A Dog Called Hero Written by Katy Birchall. Reviewed by Lilyana, Age 11

This book was fantastic! I loved it so much because it was a mystery and they are normally very interesting. My favourite character was Hayley because she was so brave and determined to find the suspect. I also liked Hero because he is super cute! My favourite part of the story was when Hayley met Hero, it was like they were meant to be friends :)

This is a book about a girl’s dad – a detective – dying during a police investigation into a theft. The girl (Hayley) sees a retired police dog – called Hero – at the police station and persuades her mum to rehome it with them. Hero and Hayley become really good friends. Whilst at her mum’s party a crime is committed. Hayley, along with Hero go investigating – determined to be like her dad, they crack the case!

It was a sad book but it was really uplifting because Hayley wanted to be more like her dad. She was really sad when her dad died and until she met Hero she was hidden in her own world and didn’t have many friends. True friendships for some people are really hard to find but they are always available. 🤍

I would recommend this book for children ages 9+ because there are some emotional, dramatic and scary scenes.