Book record · Former Barking Rain Press title
Seven Days to Goodbye
by Sheri S. Levy
Trina has one beach week left with Sydney, the service puppy she has raised, while her friendship with her best friend wobbles. The first Trina Ryan novel, published by Barking Rain Press in 2014 and aimed by its author at readers in grades four to eight.
This book was once published by Barking Rain Press, which announced its closure in 2019. This site is not that publisher and does not sell books. See “Finding the book today” below.
Premise
After her dog dies, Trina Ryan decides she will never get another one. Then she learns about service dogs. As a puppy raiser she could train one puppy after another without facing their deaths. The catch is that each puppy has to go back. Her first, Sydney, is due back at his kennel at the end of a week’s summer vacation at the beach, so he can be matched with the person he will serve.
Saying goodbye is not Trina’s only problem that week. Her best friend Sarah is suddenly far more interested in boys than in anything they used to share. When a boy named Chase takes an interest in Trina and Sydney, the strain between the friends gets worse. Interviews and reviews from 2014 add that Trina is thirteen, that the vacation is on Edisto Beach in South Carolina, and that she bonds with Logan, Chase’s seven-year-old brother, who has autism. The catalog description leaves her with a question: is she strong enough to raise another puppy?
Publication history
Sheri S. Levy’s debut novel was published by Barking Rain Press of Vancouver, Washington, in 2014. The Open Library record gives ISBN 9781935460749, 205 pages, and lists the book as the first Trina Ryan novel. In an April 2014 interview on Carol Baldwin’s blog, Levy said she sent her query to Barking Rain Press just before its submission window closed. She was offered a contract in September 2013 and revised the manuscript several times before editing began, with release expected in late summer 2014. A giveaway that October offered a print copy and an e-book download.
Open Library also records a Barking Rain Press edition dated November 7, 2017, with the subtitle A Trina Ryan Novel, ISBN 9781941295816 and 210 pages. A sequel, Starting Over, is recorded from Barking Rain Press in 2017. The author’s business listing names it as the sequel and mentions a third novel, For Keeps. We could not confirm the third book’s publisher, and we found no post-2019 edition of Seven Days to Goodbye.
Reading notes
These notes come from desk research of published descriptions. They are not a reading report.
Sources differ on the readership. In her 2014 interview with Carol Baldwin, Levy said the book was aimed at fourth to eighth graders, and two reviews from 2014–2015 called it middle grade; this page follows the author’s own grade range. The same interview’s introduction called it a young adult novel, the catalog subject headings file it as young adult fiction about teenage girls, and the author’s later business listing describes her books as YA. Both views fit a story about a thirteen-year-old’s first crush and changing friendships. Families choosing for younger readers may find the author’s own grade range the most useful guide.
The premise turns the usual dog story around. In many animal novels the sadness comes from a pet’s death. Here the loss is chosen in advance and serves a purpose: Trina gives Sydney up so he can help someone else. The described themes include growing independence from parents and the strains of friendship at that age. Levy, a retired special education teacher, has said that her own dogs and her work with children with special needs inspired the story. That background shows in the character of Logan and in the book’s interest in what service dogs do.
Finding the book today
We found no current publisher or official author website. Public and school library catalogs, and WorldCat, are the best places to look; search by title, by “Sheri S. Levy”, or by ISBN 9781935460749 (2014) or 9781941295816 (2017). Readers who want to continue the story can look for Starting Over the same way. The Barking Rain Press editions are out of print, and this site does not sell the book.
Finding the book today
No current publisher or author website was confirmed. Search library catalogs and WorldCat by title, by Sheri S. Levy, or by ISBN 9781935460749 or 9781941295816. The Barking Rain Press editions are out of print.
Discussion questions
- Trina decides to raise service puppies so that she never has to watch another dog grow old. What does that choice show about how she handles grief?
- Raising a puppy that you know you must give up is the core of the premise. Why might someone choose that kind of love on purpose?
- Trina and her best friend Sarah want different things from their week at the beach. How do friendships change when one friend's interests shift?
- Trina gets to know a young boy with autism during the vacation. What could a service dog mean to a child and family in that situation?
- The story takes place in seven days. How does a countdown shape the tension in a story that has no villain?
- The author was a special education teacher before writing the book. Where might that experience show in a story about service dogs?
- What would you need to know, or feel, before deciding whether to raise another service puppy?
Open printable prompts for this book · Add to a reading list
Sources
- Open Library edition record OL38212141M, Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Open Library edition record OL48582908M, Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Introducing Sheri Levy and Seven Days to Goodbye, Carol Baldwin. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Seven Days to Goodbye - And a Giveaway!, Carol Baldwin. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Guest Post: Dogs in our Hearts (service dog category), Corgi Capers. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Spotlight on Service Dogs, The Southern Bookworm. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Open Library search: books by Sheri Levy, Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Eight Paws Writing, Alignable (author business listing). Accessed 2026-11-12.