Alison Pace

A young woman with a yen for pugs, a crush on one of her co-workers, a failing romance, and a horrible fear of public speaking, Hope McNeill is confronted by a request to make a speech at her parents' anniversary party and signs up for a public speaking class in the hope that it will transform her into an eloquent and confident orator. Original. 40,000 first printing.

Pug Hill

Sarah Sammis

My across-the-street neighbors had a bunch of pugs when I was a kid. They were the sweetest, nicest dogs. Because of them, I have a soft spot for pugs. I had to therefore give Pug Hill by Alison Pace a read.

By all accounts, I should have enjoyed Pug Hill. It takes place in New York City, it has pugs, heroine Hope McNeil works as an art restorer and yet none of these individually entertaining elements is enough to carry the story.

Hope McNeil's parents are coming up on their 40th wedding anniversary. They want Hope to give a speech but she's terrified of public speaking (of course) and spends the remainder of the book dreading the speech and coming to terms with her commitment to give it. Along the way she has boyfriend trouble and tries to seek meaning to life by watching the pugs of Pug Hill in Central Park.

That's it. That's all there is to this 312 page novel. The best chapter of the entire book is the chapter after she gives the speech. With her new found self confidence she takes charge and strikes up a romance with an old friend. This is where the book should have started from!

Lisa Joyner

It overall was a good book slow to get into but I liked it in the end

Pug Hill

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