I’ll admit it: contemporary middle grade novels normally aren’t the books I reach for first. But when I saw that The Dog Heist by Dani Jansen was about two kids trying to save a neglected dog, the dog lover in me immediately took over, and I signed up for the tour.
Still, when I first started reading, part of me wondered if I already knew exactly how this story was going to go.
A dog is being mistreated. Kids realize something is wrong. Adults don’t help. Kids come up with a crazy plan to rescue the dog. Mission accomplished.
You know—the kind of rescue-the-dog story that feels like it has appeared on every bookshelf at some point.
Well, I was wrong.
Thank you to the author and Second Story Press for the book and my honest review. This book is part of a book tour sponsored by Toppling Stacks Tours.
The Dog Heist surprised me almost immediately because while saving Lyra is definitely at the center of the story, this book is about so much more than rescuing a dog. It is also about loneliness, family changes, friendship, feeling left behind, figuring out where you belong, and realizing that sometimes the person you least expect to understand you becomes exactly the friend you need.
Caleb is having a seriously terrible September. His parents have separated, he has moved to a new town, he is living with his dad, and he desperately misses his dog. Add the pressures of starting over at a new school and dealing with his ADD, and it’s easy to understand why he sometimes struggles.
I really felt for Caleb.
One of my favorite things about his character is that Jansen doesn’t make him feel like a collection of problems that need to be fixed. He feels like an actual middle school kid trying to cope with way too many changes at once. He can be impulsive and frustrating, but he is also funny, caring, and incredibly determined when something matters to him.
Then there is Valery.
At first, she and Caleb seem like two people who should absolutely NOT become friends.
Valery has problems of her own. A new school year is beginning, and instead of being excited to spend it with her best friend, she suddenly feels pushed aside because her friend has a new boyfriend. Anyone who has ever had a close friend suddenly become distant will understand that particular kind of hurt.
I loved Valery because her feelings felt so believable. She is lonely, angry, embarrassed, and trying to pretend she doesn’t care nearly as much as she actually does.
And then Caleb arrives.
She finds him annoying.
He probably finds her annoying.
Basically, it’s a perfect beginning to a friendship. 😂
What finally brings them together is Lyra, the neglected dog living nearby.
Both Caleb and Valery know something is wrong. They can see how badly Lyra is being treated, but the adults around them either can’t or won’t solve the situation quickly enough. With a hurricane approaching, waiting around becomes even more dangerous.
So naturally, the kids come up with a plan.
They’re going to steal the dog.
Is this a good idea?
Probably not.
Did I want them to do it anyway?
ABSOLUTELY.
This was where the book really hooked me. I genuinely started worrying about Caleb, Valery, and Lyra. Their neighbor isn’t just a cardboard cutout of the stereotypical “mean dog owner,” either. He is intimidating enough that every encounter raises the tension, and that made the kids’ decision to rescue Lyra feel legitimately risky.
The approaching hurricane makes everything even more intense. It gives the story this ticking-clock feeling because you know Caleb and Valery cannot simply keep putting off their plan.
And poor Lyra!
As a dog lover, reading about her situation was hard. I wanted somebody to get that dog out of there immediately. At the same time, I appreciated that the story never felt like it was using Lyra’s mistreatment merely to make readers sad. Her situation becomes the reason these two lonely kids finally see something in one another that they didn’t notice before.
They both care.
They both feel overlooked in different ways.
And neither one of them is willing to ignore someone else who needs help.
That friendship ended up being my favorite part of the book.
Top 5 Reasons to Read The Dog Heist
Since this tour is all about sharing five reasons to pick up The Dog Heist, narrowing it down wasn’t as hard as I expected!
1. 🐶 Lyra will steal your heart.
If you’re an animal lover, you’re going to be rooting for Lyra from the moment you meet her. Her situation gives the story its emotional heart and makes Caleb and Valery’s mission feel incredibly important.
2. 💛 Caleb and Valery feel like real kids.
Neither character is perfect, and that’s exactly why I liked them so much. Caleb is dealing with his parents’ separation, moving, missing his dog, and ADHD, while Valery is coping with the hurt of feeling abandoned by her best friend. Their struggles make them easy to relate to.
3. 👫 The unlikely friendship is wonderful.
Caleb and Valery definitely don’t start out as instant best friends. Watching two lonely kids who initially find each other annoying slowly realize they might actually need one another was one of my favorite parts of the story.
4. ⛈️ There’s genuine suspense and adventure.
The hurricane adds a ticking clock to an already risky rescue mission. Once Caleb and Valery decide they’re going to save Lyra themselves, I genuinely worried about what might happen to all three of them.
5. 📚 It tackles important topics without feeling like a lesson.
Family changes, ADHD, changing friendships, loneliness, animal welfare, courage, and asking adults for help are all part of the story, but they never overpower the adventure. Young readers get plenty to think about while still getting an entertaining story.
Those five reasons really sum up why this book surprised me so much.
I started The Dog Heist expecting a fairly predictable dog-rescue adventure and ended up getting attached to Caleb and Valery just as much as I did Lyra. Dani Jansen creates middle grade characters who feel like actual kids—messy, emotional, impulsive, funny, and capable of surprising bravery.
There are also plenty of topics here that could lead to great conversations with younger readers: divorced parents, changing friendships, neurodiversity, loneliness, animal welfare, standing up for what you believe is right, and knowing when you need help from adults.
And while there are serious subjects, the story never becomes overwhelmingly heavy. There is adventure, humor, friendship, suspense, and, of course, a dog.
What else do you need?
So, teachers, parents, media specialists, and librarians: get this book on your shelves. I can easily see middle grade readers—and even some slightly younger strong readers—getting completely invested in Caleb and Valery’s mission.
Especially the animal lovers.
I went into this one thinking I knew exactly what kind of story I was getting, and Dani Jansen completely proved me wrong. The Dog Heist has heart, humor, lovable characters, real tension, and a rescue mission that had me worrying right alongside Caleb and Valery.
Five very enthusiastic stars from me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And for the official canine review?
My dog Akira loved it too.
Okay, technically she didn’t read it.
But I’m pretty sure she approves. 🐕😂
About the Book
Publisher: Second Story Press
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publication Date: September 1, 2026
Book Tour: Toppling Stacks Tours
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Stars
Content Warning: Animal neglect/abuse
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Synopsis:
A neglected dog brings two misfits together in this adventure for middle schoolers who love animals and stories where the kids take charge.
For Caleb, September is off to a rough start. His parents have split up, he’s moved to a new town, and—worst of all—he misses his dog. Valery is his new neighbor, but apart from being in the same class, they have nothing in common. Valery is lonely and hurt since her best friend abandoned her for a boy, and she thinks Caleb is just obnoxious. Under normal circumstances, they’d never be friends. But these aren’t normal circumstances.
There’s a hurricane coming, and Valery and Caleb are both worried for Lyra, their neighbor’s terribly neglected dog. None of the adults in their lives will do anything, so they hatch a plan to rescue her themselves, no matter how risky.
Meet the Author
Dani Jansen is an English and drama teacher who lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. She performed (as a teacher) in her school’s glee show for eight years. Yes, there is probably video evidence of this. No, she will not point you in the direction of where to find it. Dani helped found her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance and has only occasionally subjected her students to the Bard. Her writing has appeared in This Magazine, Lunch Ticket, The A3 Review, and Fiction Southeast. She has also contributed to Maman Loup’s Den. Her debut novel, The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life, came out September 22, 2020.