Gooseberry
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Robin Gow’s Gooseberry is a moving middle-grade novel about a young nonbinary person searching for family and finding it with a sweet rescue dog.
There’s a lot twelve-year-old B doesn’t know—like what their new name should be after coming out as nonbinary. Or what it would feel like to finally feel at home after moving around to different foster families for years. But there’s one thing B does know: they want to be a dog trainer when they grow up. And when they meet Gooseberry—a feisty stray dog who seems as wary of strangers as B does—B feels an instant connection. With Gooseberry, B could have everything they want: a family of their own, and a dog to train. And B’s newest foster parents agree to let B adopt him.
But training a dog isn’t as easy as B expected. Gooseberry is anxious and barely lets B pet him, let alone train him. Will Gooseberry ever feel at ease with B? And how can B teach Gooseberry to trust, when they know so little about trust themself?
Gooseberry is a heartwarming story by the acclaimed author of Dear Mothman about finding family, finding hope, and—most of all—finding and accepting yourself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nonbinary 12-year-old B yearns for the perfect new name ("It's hard to imagine there's one that's just right for me") and to be a dog trainer. When B's senses are overloaded during an awkward outing with their current foster parents, they are comforted by—and immediately fall in love with—a dog named Gooseberry that's up for adoption at the local humane society. B's new placement with a supportive queer foster couple grants them the opportunity to adopt Gooseberry, but their dream dog doesn't live up to their fantasies. Gooseberry is anxious, scared, and overwhelmed by everything—not unlike B, who is frustrated by how easily they cry as they experience the world with crushing intensity ("Why do I care so much?"). Though B endures daily homophobic torment from school bullies, at home they train Gooseberry and develop patience and trust in an environment that abounds with acceptance and love. B's search for self-identity is artfully written by Gow (Dear Mothman), who is autistic and nonbinary. Blue-haired B is depicted as white on the cover, and the cast features plentiful queer and racial diversity. Ages 10–14.
