PAWS: The Trouble with Leo is the third installment in a series that manages to make dog-walking feel like a high-stakes political thriller—at least by middle school standards. If your kid is into graphic novels that prioritize messy, relatable social dynamics over world-ending stakes, this is exactly what they should be reading. It’s a smart, visually vibrant look at what happens when professional competition collides with personal pride.
TL;DR
PAWS: The Trouble with Leo by Nathan Fairbairn and Michele Assarasakorn is a standout graphic novel for the 8-12 crowd that tackles business rivalries and the nuance of "villains." It’s a perfect follow-up for fans of PAWS: Gabby Gets It Together and PAWS: Mindy Makes Some Space, offering a grounded story about how revenge usually backfires and why perspective matters in middle school feuds.
The core conflict here is classic: the PAWS girls (Gabby, Priya, and Mindy) have a monopoly on the local dog-walking scene until Leo shows up. Leo isn’t just a competitor; he’s better at the "business" side than they are. He has a slick website, professional-looking flyers, and he’s undercutting their prices.
For kids, this is a masterclass in how competition feels. It’s not just about the money (though the girls definitely want the cash); it’s about the territoriality of "owning" a space. The book doesn’t pretend the girls are perfect—they get jealous, they get petty, and they start a "war" that escalates in ways that feel entirely realistic for twelve-year-olds. It’s a great pivot from the usual "friends forever" tropes found in our best books for kids list.
What makes The Trouble with Leo better than your average middle-grade drama is how it handles Leo himself. In a lesser book, Leo would be a one-dimensional jerk. Here, the creators (Fairbairn and Assarasakorn) give him depth.
The "trouble" with Leo is that he isn't actually doing anything wrong—he’s just running a better business. The girls' attempts to "take him down" end up making them look like the antagonists. It’s a fantastic entry point for a conversation about perspective. If your kid is navigating their own middle school feuds, this book is a mirror. It asks: Are you the hero of this story, or are you just being a jerk to someone who’s doing their own thing?
Michele Assarasakorn’s art (under the name Sassafras) is a huge reason this series works. It’s bright, expressive, and feels modern without trying too hard to be "hip." The character designs are distinct—you never confuse Priya for Gabby—and the dogs have as much personality as the humans.
For kids who are visual learners or reluctant readers, the pacing of the panels in PAWS: The Trouble with Leo is top-tier. It moves fast, the jokes land, and the emotional beats are clear without being over-explained in text bubbles. It’s the kind of book that gets a kid to finish a 200-page graphic novel in one sitting and ask for the next one immediately.
If your kid is already obsessed with the PAWS girls, use this book to talk about the "messy" side of growing up. Most media for this age group suggests that if you’re a "good person," you’re always right. This book argues the opposite: good people can be petty, and your "enemy" might just be a kid trying to pay for a new bike.
Conversations to Start
- On Competition: "Leo’s business was actually better organized than PAWS. Why did that make the girls so angry instead of making them want to improve their own business?"
- On Revenge: "The girls tried to get back at Leo several times. Did any of those plans actually make them feel better, or did it just make things more complicated?"
- On 'The Bad Guy': "At the beginning, did you think Leo was a villain? Did your opinion change by the end of the book?"
The "friction point" in this book isn't content—it's behavior. The girls make some genuinely poor choices in the name of "winning." They lie, they spy, and they prioritize their rivalry over their actual responsibilities (the dogs).
The win here is that the book doesn't let them off the hook. There are consequences. If you have a kid who is prone to "getting even" when they feel slighted, this is an excellent case study in why that rarely works out the way you think it will. It’s a much more useful tool than a lecture on "being nice."
Q: Do you need to read the first two PAWS books before reading The Trouble with Leo? While you can jump in here, it’s much better to start with PAWS: Gabby Gets It Together. The friendship dynamics between the three leads are established there, and seeing how their business started makes the threat of Leo’s rival business feel much more significant.
Q: What age is PAWS: The Trouble with Leo appropriate for? The sweet spot is ages 8 to 12. Younger kids (6-7) will enjoy the dogs and the art, but the nuances of the business rivalry and the social maneuvering might go over their heads. For middle schoolers, it’s a quick, relatable read that mirrors their own social world.
Q: Are there any content warnings for this book? None in the traditional sense. There’s no violence, no "bad" language, and no mature themes. The "intensity" comes entirely from middle school social stress and the ethics of how the characters treat one another. It's safe, but it's not "sanitized"—it feels like real life.
Q: Is this book better than the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels? It’s different. While The Baby-Sitters Club is the gold standard for this genre, PAWS feels slightly more modern and focuses more heavily on the "business" competition aspect. If they’ve burned through every BSC book, PAWS is the natural next step.
PAWS: The Trouble with Leo is a "yes" for any kid who likes dogs, drama, or drawing. It’s a rare book that respects a kid’s intelligence enough to show that being "right" and being "the winner" aren't always the same thing.
- Check out our best books for kids list for more graphic novel recommendations.
- If they loved the business aspect, look into Real Friends by Shannon Hale.
- For more age-specific advice, see our digital guide for elementary school.
- Ask our chatbot for more series like PAWS
