New Beginnings

Vet Volunteers #13

by Laurie Halse Anderson

An all-new, original book featuring two new Vet Volunteers!

Meet Jules and Josh, the new twins in town! While Josh adapts quickly to Ambler, Jules accidentally makes an enemy of Maggie. Hoping a pet will help her feel better, Jules adopts the class rabbit, Chewie, but things go downhill when there are complications with Chewie's spay surgery. With Dr. Mac out on a call, it's up to Jules to work with Maggie to help the rabbit - and maybe even prove that she and Josh are worthy of becoming Vet Volunteers.

This brand-new book in the beloved Vet Volunteers series brings all the kids together for another exciting animal adventure!

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

UPDATE! Rebellion 1776 is out! The New York Times wrote, "Filled with immersive detail, expert delineations of complex characters, and both harsh and loving reality, Rebellion 1776 provides young readers with a true experience of a historic moment in time that resonates with today's world." Huzzah!

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking, modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages.

In 2023, Anderson was named the Laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, long considered to be the de facto 'Nobel Prize for Children's Literature.'

A passionate spokesperson for the need to combat censorship, she has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. She lives near Philadelphia. Go Birds!

Follow Laurie on Bluesky at @halseanderson.bsky.social, Instagram at halseanderson, and Facebook at lauriehalseanderson, or by visiting her website, madwomanintheforest.com.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurie Halse Anderson's name on the front made me pick up this title, and I wasn't disappointed. It's very well written for an entry in a middle grade series for animal lovers, and I will recommend the series to those who have grown out of the Puppy Place and Kitty Corner books.

[Xyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not so sure "It was amazing" fits, but I really loved this book and love is above like so must be more than four stars. now the big question; do I shelve this in my personal library or pass it along to another reader?

New Beginnings happen throughout the book for the humans and many of the animal characters. Jules is nervous and shy around people; she's much more comfortable around animals. Her twin brother, on the other hand, makes friends easily. Throughout the story life in the Darrow's new town seems bleak for Jules. However, her love for her new bunny helps everyone enjoy some high kicks. Cuddles, aka Chewie, reminds me of our house rabbits.

A few great things about this book. We learn about bunny care, feeding newborn kittens, keeping streams clean, and much more. Good lessons are learned throughout this story for humans, animals, and the environment.

My one sticking point (And I have this difficulty when authors choose to use real places in their stories), the Darrows move from Pittsburgh across the state to Ambler. The way Ambler is described in the book it sounds like a small town. In fact, Ambler is 16 miles from Philadelphia and well populated; not rural at all. It's one of the busiest train stations along the SEPTA R5 route. The local businesses are mostly family run so that is accurate. Two "streams" run through town: one goes through a neighborhood the other goes through Ambler Borough Park. Both dump into Wissahickon Creek which is wooded and many people go there to run or hike or bike. I'm thinking they are cleaning up the stream that goes through the park. I am certain there is more that one Maggie in the Wissahickon School District.

Other than that one sticking point-which is specific to my reading style-I loved this book. It was a good read! The main characters are 12 years old so I would say this is an easy read for adults and young adults, a fun read for tweens, and maybe challenging for young readers.

[Sofia]

this book is about new beings as it says in the title. this book is about a girl that just moved into a new home and is very nervous. she has been feeding this cat like it's her own but it's not really.the cat is a tabby cat that lives in an ally.The main character lives with her mom, dad and her twin brother.her parents own a store on the first floor of their house. Jules and her brother Josh went to their new school and they had totaly diffrent days.Jules had a relly bad day and Josh had a good. this book series is a good series for animal lovers.the hole series is in the library.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great story about making new starts: how different people and animals handle this in different ways. I loved it.

Rabbits and humans
Both, can let fear rule their lives.
Stop that and be brave.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia (Jules) and Josh, fraternal twins, have just moved to Ambler from Pittsburgh. Their parents are going to reopen the hardware store. The first day of school, Jules antagonizes Maggie without meaning to. She loses her balance on the school bus and ruins Maggie’s science project. Later, when Maggie says that she has tutoring after school, Jules thinks that she’s a tutor. Maggie points out her mistake, and Jules knows that Maggie feels insulted. Then, Jules tries to smooth things over with the science teacher by telling him that she ruined the project. This was after Maggie told him some other story. Jules has a sixth sense about animals and wishes she could volunteer at Dr. Mac’s clinic, but now there’s no way that will happen. Then, surgical complications force Jules and Maggie to work together to save Jules’ rabbit, Cuddles.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Ratforcekids · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series about 5 kids who are volunteers at a veterinary clinic who have adventures with their best friends.

[Miranda Foley]

I love this series and this is one of the best ones I've read

[Jacob Gosselin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

I have read other.books from this series and this book was the best. up loved it because there is a lesson in it.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book with a great background behind it.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.