Autobiography, Coming of Age, Young Adult Literature
On the surface, My Life in Dog Years is a collection of stories about dogs. Author Gary Paulsen has kept zillions of dogs (okay, hundreds), and each chapter tells the life story of a canine companion who was extra special to him in some way.
In between the lines, we also learn Paulsen's life story. (The title's "My Life," after all.) After a quick dedication to a dog that saved his life as an adult, Paulsen works chronologically. He starts with his childhood dog, Snowball. In the last chapter, which was written some 50 years after Snowball's death, we meet Josh, a dog that lived with Paulsen when the book was published in 1998. It may be an unconventional approach—most memoirs tend to focus on the authors, not their pets—but this book is definitely an autobiography.
Like a lot of autobiographies, My Life in Dog Years is a coming-of-age story. In the beginning of the book, Paulsen is an unhappy seven-year-old coping with alcoholic parents. They're often absent, and though he never says so directly, there are hints that they became abusive as he moved into adolescence. During those lonely years, Paulsen was dealing with some super tough stuff. He shows us how his first dogs helped him acquire the tools he needed to become a happy, healthy, successful adult. Then the later chapters give us a glimpse into his grown-up life, which seems happy and full of adventure (and dogs). Definitely sounds like a coming-of-age story to us.
The book is considered young adult literature, perhaps in part because Paulsen has written many fictional stories geared towards kid. In many ways, though, the young adult category is superficial. There's nothing in the book that specifically marks it out for kids. The short chapters and simple sentences are great for young readers, though.