This is only the second review I've ever written regarding a book I have not finished. Normally I don't feel I should rate something I have not been able to read from start to finish. I have to feel very strongly about an unfinished book to post an opinion about it.

It was a very interesting premise, which is what prompted me to pick it up. I'm an animal person myself, have always wished I could communicate with animals and the plot sounded interesting.

I got a third of the way through the book. Very little plot apparent even at that point, unfortunately. However, what absolutely turned me off this book was the rampant pro-PETA/HSUS agenda that was, as far as I could tell from reading as far as I did, the main objective of the author and the reason for the book. Not the story, anyway.

The rescue of the sled dogs abandoned by dog sled racing people was bad. The description of lab animals when the main character was a child and her step father arbitrarily took her pet rabbit to be a lab test animal even worse. But what really capped it for me is when there was a long description of the 'memory' of the life of a commercially-raised chicken triggered by the main character taking a bite of cooked chicken. That was the last straw for me.

I realize everyone has their own ideas about things but 'message' is one thing and trying to stuff something down by throat, calling it entertainment is something else entirely.

Members of PETA or HSUS may get by these things without a problem. There may be a plot in the last 2/3 of the book that I didn't get to. However, like the main character being unable to swallow the bite of chicken, I couldn't stomach reading any more of the book.
This is only the second review I've ever written regarding a book I have not finished. Normally I don't feel I should rate something I have not been able to read from start to finish. I have to feel very strongly about an unfinished book to post an opinion about it. It was a very interesting premise, which is what prompted me to pick it up. I'm an animal person myself, have always wished I could communicate with animals and the plot sounded interesting. I got a third of the way through the book. Very little plot apparent even at that point, unfortunately. However, what absolutely turned me off this book was the rampant pro-PETA/HSUS agenda that was, as far as I could tell from reading as far as I did, the main objective of the author and the reason for the book. Not the story, anyway. The rescue of the sled dogs abandoned by dog sled racing people was bad. The description of lab animals when the main character was a child and her step father arbitrarily took her pet rabbit to be a lab test animal even worse. But what really capped it for me is when there was a long description of the 'memory' of the life of a commercially-raised chicken triggered by the main character taking a bite of cooked chicken. That was the last straw for me. I realize everyone has their own ideas about things but 'message' is one thing and trying to stuff something down by throat, calling it entertainment is something else entirely. Members of PETA or HSUS may get by these things without a problem. There may be a plot in the last 2/3 of the book that I didn't get to. However, like the main character being unable to swallow the bite of chicken, I couldn't stomach reading any more of the book.