1942, history-and-culture, historical-setting, historical-places-events, historical-novel, debut-novel, North Carolina, puppy, dog, rural, multiple-perspectives, relatives, family-drama, family-dynamics, poverty, grief, grieving, alcohol-issues, suicide, loneliness, despair, empathic, compassion, companionship, coming-of-age, small-town, bullies, bullying*****

Big Love is an aged Great Pyrenees family dog, and War Horse is a big puppy who was rejected by the US Marine Corps because he had grown too big. It is 1942 when merchant ships off the coast of North Carolina are under attack by enemy forces. Things became chaotic in home life for the family owned by those dogs and this story tells of their joys and sorrows in a very moving way.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected advance proof from S.A. Chitwood | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles via NetGalley. Thank you
#BigLoveAndWarHorse by Shallen Anne Chitwood @ibpa #Love #HistoricalNovel

3.5⭐
I give the story 4⭐ and the writing 3⭐.
I really enjoyed the story! I like a story that makes me feel a wide range of emotions. Big Love and War Horse did just that. It was heartbreaking, infuriating, and joyful all. The climax was a bit predictable but exciting nonetheless. The ending was thoroughly satisfying.
I loved the way the author wrote the story of Joy. She revealed parts of her story little by little throughout the book in chunks that were just the right size at just the right times. Masterful!
I found the writing style to be a bit simplistic and amateurish. I'm not sure if this was an artistic choice or if she's just a newer writer. The story jumped through time and events too quickly for me sometimes. I often found myself wishing the author had taken more time to get where I now found myself.
The title was misleading, IMO. I expected it to be a story <i>about</i> the dogs. It wasn't. It was a story about the people in the dogs' lives but the dogs themselves were not main characters. If the story had actually been about the dogs the thoughts they had and emotions they felt wouldn't have felt so out of place. As it was, though, the anthropomorphizing of the dogs just felt weird. A well crafted title with the word "joy" could've been poignant and beautiful.
I'm glad I read this book and would recommend it.

Abandoned by their grief-stricken father after the sudden death of their mother, fifteen-year-old Jonas and his younger sister Kay must navigate a world filled with secrets and uncertainty. Their only anchors are their loyal dogs, who provide the strength and unity needed to face their darkest days. As their aunt Linnie steps in to mend the broken pieces, she too grapples with haunting truths from her past. The family's dogs, Big Love and War Horse serve as poignant narrators, offering unique insights into the family's trials and triumphs.

This is an unusual story with two dogs being amongst the main characters. It’s quite a sad tale of a family in crisis following the death of the mother.

I don’t really think that adding the dog’s thoughts worked very well and did little for the story. Maybe if the whole story was told by a dog or by human it might have been okay. But as is I don’t feel it worked.

I am really thankful to Netgalley and the kind author for giving me this opportunity to read this book.

I had no idea that this book would also include the inner thoughts of a pet dog. In fact "Big Love" and "War Horse" are the names of two dogs. As a dog owner who is so in love with her dog, this book was so heartwarming to me. The parts written from the point of view of the dogs are simply my most favourtire. It is simply written, the characters also felt well-explored and relatable.

🧡🧡🧡🧡 heartily recommended if you wish to read a fresh debut that is beautifully written and heartwarming.

It's hard for me to have criticisms about this book because a) it's written by a first time author and b) Big Love and War Horse are real dogs the author owned. In other words, I really appreciated what author was attempting to do in this book and give her props, even if it sometimes didn't quite meet the mark for me, personally.

The story of the Deacon family is quite compelling and the plot moves along at a nice clip. The father sobers up a little too quickly to be believable, but once you get past that rocky start to the story (which seems like it's going to be a book about children abandoned with their dogs) it becomes an entirely different, and very compelling story.

Of course, I picked it up because of the dogs! And that's the part that didn't quite do it for me. I wish the dogs had either been part of the story OR do some heavy lifting as narrators. Instead they do a little of both, and this narrative choice is a little frustrating.

Sometimes the dogs are just in the scene. Often they're not around at all. Other times, they have deep insights into the characters. I would have liked the author to have made a more consistent choice, one way or the other. Just sprinkling them in there from time to time was unsatisfying.

