I started this book over the summer and got to page 80 and then never finished it. I really like this book and I am hoping to finish it. This book has gotten a lot more interesting since the first 20 pages. The first 20 pages only explained about the dog and his new family which connected to my story. William is the little boy and also the owner of Riley. William has a neighbor named Mrs. peachie, she has a horse known as the Sultan. Riley got out of the house and was chasing the Sultan which caused the Sultan to freak out and trip and fall. She wasn't hurt bad but she hurt her foot and leg. Mrs. peachie is pressing charges. A few days later a couple of men came to William's house and claimed they had the right to take Riley and the right thing to do was put him down. William insisted they shall not take him. I don't think it is right that just because the Sultan fell and hurt itself that this dog needs to be put down. Riley was going to be killed in five days if William had not come up with something to save his life. William and his parents questioned the idea of an appeal. During the time and just right before Williams's father had arrived. William always wrote to his dad but his dad never had the time to write back. I am very excited to read the rest of the book and finish it, but as of right now I predict that William will try his hardest and never give up and do everything he can to save the life of his best friend Riley.The appeal is going to happen. William made posters and Duane Smith and Ellis Porter made opposite cruel posters for the sultan going against Riley trying to save the sultans case. I think it is really rude and should not be allowed for two other people that don't know the Sultan and don't know anything about this case to put up posters only because they dislike William. William was watching T.V and it was said on T.V, " Be careful what you wish for... You might get it. This to me is a true statement. Some things do happen and some happen for a reason. Grace and William had a chance to talk on T.V to try to get people to vote to save Riley's life, but the off-set was, that if William and Grace did, then Duane and Ellis would get the option too also. I think it is smart to be able to have both sides of the stories told, because then people know what to vote for. I am really excites to read the rest of my book to find out if Riley is saved or if her days will be over soon. I think Riley should have just put a warning and that Duane and Ellis were not allowed to put up posters or talk on T.V because they don't know anything about the situation. Riley didn't do any harm to deserve any of this. I think they should ate this to court and settle it faster before Riley's living days are gone.There were a lot of signatures on the petition, In which 52 of them voted to kill the dog and 48 to save him. A little while later Mrs. peachie was going to leave for vacation, as of the next day she told William and his family that they offered to make her breakfast before she left. She said "No it's ok I'll be leaving early, we will be stopping on the way to get breakfast. She looked into Williams eyes and said " William, I have something to tell you." William got very excited as she proceeded to say "William I have decided to drop all the charges." She talked to the court and everyone else involved with the process of the killing and told them everything was fine. William was so happy to hear and thanked her so very much. Mrs. Peachie left the next day, and William promised he would not let Riley get to the Sultan again. He only wanted to be friends and he did not want to hurt him. I am excited to read the end of my book and see what will happen to all the characters and Riley and how there life is starting new.
Life is complicated. Eve Bunting presents some of these complicated problems to elementary school children in the stories she writes. In this particular book, "The Life of Riley" she presents a moving story of a dog and a young boy. Eve leads the reader to understand how to make the best decision for a difficult problem which occurs for all concerned in the story. After reading and discussing this story with my class, many of my students would choose to read this book again for a silent reading book.I have a shelf in which I put what I call Wisdom Books. The books which I choose to place on this shelf are books in which I feel the authors presented some of life's tough problems and give their readers strategies which will help them sort out the answers to the problem presented in the story, but also how these strategies can be used to aid them in understanding other problems which occur in their own lives.
I really liked this book because it is really exciting and I like the names that comes and goes. I also liked this story because it gives the reader really good and strong feelings and I know that the same thing happens to the other readers because it happens to me.
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This is such a cute book--probably on a 4th grade level. It's about a boy whose parents get divorced and his father pretty much disappears, then his beloved grandfather dies. His mother lets him pick out a dog, and Riley is the perfect dog--loving, fun, loyal. But he has one fault. He chases the old horse next door and about scares the horse to death. After he does it the second time, Peachy, the owner, calls the police and Riley is taken away, to be put down in five days. Can William save Riley? The battle turns into one in which the whole town takes sides.
—Susan
This book has a spot in my heart that does not have words to describe how sad it truly was. The book has a wonderful theme that describes the true meaning of love. ************************SPOILER ALERT**************************This is such a magnificent, touching book. It's about a boy named William, his parents’ divorce and his father is already getting engaged to a woman William doesn't even know. William’s mother decides to get William a dog to try to get him cope better with the divorce and marriage. He gets a beautiful golden retriever. Together he and his mom name the dog Riley. Riley and he had an amazing summer. But, one day Riley gets loose and chases after some horses. There is a law that says that if an animal chases after cattle they have to be put down. How much will William go through to save Riley or will he?
—Claudia Riley
This book is about a young boy who's name is William. And his grandpa just died so his mom let William get a dog and named him Riley. And William got connected to Riley right as he saw him and William feels better but still misses his grandpa. Then later, William went to show Riley to his neighbor: Peachie, and she owns a racing horse called "The Sulton". So when Riley saw the horse, he ran towards the horse and made the horse fall on the ground, and ended up breaking it's leg. Then some animal control came to William's house and told him that they're going to have to put the dog down for a "long time". So, will William save Riley before it's too late?...I gave it a four-star, because I really do like the book, but the author could have made a better ending instead of it being sad. But I really do like this book, it's a good one!I recomend this book to anyone who likes books about a Golden Retriever, and can stand a sad story about a young boy's life.
—04RachelT
