MAKING SCENTS BY ARTHUR YORINKS: BOOK REVIEW

Making Scents   

By Arthur Yorinks   

ISBN: 9781596434523

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

Mickey isn’t quite like his brothers and sisters. They’re all stronger, faster, and have a much better sense of smell. That’s because his “brothers and sisters” are dogs – bloodhounds, to be exact. Mickey’s mom and dad are crazy about canines. Their dogs are the loves of their lives and their livelihood. So, naturally, they are raising their son as if he was a dog, and Mickey wants nothing more than to make his parents proud.

Just as Mickey is mastering the art of sniffing, a tragic accident forever changes his happy family. Mickey is sent to live with relatives he’s never met, relatives who are not fond of kids . . . and who hate dogs! (Goodreads)

Review:

Making Scents by Arthur Yorinks is a graphic novel telling the story of a young boy who is raised by his parents who never wanted children but always loved (and raised) bloodhounds. The family unit seemed happy, though a bit odd since Mickey Spitz seemed to be raised as a dog as well. Unfortunately, due to an accident, Mickey became an orphan and had to go live with his aunt and uncle (who did not want children). Mickey was strange in that he had been raised as what I would like to call as a pseudo dog so his fitting in at a new school (and his new home) did not go very well. 

I found the story somewhat interesting and it could have had some depth but what I noticed was that each time the color of the graphics changed slightly, the story line changed or moved ahead abruptly. So reading the story felt very disjointed with no chance for depth to emerge.

I did appreciate that the uncle did seem to come around and show affection for Mickey – but that was on the very last page. 

The graphics did display the emotions of the characters very well.

I imagine the book would be a hit with the very young crowd, especially those children with an affinity to dogs. Myself, unfortunately did not appreciate the lack of flow throughout the story. Nor the fact that a very poignant event (Mickey’s parents dying) was glossed over while the fact that the aunt and uncle so did NOT want children. It just did not feel like a book I would want to read to my child nor have my child read for herself.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*