I loved the cover, and the title sounded promising... a summer story about a boy and his endearing dog? In fact this is the story of Azi, abandoned by the grandfather he adores, as he tries to piece together the 'signs' that he hopes will lead him to his missing carer. The sand dog of the title is actually fairly peripheral to the story - Azi calls him 'Sandy', and he gazes into the distance until reunited with his missing owners. What really matters is what Azi learns about home, belonging, friendship and love.
Although I wanted to love this book, and admired the story told, neither the plot nor the characters were quite strong enough to rivet my attention to the page.