How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

How to Steal a Dog was a much deeper and thought provoking book than I thought it would be considering it is children's literature. I wasn't expecting this story to include the topics of homelessness, economic strife, societal pressure and even correct behavior and choices; granted, I looked over the small description on the cover saying "Georgina Hayes may be homeless, but she's not hopeless". I think this book, through chapter 11, has been interesting to say the least, and also at times irritating.

I find the main character, Georgina Hayes, to be selfish, irresponsible and inconsiderate. However, at the same time, given her situation and the circumstances of her life, I think she is acting in the way any child her age would act. Georgina struggled to comprehend her situation and why all of the sudden her father was gone and her family was thrust into poor living conditions and poverty. Just like any normal young child she thought somehow she was the cause of her families problems. She also took out her frustration and her anxieties out on her mom, who was already trying extremely hard to support her family and save up enough to move out of the car. ""Find us a place to live." I stomped away from her and then whirled back around. "This is all your fault.""(9) Mama was working two jobs to save money and heard her kids' frustration with living in the car. She desperately wanted to do something so she found a temporary living situation. A run down house for them to stay in. This is the point where I felt Georgina was being more selfish and inconsiderate than before. It is evident that her mom is trying hard, however, instead of being grateful she says "Our nasty ole car is better than this place". (45) Georgina herself is not an overly negative or pessimistic person, I think she believes their living situation will improve. However, in the midst of problems she is not necessarily able to see the forest for the trees. She is so involved and caught up in the problems and negative aspects of their life she only sees one solution and becomes very single minded


Something about Georgina that I find intriguing is her ability to focus, create a task and find ways to problem solve. She sets her mind on finding a solution for her family and becomes very "creative" in her attempt at doing so. Also, while Georgina is trying to do something ethically questionable I think she tries to take into consideration her morality and her values. "I'd known in my heart that stealing a dog was a bad thing to do..." (40) She values her family, her friendships and her lifestyle. She questions a few times if she would be able to steal a dog and if so, what steps she would need to go through to reach her goal.  Georgina has obviously taken on more of an adult role since their life has changed and I think she used that sense of leadership to try and take control as well as to try and make decisions that would effect her whole family, regardless if they were the right or wrong.