Protecting Marie

Henkes, Kevin. (1996). Protecting Marie. New York: Kindel Books

Protecting Marie is a contemporary realistic fiction novel for middle and early high school readers. This is the story of a young girl who lives with her 60 year old father. All Marie has ever wanted was a dog. Her father eventually gets her a puppy but as soon as that puppy starts chewing and making a mess around the house he has the puppy given away. Marie feels betrayed and so starts the true point of the novel, the relationship between a father and daughter who are quite different. The story takes an emotional turn and is sympathetic to both the father and the teenage girl. This is the perfect book for young teenage girls. Arguing with parents is so common place at that age and this book is written well enough to show the well meaning side of parents.