The West Highland Terrier that brought Harvey Comes Home to life
returns with his tail wagging and his nose sharp, ready for a new
adventure
Harvey the West Highland Terrier is back with his beloved Maggie. He is
also back at Brayside retirement home, where he and Maggie now volunteer
along with their friend Austin. There Maggie is drawn to a new resident,
Mrs. Fradette, who tells stories of learning to fix cars as a
twelve-year-old during the flood of 1950. Mrs. Fradette, with her bold
fashion and love of poker, doesn't fit in among the
beige-cardigan-wearing, bridge-playing ladies of Brayside, but she
doesn't seem to care. Maybe that's why Maggie likes her so much. Since
seventh grade began, Maggie hasn't been fitting in well with her
friends, either.
Harvey has a problem of his own. He can smell an intruder in his yard,
and he needs to find it. He is so intent on the nighttime fiend that he
almost doesn't notice how worried Austin is about his grandfather, who
has been Brayside's custodian for longer than Harvey has been alive. It
seems like the retirement home is planning to give the job to a younger
man, an injustice that Austin can't let pass unchallenged.
In intertwining perspectives, Colleen Nelson tells four stories of
individuals standing firm for what they know is right: Josephine
Fradette, insisting on her right to become a mechanic; Maggie, certain
that her friends' expectations shouldn't define who she becomes; Austin,
indignantly campaigning against ageism; and Harvey, who has found his
home at last and is determined to protect it.
