Barking Maddy’s Puppy Love by S M Mala

Wagging her tail with delight and dressed in a puppy suit, Maddy Berkeley wants to do good in the world. She works for free at the local children’s hospice, and one of her best friends is Dora, aged twelve, who resides there from time to time. Her friend Pearl is suffering from post-natal depression and her other pal, Ted is constantly suffering from bad girlfriend choice, except for his current one who has a twin called Stan. Maddy is barking about Stanley Franks and more importantly, his dog Phyllis, who she has adopted without Stan’s consent. As much as she tries, Stan isn’t sitting up and begging for her attention; he seems more interested about her antics. Maddy suspects he is filling column inches about her in his blog ‘Frankly Speaking’ but that is about someone he doesn’t like, and she knows that can’t be her. And Stan keeps telling Maddy that the happy little world she lives in will come crashing down when all doesn’t go to plan, and she won’t be able to cope. When it does, it’s a case of whether it sends her over the edge, as she has a little secret on how she deals with bad things, which might put her health in jeopardy. Funny, adult story about hope and happiness versus the painful reality of life.