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abbie_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
3.5
This was a cute, wholesome, hopeful middle-grade read about a young person called B who’s just trying to figure themselves out with the help of their friends, foster parents and newfound furry best friend, Gooseberry. This book is filled with so many gorgeous characters disrupting heteronormative and neurotypical norms, and I just hope it helps a few kids who feel like their differences are a bad thing realise that differences are something to be celebrated.
I did find myself occasionally wishing for B to make different decisions, mainly around their training of Gooseberry. Gooseberry is a stray who’d been abused in a former home, and considering B wants to be a dog trainer and dogs are one of their special interests, they often get frustrated at Gooseberry’s reluctance to learn or make irresponsible choices. However, you have to remind yourself that B’s just a kid, and a kid who’s had an extremely tough time of it.
I loved their friendship circle, and it definitely reminded me of my own little circle of wonderful weirdos growing up. Gow does a marvellous job of depicting the ups and downs of school - spending all day with your pals, bullies, good teachers, teachers with good intentions but who still cause harm, all the frustrations and small joys of a school day. Jodie and Eri, B’s foster mothers, are also wonderful and show what a massive impact a bit of understanding and consideration for people’s differences and needs can have.
The writing was a little bit stilted at times though - too many likes and justs, which people definitely do use but to that extent? Unsure. But still, v heartwarming little book and who doesn’t love a wholesome story about dogs!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Bullying
betweentheshelves's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
B has been bounced around to different foster families for as long as they can remember. So much so that they’ve had to come up with different nicknames for each of the houses they’ve stayed at. Through it all, they’ve always dreamed of becoming a dog trainer. And when they meet the dog Gooseberry, they know that he’s the dog for them.
The only problem? Trying to convince their new foster parents, Eri and Jodie, to adopt Gooseberry. When they finally get to bring Gooseberry home, training him isn’t as easy as they thought. Will they be able to train him enough to be able to stay?
Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for an advanced copy of Gooseberry by Robin Gow to review! First of all, let’s talk about that cover. From the adorable dog to the color palette, I love everything about it. I think it will definitely draw kids in, too!
Gow has a knack for writing such authentic middle grade voices. For a lot of the book, B is trying to figure out who they are, especially when it comes to their name. They want to pick something that feels right to them, which is a hard thing to do!
In addition, they’re also learning about the other ways they might be different, too (mainly autism and ADHD). The way their new foster parents, Eri and Jodie, handle this is beautifully done. Yes, B makes frustrating decisions at times, but it’s a part of growing up. They’re learning, both in a place that actually makes them feel safe and in who they actually are.
At its core, this is really a story about learning to be okay with change and finding your place in the world. Both worthy themes for a middle grade novel. Definitely check it out when it comes out this May!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, and Transphobia
thischarmingamy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, and Death of parent
aspring's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
this was so sweet, so quick and so fun. there was so much fantastic queer rep with an AuDHD trans non-binary mc and a best friend who uses neopronouns, a trans femme friend, two foster moms!!! one of whom is trans and has ADHD as well!!
overall this book was utterly delightful, gooseberry was so sweet.
i did have some reserves with it though! such as, B and all the other children are written as younger than what they said they are and there wasn’t much of a focus on the dog training which i was expecting and kind of hoped for - i was excited to see the process of B working with this anxious dog and slowly gaining confidence and teaching new tricks but we really only got a few scenes which isn’t a bad thing, i just wished for more - especially with how short it was! the pacing was also REALLY fast, we didn’t stay in any one scene for very long
but i definitely definitely recommend this, again: it was so sweet
overall this book was utterly delightful, gooseberry was so sweet.
i did have some reserves with it though! such as, B and all the other children are written as younger than what they said they are and there wasn’t much of a focus on the dog training which i was expecting and kind of hoped for - i was excited to see the process of B working with this anxious dog and slowly gaining confidence and teaching new tricks but we really only got a few scenes which isn’t a bad thing, i just wished for more - especially with how short it was! the pacing was also REALLY fast, we didn’t stay in any one scene for very long
but i definitely definitely recommend this, again: it was so sweet
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