic, empathetic way, as Caleb navigates his ADHD symptoms throughout. These include fidgeting and high energy, which get him in trouble with a teacher who does not understand.
Middle school and junior high are a unique, awkward time for young people. The Dog Heist shows young people trying to navigate increasingly complex friendships, the beginnings of romantic relationships, as well as figuring out their sexuality. Dani Jansen is the previous author of the award-winning YA novel, The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life. The Dog Heist is her first book for middle grade readers.
As a longtime English and drama teacher, Jansen writes the voices of young people in a believable, fresh way.