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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780142408162
ISBN number: 0142408166
Label: Puffin
Manufacturer: Puffin
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: March 13, 2008
Publishing house: Puffin
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 112332
Studio: Puffin
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
High school senior Miguel’s life is turned upside down when he meets new girl Lainey, whose family has just moved from Australia. With her tumbled red-gold hair, her instant understanding of who he is, and her unusual dog—a real Australian dingo—she’s unforgettable. And, as he quickly learns, she is on the run from an ancient bargain made by her ancestors. There’s no question that Miguel will do whatever he can to help her—but what price will each of them have to pay? Dingo is quintessential Charles de Lint, set close to his beloved, invented city of Newford—a mixture of darkness and hope, humour and mystery, and the friendship within love.
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Rated by buyers 
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I am a fan of many of Charles de Lint's books, and when I picked up this one, I was hoping for another good young adult fantasy along the lines of "The Blue Girl". However, "Dingo" fell far short of my expectations.
The writing felt flat to me. I never really got a feel for who the characters were. This could be due to the fact that they all spoke the same way, using the same words, and that the teenagers didn't really speak like teenagers. Without the speech attributions, it would be difficult to tell the difference between Miguel, his father, Lainey, Em, Johnny, or even the villain. A few Aussie slang words did little to help the reader differentiate between the characters; without them, the speech patterns were basically the same.
At times, I even wondered if I was reading a book for much younger readers... but with the addition of a few choice swear words from the book's quasi-villain, Johnny Ward, that theory was soon quashed. Miguel's comment about homeschooling and evolution further showed that de Lint really doesn't know much about today's young people.
There were also a number of editing problems. Just off the top of my head, I can recall inconsistent capitalization, inconsistent names, an extra unnecessary pronoun, and a missing paragraph break. I expect more from the books I read. Sadly, it seems today's publishers do not.
Basically, "Dingo" follows the pattern of many of de Lint's novels: protagonists meet person(s) with strange qualities, get sucked into world of mythical creatures/dreams/spirits, and find their way out again. But "Dingo" didn't seem original or exciting enough to really stand on its own as a good example of de Lint's work. I found the ending to be especially disappointing, as the protagonist didn't really solve anything (that was left to another character).
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, even if they are a de Lint fan. "The Blue Girl" is a much better introduction to de Lint's work, especially for younger readers.
Rated by buyers -
I've been a de Lint fan for years. This book...was just awful. He has written to the young adult audience before, and it wasn't as lousy as this.
Angst-filled "She's my girlfriend!" and "I'm in love!" exclamations - Oh, gag, really? Did de Lint really write this?
Besides being so...juvenile, what was with the ridiculous stereotypes? Does de Lint even KNOW any homeschoolers? "Sitting at the kitchen table all day" - are you kidding me???? And what was with the pointless and unnecessary swipe at Catholicism thrown in there at the end?
As I said, I have been a fan for years, but this is FAR from his best, and I would be embarrassed to even recommend this to anyone who didn't already know his work.
Rated by buyers 
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I love de Lint, so I could never truly bad mouth any work of his, but Dingo was a little below my expectations. It seemed juvenille - maybe just aimed at a younger crowd? Typical de Lint style and content, but a little watered down. It was a quick read, though, so if you need a de Lint fix but don't have time for anything a little more far reaching, Dingo would be it.
Rated by buyers 
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Done. Fast read - a little more 'high school' drama than most of de Lint's tales. So - not a favorite - but still yards above most writing out there.
Rated by buyers -
Dingo started out ok; I thought it was going to be the typical deLint, set in a music/bookstore. But once the supposed Australian mythology came in, it just fell to pieces for me. deLint knows enough about Amerind mythology to know that symbols don't transfer neatly from one tribal/ethnic background to another, so why didn't he have an Australian (or an American who has lived more of her life in Australia than in the US, like me) give him some advice. There's a lot that can be made of Australian Indigenous mythology, without stepping on Secret Mens/Women's Business, but just mixing them all up, as he tries to do in Dingo, doesn't work for me.
The two twins can't behave that differently because each was present when the other interacted with Miguel. The dog he described wasn't even a dingo. They're skinny, underfed-looking dogs. They don't "look" powerful, even though they are.
deLint has done so many things so well that I'll read anything he writes, and always come back for more, but what a disappointment this was to me. A little research would have made it much more credible.
Ms Judy
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