Title: The Adventures of Loki – The Husky
Author: Krishna Vemuri and Dev Gupta
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-3634-2
Genre: Young Adult, Animals
Pages: 149
Reviewed by: Christa Hill
Pacific Book Review
The beauty of The Adventures of Loki is that it forces the dog lover to think about the perspective of their beloved pet. While that does not sound immediately important, I believe the value is held in teaching children compassion and perspective. Still Vemuri and Gupta also explore family connections and the differences between loving and being loved. Along with these important values learning about Kiko, Loki, Weekday and the other dogs, the reader learns about friendship and being true to yourself.
Some of the topics mentioned within the book might be slightly heavy for very young children. For example, the comic book character Deadpool, and the over consumption of alcohol, and while these are part of reality, they appear a bit too mature for the books overall style. In some chapters I noticed some syntax inconsistencies that made it hard to understand what they authors wanted to say in those instances. In Weekday’s section he discusses how clever he is but then improperly names certain activities. It
gives the impression that the pets, and central characters of the story, are on the same level as the desired audience.
The portraits of each of the dogs help to create a more relatable world and are a good addition for older child readers. Though the use of curse words in the case of this story is technically accurate it does make the story hard to market to youths. The Adventures of Loki-The Husky feels like a love story to the authors’ pets. They explore the potential that dogs have a more human experience of the world than we know. The base concept is to examine love in a unique way.
The book is a clever concept wrapped in a cute package. However, some of the language and references might be better suited to a young adult category. Still even if this story was elevated to a YA category it occasional has language a little to juvenile for the YA moniker. It was enjoyable to learn about the individual dog breeds and to have the chance to be a fly on the wall in multiple family homes. This is an escapist read with a compelling concept.
When telling a story for both a young and old audience, it is great to use adventure as the hook. I found that I was as excited to read this book to see what adventures Loki the Husky would go on.
