Blog Tour: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher @CharlieFletch_r @orbitbooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #ABoyAndHisDogBook #FollowGriz

When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this fiercely compelling tale of survival, courage, and hope. Perfect for readers of Station Eleven and The Girl With All the Gifts.
My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football.
My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.
Then the thief came.
There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.
Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?

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Hi and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World! First of all: massive thanks to Orbit for the gorgeous proof copy, to Tracy Fenton for inviting me and to C. A. Fletcher for writing this glorious story.

So what’s it about? In a nutshell: at one point most humans became infertile and as a result humankind has gone all but extinct. There’s only a handful of people left and they just make do. Along with men, dogs have suffered the same fate; it is said this must be because dogs have walked alongside men for the longest time and have always been the closest.

Griz’s family lives on a remote island: dad, mum, older brother, older sister, Griz and 2 dogs, Jess and Jip. Griz had a little sister once but she fell in the sea and Griz never saw her again. They’re in sporadic contact with another family who live on a nearby island, but that’s it in terms of human contact. Until one day a man in a boat with red sails moors on their island. His name is Brand and he says he’s a trader, he seems kind and Griz is happy to have found a bit of a kindred spirit, someone to discuss books and history with. Except that Brand is not a trader, he’s a thief and he steals what is just a commodity to him but priceless to Griz: Jess, a fertile bitch.

Griz doesn’t stop to think, but just acts and jumps in the family’s boat in hot pursuit of Brand and more importantly: Jess. The other family dog, Jip, tags along. Here’s where this became a tough read for me. As a rule I don’t read books with animals in a prominent role, because I can’t take animal cruelty, I can’t stomach animals suffering. However, when the invite for this blog tour came, the synopsis spoke to me so loudly it was practically shouting and I signed up anyway, completely ignoring any misgivings. And so I suffered while reading this story, I really did. The entire time Griz is trying to find Jess, the reader has no clue what happened to her, whether she’s okay, and I couldn’t stop worrying about her. At the same time, I was terrified something bad would happen to Jip. The story got so intense for me, I had to take mini-breaks, little breathers to catch my breath and calm my heart. And I’m not even a dog person! I suspect that if you have a dog, especially a terrier, it’s probably ten times worse! But rest assured, there’s no cheap violence or cruelty here. Quite the opposite, there is so much love in these pages.

Although desperate to get Jess back, there’s this whole world Griz knows nothing about and therefore also a need to explore. Since there aren’t a lot of people left, Griz doesn’t encounter many along the way. But the encounters that do happen will change life forever.

A glorious book that made me well up and stress out, but in the very best way. This is one of those books that touches your soul and lingers in your heart and your mind for a long time after turning that last page. I read it about a month ago, but Griz and Jip and Jess are still with me in spirit.

Highly recommended!

Do check out the other stops on this tour: