Dogland

"Shetterly makes the transition from young adult (Elsewhere, 1991, etc.) to adult fantasy with assurance and aplomb. In 1959, Luke and Susan Nix travel with their family--four-year-old Chris, whose narrative is informed by hindsight; Little Bit, three; and Digger, two--to Dickison, Florida, to set up a tourist attraction: Dogland, a sort of canine zoo displaying dozens of different breeds of dog. Compelling, absorbing, hard-edged work, lit by glimpses of another, more fantastic reality." - Kirkus Reviews"Dogland is one of my all-time favorite books, a piece of gentle American magic realism about Chris Nix, whose obsessive, authoritarian (but lovable) father moves his family to Florida in the fifties to open a dog amusement park, showcasing 200 breeds of dog.
The Nixes end up ensnared in local southern race politics, and in Florida's mystical Spanish past, and the resulting story is such a surprising, seamless blend of the historical and the fantastic that it is like a series of small, satisfying surprises, leading up to a wonderful, giant surprise." - Cory Doctorow"Shetterly captures the rhythm, feel, and language of cracker Florida, its legends, and the clash of cultures.
Recommended for fantasy collections." - Library Journal"A masterwork. A particularly American magic realism that touches the heart of race and childhood in our country; it's 100 Years of Solitude for an entire generation of American Baby Boomers, and deserves the widest possible audience." -Ellen Kushner, host of public radio's Sound & Spirit