This is one of those true-to-the-core books, with rich, realistic dialogue and memorable characters. People who don't know how bad they have it because they make the best of what they have.
I was going to go with 4 stars being that the book focused so much on dogs as opposed to Katrina, but the passages about the storm were so heart-wrenching and true that I went with 5.
I might not have picked this novel up if I had known how much it focused on dogs and dog fighting, as I am sensitive to the plight of animals.

Spoiler

Reading about China getting swept away in the flood was almost too much to take. I can imagine Skeetah's despair over his beloved dog, and quite frankly it was almost unbearable. I like how the ending was left open, to allow the illusion of China coming back, as opposed to them finding her dead, as would likely happen; however, I wished that it had ended with China emerging from the woods, shining bright.

Nonetheless, I fought through it, even though it was really hard sometimes.