The Dog, Ray

By turns humorous, poignant, and moving, this tale of a girl who comes back to Earth as a dog is a nuanced portrait of death, love, grief, and hope.

When my death came it was swift. Swift as a running horse. It wasted no time.

Daisy, age twelve, has died in a car accident. She finds herself in the afterworld, which resembles nothing more than a job center. Her soul is being returned to Earth, but not as a human being—she’s returning as a dog. A dog who retains Daisy’s thoughts and pluck and is determined to get back to her parents and to get back home. What she doesn’t expect is that life as a dog named Ray would come with such worries—and moments of jubilation—as she grows to care for others in a whole new way. Told in a compelling first-person voice, Linda Coggin’s incredible novel touches on loyalty and freedom, connection and acceptance, and is sure to stay with readers long after the story is done.

Linda Coggin taught horseback riding in the West Indies before studying mime in Paris and Czechoslovakia and then becoming an actor and television presenter. She is now an author of poetry and books for young people and lives in Wiltshire, England, with her family and many animals.