Shadow Dreams — Evangeline Anderson

Once there was a boy of the Bitterwater Clan of the Din'e, the Navajo People. He lived with his ma'sani, his grandmother in the Four Corners in the Navajo Nation on the reservation? So begins the story of James Redtree, a Navajo man who is transformed into a dog by his grandmother's curse. "You have forgotten the ways of the Din'e and that cannot be forgiven," she tells him. She isn't too happy about not having any great- grandchildren either. Doomed to wander the world as a dog until he finds a woman to love and believe in him, James ends up as Shadow, a huge, mixed breed mutt that looks like a wolf crossed with a pony and it's a short trip to the local Animal Shelter where he's scheduled to be euthanized. Enter Angelina Dean, Jelly to her two best friends, who convince her that getting a dog for protection and companionship is the best thing to do. She's alone in the big old house her Grandmother left her since her husband of three years ran off with his personal trainer, Justin. "I guess my ex-husband, Douglas, took the whole 'buns of steel' thing a little too literally," Angelina mourns. Angelina is reluctant to take on such a big animal, having never been a 'dog person' but Shadow's sweet disposition wins her over. She takes him home and weird things start happening. Angelina can't figure out what's going on. Who ever heard of a dog that preferred salad to gourmet dog food? Or one who changes the station from Animal Planet to ESPN when she's out of the room? But what really disturbs her is the strange recurring dream she keeps having. Who is the muscular Native American man who keeps appearing in her bed and why are the dreams so vivid? She is plagued by the idea that her dreamsare somehow tied to her new pet, Shadow, but that isn't possible, is it? Then on the last night of the full moon her dream man says something that haunts Angelina, "This is my last chance," he tells her. "I need you to believe in me." But can the practical Angelina do as he asks before its too late?