A Dog Called Homeless

The protagonist of A Dog Called Homeless, Cally is in fifth grade and lives at home with Dad and her older brother, Luke. She “love[s] singing. [She gets] that from my mom” (14). This year, she has had a hard time in school and feels alienated from her friends and teachers. One teacher remembers how Cally was before her mom died: “You were a lovely little girl who used to get along with people. You worked really hard to remember all your lines and songs for Charlotte’s Web” (26). When Cally starts the sponsored silence, she notices that her school life is better. No one seems to care or miss her voice, and this is one of the reasons she decides to stop speaking. Another reason is that Dad won’t talk about Mom.

Cally loves her family, which makes it even more painful that Dad won’t talk with her about memories of Mom. She worries that she’ll forget what Mom was like, which is why each time she sees her in the red raincoat, Cally treasures the moment. However, Cally gradually learns how to turn to her community as she deals with her grief and how to keep Mom alive inside her even after she stops physically appearing.