Harvey Takes The Lead by Colleen Nelson

Harvey, everyone's favourite West Highland Terrier returns for another adventure in Harvey Takes the Lead.

Brayside Retirement home has a new assistant director, Hilary Appleby. The nursing staff led by Mary Rose are not keen about this after hearing that she believes safety should be the number one concern. But Austin's grandpa believes Charlie always picks great staff.

When Maggie and Harvey arrive at Brayside for a regular visit, Ms. Appleby's strictness about safety is immediately apparent. Charlie introduces Harvey as the retirement home's "comfort dog" but Appleby asks if Harvey is "certified". 

As usual, Harvey spends his time visiting with the elderly, first in the games room and then visiting some residents in their suites. When it comes time to leave, Harvey is ready to go but sniffs out an interesting scent along the baseboards. He will have to investigate on his next visit!

Austin now has a puppy named Bertie. After taking her for a walk, they return home where he discovers Bertie has chewed up his math homework. Fortunately she didn't get to the Grade 7 Edu-Trek trip information package. Austin dearly wants to go but he needs a deposit of five hundred dollars by February 13. With his mother looking for work and recent car repairs, the money isn't there. At school, Mrs. Becker calls for students to hand in the Edu-Trek form. Austin tells his friend Amar Malik that he hasn't decided if he's going because he doesn't want to let his friend know that he doesn't have the money.

Then one day after school, Austin learns that Alice Kowalski has gone to the hospital with pneumonia. Alice and her husband, also a resident of Brayside, have been married for over sixty years, so this is devastating for Mr. Kowalski. While checking the to-do list in Isaac's office, Austin finds an envelope filled with money in his desk drawer. Although he's tempted to take it, Austin turns it in to Louise, one of the nurses.

Meanwhile Maggie has her own problems to deal with. She has decided to apply for a role in her school's play, Annie. But she's also worried about her once-best-friends, Lexi and Brianne. Fortunately there is one spot left and Maggie signs up. At home Harvey watches with great interest as Maggie practices for her audition.

When Maggie returns to Brayside, she learns that Ms. Appleby is serious about making some changes such has Maggie obtaining permission to bring Harvey on visits to the home. This upsets the residents of Brayside including Mrs. Fradette, Miss Lin and Mr. Singh. Somehow they need to convince Appleby that Harvey is an important part of Brayside and not a safety threat to its residents. 

Maggie also needs to sort out another problem - she didn't get the lead role in the play but is assigned as the understudy to all the main roles. Definitely not what she wanted. As Maggie works to learn all the major parts of the play, she also has to figure out what is really happening with her classmate Ndidi who has the part of Annie but doesn't seem invested in the play. As she reaches out to Ndidi, Maggie learns the truth about her situation and decides she needs to help.

As Austin struggles with the real possibility that he will not be able to go on his school trip, he works on encouraging Mr. Kowalski to not give up. To help the elderly man, Austin asks how he came to meet Alice and marry her. As Alice's condition worsens, Austin decides to create a playlist of the music the Kowalski's danced to so many years ago during the war. It is his care for Mr. Kowalski that ends up opening a door for his trip, and solving the problem of Hilary Appleby and her devotion to rules and regulations.

Discussion

Harvey Takes The Lead is the third book in the Harvey series and although Harvey has an important part in the story, the focus is more on the human characters, the problems they experience and how they help one another. 

The residents and staff of Brayside struggle to cope with a new, young assistant director at Brayside whose focus on keeping the elderly folk safe, turns out to be misplaced good intentions. The residents don't want to lose seeing Harvey and they want the freedom to have a Valentine's Dance. But Hilary Appleby's determination to enforce stricter rules forms the backdrop for the challenges both Austin and Maggie must sort out. 

For Maggie, the challenge is not only to come to terms with not getting the part she hoped for in the school play but also to discover the meaning of true friendship. Her former elementary school friends Lexi and Brianne complain about the absence of Ndidi who has the lead in the play, at practice. They spread rumours about Ndidi and urge Maggie to ask Ms. Alverez to replace Ndidi. However Maggie soon learns that Lexi is trying, once again, to manipulate her.  When she learns the truth about Ndidi's situation, Maggie has the courage to stand up to Lexi and offer Ndidi the support she needs to learn her part.  

For Austin, he desperately wants to sign up for the Edu-Trek trip but his mother simply doesn't have the money. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a way to earn the money, Austin accepts he's just not going to be able to go on the trip but he doesn't have the courage to tell his best friend Amar. Instead, Austin focuses on helping one of the Brayside residents whose wife becomes seriously ill. Austin tries to comfort and distract Mr. Kowalski by getting him to tell how he met his wife Alice. His story involves the popular big band music of the 1940's as well as standing up to his classmates and friends when they accuse Alice of being a Nazi spy simply because she has a German last name. When Alice's condition worsens, Austin is determined to help Mr. Kowalski. It is compassion and concern that catch the attention of his teacher and principal and ultimately a charitable organization which enables Austin to sign up for Edu-Trip.

Harvey Takes The Lead is truly a heart-warming and deeply touching novel. Readers are drawn into the story by the lovable, indomitable terrier, Harvey, who in this novel saves the day at Brayside by discovering the source of a mouse infestation. Nelson foreshadows this nicely with Harvey's detection of a different smell at Brayside that demands investigating! Her descriptions of Harvey and how he behaves are endearing and enjoyable.

But Harvey also has some wonderful humans around him. His owner, Maggie, is no longer the little girl she was four years ago. She is growing up. Maggie has learned it's important not to listen to gossip and form preconceived notions about other people. She begins to discover the meaning of true friendship and the value in helping others when she decides to help Ndidi learn her part while her mother is undergoing chemo. Maggie also begins to find herself drawn increasingly to Brayside. She decides to help the residents by organizing a performance of the Annie cast for the residents at their Valentine's Dance.

Austin  has discovered just how much his elderly friends at Brayside have to offer with their wealth of life experiences and stories. Because of his volunteer work at Brayside, he has developed into a caring, responsible young person who  has come to love and accept each of the residents. His decision not to steal the money he found in Isaac's desk demonstrates honesty and the ability to think about how his actions might affect others - an important part of growing up. He puts aside his own disappointment at not being able to sign up for the class trip, to work on helping Mr. Kowalski cope with his wife's illness. Coming to understand just how important music has been to the Kowalskis, he devises a last ditch attempt to help her recover. And in the end, his good deeds are recognized and rewarded.

This book is perhaps the most endearing of the Harvey novels and hopefully there will be a few more to come! Nelson recently added Rosie, a West Highland terrier to her own family! 

Book Details:

Harvey Takes The Lead by Colleen Nelson
Toronto: Pajama Press Inc.      2022
256 pp.