All dogs deserve a happy ending, no matter their story. They can be fearless, brilliant, and loving. And unlike those pesky human characters, they won’t betray your trust in a surprise plot twist.

But authors know that we want to bond with our fictional canine companions, and all too often, those dogs end up in mortal peril. Like Wallace Wallace thinks in Gordon Korman’s “No More Dead Dogs”: Why do dogs always die at the end?

So here’s our promise (and spoiler warning!) for this booklist: There might be danger, adventure, and heavy emotional moments in these books, but these dogs always make it to the end.

Summertime is here! And what’s more appropriate for a summer on the Colorado plains than to read a Western? These gritty, atmospheric titles set in America’s west offer a distinct sense of location and intricately crafted characters. These books, modern and historical fiction, are great for fans of Yellowstone and are looking for similar storylines about family, tragedy, and a love for the land.