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Book Review: “What the Dog Ate” by Jackie Bouchard

It takes a lot to get me to put down my iPhone on my daily commute. It also takes a lot to get me so interested in a book that I stay up most of the night reading it because I really wanted to know what happens in the end.

What the Dog Ate” by Jackie Bouchard did both of these things.

While some parts of this romantic comedy that plays out in your head like a feature film, are a little bit predicable, it keeps you interested, laughing and at least in my case, glued to the pages.

The story follows Maggie, a nose-to-the-grindstone accountant whose life, and marriage, doesn’t go as planned. As a result she decides to approach life like her dog by living in the moment, and going with the flow.

Easier said then done.

The book follows Maggie’s journey to reclaim her life, figure out what she wants both romantically and professionally, and does a good job at balancing the good and bad scenarios of this type of situation. While it’s a work of fiction, the story is not so far fetched that it couldn’t easily be you or me in Maggie’s shoes.

You also don’t have to be a dog lover to enjoy this book, although you might appreciate some parts a little more, including one dog park scene that had me giggling out loud on the subway. There are also a ton of little one-line thoughts that Maggie has, that made me chuckle, especially this one:

“She fantasized about how much better it would be if finding a new man was like getting a dog. You could go online and research the type you wanted. … With her spec’s nailed down, she’d go to the Human Society website and search for an appealing picture … And he’d be loyal and never stray.”

I don’t do that many book reviews, because I typically don’t have the time to read the whole thing, but for some reason I was instantly drawn to this one, and agreed to do a review. Maybe it was the fact, Jackie had emailed me herself asking me if I would be interested in reviewing it, adding she totally understood if I didn’t have an interest in this type of literature.

Maybe it was the excerpt she sent me:


The vet handed Maggie Baxter a plastic specimen bag containing a pair of size-tiny lavender thong panties extracted from her dog; but they were not hers. Or rather, they were hers now since she’d just paid $734 to have Dr. Carter surgically remove them from Kona’s gut.


Maybe it was a the cute dog on the front cover. Maybe it was because Toby also eats everything. Maybe it was Jackie’s sympathy about someone buying our domain name.

Whatever it was, I had a gut feeling I wanted to read this book — and I was correct.

If you have an e-reader, you can download “What the Dog Ate” on AmazoniTunesBarnes & Noble and Smashwords. If you prefer a paperback {like me} you can order it through  Amazon or CreateSpace

To celebrate the launch of the print version, she has committed to donating part of the proceeds on the print sales to Best Friends Animal Society.

I was given a complementary copy of this book for review. However, these are my honest opinions about what I thought.

8 thoughts on “Book Review: “What the Dog Ate” by Jackie Bouchard

  1. Thanks for the review, I do have a Kindle (although I have been amiss at using it lately!), but when I get my hinnie in gear, I will definately check it out! I, too, can relate to a dog that eats everything….almost all of my dogs have to eat everything that is on the ground, so the 'vet bill' excerpt was priceless!!

    Kisses,

    Judi (Ruby's Ma)

  2. Finished reading "What the Dog Ate" earlier this week. Loved it on so many planes – have a lab myself so know how they are, the journey Maggie begins to find herself, the aftermath of a relationship that doesn't follow the path that we had planned, … Would recommend this highly!

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