On the plus side though, I would have loved a book in which the author made either of these two choices. The Deacon family story (albeit light) is compelling with the dogs just serving as regular characters, especially since they play a pivotal role in a few scenes. AND I would have dug a book narrated by these two dogs since they seem to have a better sense of good guys vs bad buys than the humans!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review

Short story by debut author.

There are many mature themes in this short story. The title and cover gave me the impression that this might be a story for children; it is not.

Two dogs, Big Love (Great Pyrenees) and War Horse (Doberman), play large roles in this short story.

Especially liked how the second half of this story came together. Between 4 and 5 stars, but rounding up because of the ending and debut author. (Keep writing Shallen Anne Chitwood!)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Shallen Anne Chitwood (self published!) for approving my request to read Big Love and War Horse in exchange for an honest review. Published May 2024. Approx 204 pages.

A story of tragedy and mending broken families. This novel is set in 1942 amidst the early years of WWII while families are still recovering from the Great Depression. The Deacon family is broken from the loss of their beloved mother and wife Joy. Following the story of Kay and Jonas who are pushing forward after losing their mother. Their father, Luke, is broken and drowning his sorrows with alcohol. Luke leaves his children to fend for themselves, and the only thing Kay and Jonas have are their dogs Big Love and War Horse. As the family begins to heal, secrets unfold that threaten the safety and stability of the Deacon's. This book lends to some familiarity from other novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men
There are some intense topics such as rape, murder, suicide. I promise though this book does eventually end happy! Although at points it felt like it wouldn’t!!

I want to extend my thank you to Netgalley and Shallen Anne Chitwood for a copy in exchange for this review.

A great book with a fairly unique plot, the dogs driving the POV in the Autumn of 1942 in North Carolina. The family has been beset with a recent tragedy that has threatened to tear the remaining family members apart.

Jonas at fifteen, his sister a couple years younger, lost their mother to suicide and then their father in an inability to cope finding solace only in a bottle. The two have been left almost wholly on their own.

The narrative unfolds in the eyes of Big Love, an old Great Pyrenees, and War Horse, a Doberman puppy too big to succeed as a Marine war dog.

Their aunt comes around to check on the kids and later becomes a bigger part of the family. She has secrets and struggles of her own. The father eventually comes back and tries to make up with the kids, Jonas now bitter and angry. The reconciliation is slow and deeply moving, poignant.

The novel evokes many emotions as it navigates the grief, anger and profound confusion. There is a lot going on in this novel with twists and turns and themes of love, loss, murder, suicide, and reconciliation.

I loved the interpretation of the circumstances by the dogs who do their best to take care of their humans. Gripping storyline, well developed characters. 4.5 stars

4-4.25⭐️

It looks like this is the authors debut Historical coming of age fiction set during the wake of the Great Depression and during the bombings of 1942. The content doesn’t feel like YA as there’s some very dark topics covered, but it’s never graphic.

Two siblings Jonas and Kay are left with their father who is struggling after the death of their mother, and hitting the drink. Their two dogs Big Love and War Horse are partly the PoV in the book. It was this element that attracted me. I just wasn’t sure how well she would pull it off or if it would come across like a Disney book. It certainly didn’t feel like a Disney story. But it would make a great film, and I feel that she pulled it off, the dogs weren’t anthropomorphised it fitted in well.

It’s a beautifully written heart felt story which managed to both break and warm my heart. It had me in tears more than once. Occasionally i felt that the prose was a little corny, but by far it was just a lovely read full of emotion. There’s some good twists and turns too.
The chapters have a picture heading of a wood which is a nice addition but pictures of Big Love and War Horse would have been better.

It’s a really good debut novel, and something different, I’m always craving something fresh. If you are an animal lover I urge you to give it a try.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Oh my heart! I absolutely devoured this book! Told from the perspective of the family's fiercely loyal and loving dogs, this book follows a family in the depression era through their grief, struggles, love, friendship and trying times. If you are looking for a quick, heartfelt book, this is it!

The setting is the farmland of a shattered family during WWII - life is not as it was once.
Good storytelling, in the middle we „hear“ the two dogs, that makes the storytelling unique.
To me it was too much telling to settle down in the story and connect with it and the characters.
Maybe it wasn‘t the fitting read for a hot summer weekend,

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy!