After Marty Preston worked so hard to earn the dog Shiloh, he had hoped that his troubles with Judd Travers were over. He could not rescue all the dogs that Judd mistreated, but since shiloh was the one who ran away and came to him, Shiloh was the one he loved. Judd, however, has other problems. Anyone who cheats and swears and lies and kicks his dogs has troubles inside himself, and when the man starts drinking, Marty realizes that Shiloh is in danger once again. As hunting season approaches and Judd begins hunting on their land, the Prestos know that something is bound to happen. They’re right. Marty does the only thing he can think of to do, and discovers just how deep a hurt can go and how long it takes to heal.
In a follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning story Shiloh, Phyllis Naylor brings Marty Preston and his beagle back in another tale sure to push the emotional buttons of her young audience. Marty doesn’t want to lose the dog he struggled so hard to gain, but when he sees Shiloh’s old owner, drunk and out hunting on Marty’s property, he is afraid of losing Shiloh for good. Along with the moving story of boy loves dog, Naylor offers a sympathetic portrayal of life in West Virginia. Certain to please her many fans, this sequel likely marks a fuller series of stories of Marty and Shiloh. (Ages 8 to 12)