This is one of those stories that I'll always remember. I'm placing it onto that very top shelf where some of my favorite books and characters sit. I loved this book. For those readers who loved Marley & Me, Dewey or Watership Down, but have not yet read The Art of Racing in the Rain, like I did, this book should not be missed. 
 The Art of Racing in the Rain goes beyond other pet stories by beautifully revealing the mind and desires of Enzo the dog. It does this with amazing depth and emotion and also with some very real and human issues. In its pages are extremes of humor, wit, tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. But mostly, I'd say there is joy. 
 This book was so much more than I had envisioned, which is to say I am stupid. Stupid for "envisioning" at all before deciding to read. I had conjured up visions of a dog driving a race car, and therefore had chosen to avoid this book. Thank you to GR friends for your push to read. This is not a cartoon caricature of a dog. It is a dog that is still a dog (who may just have more intelligence and a bigger heart than many humans), but one if he could express his thoughts and the story of his life on paper. 
 Enzo may have more heart than many people in our world, but isn't that just so with the dogs in our lives? That's one thing that makes this story so lovely. It takes what is real and what we believe may be true and puts it into words. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a book that I'll pull down from my shelf time to time so that I can revisit Enzo.