Dog with Golden Eyes (CL)

Thirteen-year-old Cassie's plight is not new: she wants a dog and her mother won't allow it. Cassie is trying to ""adopt"" a stray without her mother finding out. However, this particular ""aristocratic""-looking canine with fur ""so white it shines like silver"" is actually an arctic wolf--though Cassie does not realize it until halfway through the story. As Cassie struggles to tame the animal and save it from a dog catcher, she is plagued by other typical adolescent worries: losing her best friend, being overweight, having her parents separate (her father left without saying good-bye) and receiving poor grades at school. Wilbur (A Horse Called Holiday: A Guide for Parents of Horse-Crazy Kids) offers pat solutions to most of Cassie's problems and provides a happy ending for all, including the wolf, who is reunited with his original owners. Though it is written in unconvincing, pedestrian prose (""She put up with reports of freeway smashups and gang violence in order to watch the TV show about a teenage girl and her friends""), this tale is chock full of information about dog and wolf behavior, and may be of interest to animal lovers. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 8-13. (July)