Starting Over: A Trina Ryan Novel

Trina Ryan has decided, even after the painful goodbye said to her last dog, to take on another service dog to train. This one, much younger — an 8-week old black lady-puppy named Colton. Trina is a huge animal lover, but she hadn't realized how much work and time a young puppy takes. Nevertheless, she forges on, does her duty and her best to make Colton the best service dog she can. Along with tackling a puppy, Trina works at a horse-boarding facility so that she can take riding lessons. This is where she meets Morgan, a spoiled rich brat, both rude and obnoxious. But Trina is a helper, and begins to realize there is much pain hidden inside Morgan — and maybe, just maybe, she needs a friend. 

If only more teenagers were like Trina! Kind, compassionate and caring, Trina is a sweet, lovable character — almost too much so. There is a small amount of teenage angst when Trina is dealing with Morgan, but the story mostly goes through Trina's summer as she trains Colton. Not much meat to grab hold of and keep the reader’s interest. Trina does have a love interest, but because they are not close in proximity, the romance is fleeting. With a little more depth to the characters, and a plot line to grip the reader’s interest, this would be a 5-star read. 

Lynne Bryant