Duke by Kirby Larson
Published by Scholastic Inc., 2013

Duke, by Kirby Larson, is about a boy named Hobie Hanson. With his father piloting a B-24 in WWII raging overseas, Hobie plays his part in America. Whether it be by lining up at the teacher's desk every week to buy war stamps, or by giving up something more than a dime. Such as Hobie's beloved German Shepherd, Duke. I would very strongly recommend reading this book, whether you are a dog lover, or just looking for a good book.

Duke starts at about 1944, then works its way towards the end of the war. The story happens in America, in Seattle, Washington. Hobie, the main character, lives with his mother and his little sister, June. His father is a pilot in the war, and he flies a B-24. He becomes a P.O.W in a German camp. One day, Hobie was riding his bike with his dog, Duke, when Duke started barking at a squirrel. Hobie sets his bike down to stop Duke, when the school bully, Mitch Mitchell, takes his bike and speeds off. Duke chases after him, and eventually gets him off the bike. A passerby, Mr. Rasmussen, notices Duke. He tells Hobie that Duke would be a great dog for Dogs for Defense, an organization dedicated to sending dogs to the army to help fight and defend. He also tells Hobie that Dogs for Defense were helping more soldiers get home safe. Hobie thought about it, and he thought about his father fighting in the war, coming home safe and sound. This is how Hobie comes to loaning his German Shepherd, Duke, to the war.

Hobie Hanson starts out in 5th grade in the book, but towards the end he becomes a 6th grader. The minute he loans Duke to the army, he regrets it. Both Hobie and his sister are extremely sad. He tries all he can to get Duke back. Such as pointing out everything Duke does that might make him mess up, telling them his little sister is really sad, and he even tries to trade a stray dog for Duke.
His best friend, Scooter, moves at the beginning of the book and is “replaced” by Max Klein. Max is a quiet kid, who lives with his German grandfather. Max is the school bully’s new “victim.” Mitch (the school bully) isn’t very strong, but his words hurt just as bad as physical pain. I liked the characters in Duke, and I thought they were believable fifth graders. The author did a great job of tying in the characters with the setting and plot. The setting was kind of hard to understand and a little confusing. I thought it felt more like a small town instead of the big city of Seattle, Washington.
The time that the story happened in made more sense than the place. For example, how students lined up every Monday to purchase war stamps, or how much they learned about the war in school. I did think the time went extremely well with the characters and plot.

I enjoyed Duke very much. A lot of the elements of fiction went together very well- the setting, characters, plot. I would recommend Duke strongly to dog lovers or anyone looking for a great book. It was made in a way that is easy for the reader to comprehend. Kirby Larson did a great job with this story, and I would give it a 10/10.