Sixty Seconds with My Dog is a heartfelt middle-grade novel that centers around Phoebe, a smart, sarcastic, and emotionally raw twelve-year-old navigating life after the loss of her father. At the heart of the story is Dudley, her goofy goldendoodle, who becomes her emotional anchor. When a mysterious gift gives her the chance to talk to Dudley for just sixty seconds, Phoebe is faced with a choice: use it for fame, for fun, or for something much deeper. It’s a coming-of-age story wrapped in humor, grief, and a bit of magic.

I didn’t expect to get so sucked into a story about a tween and her dog, but wow, Foster knows how to tap into real emotion without ever getting too heavy. The writing is lively, the dialogue is pitch-perfect, and the humor hits exactly where it should. Phoebe is exactly the kind of narrator you want to follow—funny, flawed, brutally honest. Her voice is strong and clear. I loved how real her relationship with her family felt. Her grief wasn’t dramatized—it just existed like it does in real life, messy and unpredictable. And don’t get me started on Dudley. He’s a total chaos machine in the best possible way, but he’s also the emotional glue that holds Phoebe together.

The book’s real magic isn’t in the pill or the minute of dog-speak—it’s in how it forces you to think about what you’d say to the ones you love if you had only a moment. It hit me harder than I thought it would. The emotional gut punch sneaks up on you. You laugh through Phoebe’s rants about TikTok and annoying brothers and then—bam—you’re remembering your own childhood dog or the time your mom dropped a truth bomb on you in the middle of a tantrum. The writing isn’t overly polished. It reads like a real kid’s brain: scattered, passionate, impulsive. That’s the charm. And the pacing? It flies. Every chapter felt like a breeze.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend Sixty Seconds with My Dog to anyone who’s ever loved a pet, felt misunderstood, or had to grow up just a little faster than they wanted. It’s perfect for middle graders, sure, but honestly, it got to me as an adult, too. It’s funny, touching, and unexpectedly deep.

Pages: 117 | ASIN: B0F6M34LWZ