When fifteen-year-old Sophie meets Lucas at writing camp, their worlds couldn't be more different—hers filled with sound, his wrapped in silence. What begins as notebook conversations between a hearing girl and a deaf boy becomes something extraordinary: a year-long journey to bridge two worlds through the power of sign language and the heart of a very special Labrador.
Inspired by their friendship, Sophie embarks on an ambitious mission to train Harry, a black Lab puppy, as a hearing assistance dog. But this isn't just any service dog training—Sophie adapts every lesson, every command, every skill with one person in mind: Lucas.
As Sophie learns to speak with her hands and Harry learns to hear with his heart, three lives become intertwined in ways none of them expected. Through winter challenges and breakthrough moments, failed attempts and small victories, they discover that the most meaningful connections transcend sound and silence.
When fifteen-year-old Sophie meets Lucas at writing camp, their worlds couldn't be more different—hers filled with sound, his wrapped in silence. What begins as notebook conversations between a hearing girl and a deaf boy becomes something extraordinary: a year-long journey to bridge two worlds through the power of sign language and the heart of a very special Labrador.
Inspired by their friendship, Sophie embarks on an ambitious mission to train Harry, a black Lab puppy, as a hearing assistance dog. But this isn't just any service dog training—Sophie adapts every lesson, every command, every skill with one person in mind: Lucas.
As Sophie learns to speak with her hands and Harry learns to hear with his heart, three lives become intertwined in ways none of them expected. Through winter challenges and breakthrough moments, failed attempts and small victories, they discover that the most meaningful connections transcend sound and silence.
Sophie dragged her duffel bag across the gravel path, each stone crunching beneath her feet like tiny complaints. The June sun beat down on her shoulders, and she already regretted packing so many notebooks. But... what was a writing camp without notebooks?
Pine Lake Writers’ Camp mirrored the brochure. Rustic wooden cabins and towering trees that seemed to touch the clouds. The sharp scent of pine needles and possibility filled the air, though Sophie’s stomach churned with equal parts excitement and anxiety. Two weeks of intensive creative writing workshops stretched before her, a dream come true for a fifteen-year-old who preferred fictional worlds to the real one.
“Cabin Seven!” called out a cheerful counselor wearing a shirt decorated with pencils. She pointed Sophie toward a path that curved around the lake. “You’ll be with three other girls. Settle in, then orientation starts at the main hall in an hour!”
Sophie nodded, adjusted her grip on her bag, and started down the path. The lake sparkled on her right, its surface broken occasionally by jumping fish. She just rounded a bend when she nearly collided with someone coming in the opposite direction.
“Oh! Sorry, I...” Sophie apologized, but the words died in her throat as she looked up at the boy she almost ran into. He was tall, with warm brown eyes and dark curly hair, and he hadn’t seemed to notice her apology at all. Instead, he was already backing away, his expression apologetic but distant, hands raised in the universal gesture of “excuse me.”
Sophie stepped aside to let him pass, and that’s when she noticed the hearing aids in his ears. The boy gave her a quick, shy smile and continued on his way, leaving Sophie standing rooted with her heavy bag and the sudden realization that she had just encountered someone who lived in a world different from her own. A world without sound.
He disappeared around the bend, and something shifted inside her, like the first word of a story finally finding its way onto a blank page.
Harry: A Service Dog is the second book in author Jack Heape’s lovely middle-grade series about service dogs, their selection, development, and training, as well as the variety and range of assistance areas, and their young human volunteer trainers. However, while featuring youthful main characters and their experiences, readers of all ages can enjoy their journey and learn about this absolutely amazing partnership between humans and these special dogs.
Sophie Martin is the young teenage protagonist of the book, who, as a budding writer, attends a two-week intensive summer creative writing camp. There, she meets a deaf teenager named Lucas Walker, with whom she develops a close friendship and discovers the extraordinary ways he interacts with his world, using senses other than hearing. Curiosity piqued, she asks him to teach her about ASL (American Sign Language), and he shares some common signs with her during the waning days of their camp session. However, most of their conversations are conducted through written messages in notebooks they pass back and forth. It is an offhand mention by Lucas about how his sister’s dog alerts him to their doorbell ringing at home that sticks with Sophie and inspires her to research service dogs. Kudos to the author for crafting engaging dialogue and realistic interactions between the two teenage protagonists, which felt both natural and authentic.
The author tells a fun and absorbing story of a platonic friendship between a hearing girl and a deaf boy, who meet because of their shared interest in creative writing. However, their collaboration launches a deep desire in Sophie to help Lucas live a safer, fuller life, with the freedom a service dog of his own would grant him. Heape deftly shows the depth of commitment required to undertake the training of these dogs, as well as the reality of day-to-day life while doing so. I enjoyed Sophie’s determined campaign to convince her parents that she was serious and would be dedicated to following through on her plans. There is also the emotional side of the partnership; the trainer will be completely engaged with this dog, from puppyhood until they are certified, and then will part with them as they are sent to their new owner. The training is rigorous, and the dog could be determined unsuitable to continue in the program at any point along the way: not a bad dog, just not the right dog.
I recommend HARRY to middle-grade readers with an interest in dogs and dog stories.