Garth Stein’s “The Art of Racing in the Rain” became a New York Times bestseller when it was released in 2008, and it stayed on the charts for 156 weeks. I can see why it was on the charts for so long. This book is captivating and kept my interest.

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” takes place in modern day Seattle. Enzo, the family dog, narrates the story. It starts off with Enzo and his owner, Denny. They are best friends.

Denny gets married to Eve, and they have one daughter named Zoë. Throughout the book the family grows together and apart. They face many struggles with sickness, money and ownership.

Enzo has a human-like soul and believes that he will be reborn as a man. Enzo gets frustrated during the book because he is unable to communicate with his family. He wishes that humans and dogs could communicate. If they could, he would have told Eve that she was sick before it was too late.

After Eve’s passing, Denny struggles to managing his time with car racing, and Zoë. Zoë’s grandparents insist on taking her to live with them. Denny does not want this.

The grandparents and Denny eventually go to court to fight for Zoë. He struggles with not having enough money to go to court, because he spent a lot of it on the hospital bills. Denny almost breaks under these tough circumstances.

The best part about “The Art of Racing in the Rain” is that it portrays a realistic story, but is in the unique point of view of a dog. I liked that this book showed what the dog was thinking. I did not like that this book was sad and frustrating at times, but I thought it was interesting.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something that is entertaining and easy to read. If you are not looking for a book that is sad, stay away from this book.