Foster Freddy Wants a Family

5 Star Review

Forthcoming on Amazon!

Editorial Book Review:

By Henry Penshorn

Let's be honest about something upfront. When Christina Donato drove two and a half hours to pick up her first foster dog and saw a funny-looking, mismatched beagle with a head too big and legs too short being walked toward her car, her first thought was not love at first sight. It was something closer to "is this really the dog?" That honesty is what makes this book so completely disarming, and so completely worth reading.

Freddy is not an easy dog. He peed on a woman's leg at an adoption event and looked absolutely unbothered about it. He growled at Christina when she tried to give him his medicine. He learned how to press the car window button to open it. He had Cushing's disease, three mast cell tumors, a dislocated kneecap, a bad tooth, and an unshakeable conviction that Ralph was his person and Christina was the interloper. He stayed in foster care for nearly three years. And somehow, by the time you reach the last page, you are completely in love with him too.

What Donato does beautifully is tell this story without sugarcoating any of it. The exhaustion is real. The fear is real. The guilt she carries about not being the perfect foster mom is real. But so is the moment she collapsed on the couch mid-chase and heard herself say out loud, for the first time, "Oh Freddy. I love you." That moment lands exactly as hard as it should.

The book is aimed at readers aged 10 to 15, but honestly, any adult who has ever loved an animal, fostered one, or wondered whether difficult things are worth doing will find something deeply meaningful here. The inclusion of Freddy's "Aroo Sheet," the actual handover document Christina filled out when Freddy moved on, is a small detail that somehow makes the whole story feel even more real and more tender.

Walter's final words about Freddy, that out of eight beagles he thinks Freddy was his favorite, is the ending this story deserves. You'll want to tell someone about it immediately after you finish.

About the Author

Henry Penshorn

Christina J. Donato is an author with a background in creative writing, political science, and sociology. Raised on Long Island, New York, she later relocated to New England, where she built a career as a mainframe programmer.

Now based in Rhode Island, she shares her home with her husband and their dog, Nera. Her love of animals and deep appreciation for storytelling come together in her writing, where she highlights meaningful, real-life experiences with warmth and authenticity.