How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor is about Georgina and the creative way she tries to solve her family's money problems. Georgina's father just up and left. Ever since, her mother has worked two jobs trying to make ends meet. Unfortunately, ends don't meet and the family is kicked out of their apartment. Georgina, her mother, and her younger brother Toby are now forced to live in their car, driving to a different spot every other night so they don't get in trouble. One day Georgina spots a sign for a missing dog offering a $500 reward. That is when she begins plotting to steal a dog of her own and return it when the owner puts up reward signs, collecting enough money for her family to move back into an apartment. Her plan seems easy enough, but nothing works out the way she thinks it will!

This was actually a pretty sad story. NOTE: nothing bad happened to the dog and there was a hopeful ending for Georgina and her family! I just felt so bad for Georgina and her family. Her mother was trying so hard and it seemed like she just couldn't catch a break. And Georgina had to face living in a car - washing up in fast food restaurant bathrooms, barely scraping up enough to eat, trying her best to contribute - on top of going to school and dealing with less than sympathetic peers.