Gooseberry is a middle-grade novel about a sixth grade child, B, their experience in foster care, desire for a family, and for a certain dog.

There is a lot to unpack with this one. It’s obvious pretty early on that B has some undiagnosed conditions going on. The way their thoughts hop around randomly can make the story hard to follow at times, but does a great job of getting the reader to know what it is like to be in the shoes of someone with these struggles. There were times my own brain felt jumbled, but being able to feel like I’m experiencing part of what B was experiencing shows how well written this story is.

I love that B is able to get a foster family that is supportive of all aspects of her, including their trans identity. It is still a struggle for them as they adjust to life with a new child in the home as well as a dog all in less than 24 hours.

This was a really sweet book. As a queer adult who loves dogs this book really touched my soul. It was so sweet and beautiful. It definitely touched on some hard subjects but I felt like it was handled beautifully.
I also really appreciate the representation of a reactive dog. I also have a dog that is fear reactive and its so rare to see that talked about in a sweet and respectful way.
Overall this was a really good book that deals with some pretty heavy subjects but in a very respectful way

Gooseberry is a wonderful story about a non-binary foster kid, who finds a great connection in a large, scared dog. B is wonderfully written, and Krystal Hammond does a great job of conveying all of B's big emotions. I love that Robin Gow gave B a wonderful group of queer friends, including one who uses neopronouns.

This book was incredibly sweet & would be a great read for anyone interested in middle grade.

Thanks to NetGalley, Robin Gow, & Spotify Audio for the chance to read and review!

I can tell this book was written with a lot of care but the overall book could have done with editing. As a neurodivergent person, the main character came across as exhausting and annoying to me. I know theres depictions of some real life big emotions and spiraling anxiety but as someone who has worked past most of that, it felt exhausting to go back into that mind set while reading.

I do love how the main character related to and used the dog to talk about things they experienced as well.

Based on the synopsis, I was so freaking excited for this book.

But.... as someone who is heavily involved with animal rescues and is an owner of two reactive dogs... the whole Gooseberry plot line made me VERY uncomfortable on so many levels. For one, it's completely unrealistic that a rescue would bring out a dog they know is fearful and reactive so a random kid can see him... I also don't buy that a foster family would agree to adopt a dog for a foster kid they've had for less than 24-hours... and that a rescue would let them walk out with a reactive dog after talking to them for a few minutes. Then we have B completely ignoring Gooseberry's body language because THEY know what's better for the dog than the dog does. Honestly, they're lucky they didn't get bit because Gooseberry was giving enough cues about his anxiety levels and doing everything he could to tell B to back off and B kept pushing. I get that most of the whole "I'm going to train Gooseberry to be a therapy dog in a month" and how unrealistic the timeframe was can be chalked up to B just being a kid... but still this poor dog! I hope that no kid reading this book thinks they can do the same thing with a dog like Gooseberry because it will end poorly. This is not a cute story about a struggling kid and a dog that needs a chance finding each other and discovering happiness. This is a story where almost every interaction with Gooseberry is dangerous because of how untrained the humans handling the dog are.

I also struggled with B's actions throughout most of the novel... y'all this is a stressful read with how angsty it is. B is clearly coded as a kid that's undiagnosed and on the spectrum... and this is somewhat resolved in the end of the book, but it did not make for a fun reading experience. This might not be as much of an issue for a tween, but as an adult I strongly disliked how B treated most of the people around them all the time.

There was a lot of potential for this to be a sweet and powerful story, but I couldn't get past the misses with the Gooseberry plot line.

Krystal Hammond does a good job with the audiobook narration though listening to this book ramps up the angst level so I think B's character would have been easier to deal with if I had read a physical copy instead.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review.

Robin Gow does a marvelous job of taking the reader into the mind of an individual with autism and being transgender. The story follows B, a young preteen who has shifted from foster home to foster home trying to find their place and a family who might understand them. Their main ambition has been to get a dog and become a dog trainer. As a last effort, they are matched with a queer couple who makes the decision to support this dream with them. B adopts Gooseberry and learns how to adapt in life and their expectations of what having a dog will be like. I think the biggest thing that stood out to me with this story is that the mindset of the main character is the key facet being focused on. Their autism and gender identity is not assessed in terms of how they interact with others, but instead how they handle it internally. Pairing it with a dog allows the reader to see the compassion and complex emotions someone may experience when trying to function in society. It was beautifully relatable and had me tearing up on more than one occasion with understanding of how things feel internally. While the writing can feel simple at times, it is trying to take a backseat to the emotional/mental landscape of the character to not only showcase, but put the reader into the mind of someone with autism.

3 stars

I really enjoy Robin Gow's books, in part because the representation is always solid, mindful, and realistic, and this newest middle grade effort provides further evidence of these earlier findings.

When B's parents die (before the book begins), they go into foster care, and as anyone who knows anything about this system can imagine, it's not an easy or straightforward experience. In addition to losing their parents and experiencing some resulting shuffling, B is also nonbinary and often faces challenges relating to their name, wavering acceptance from peers and adults, and lacking role models. Further, B gets hyper focused on some things (LIKE GOOSEBERRY!!!!!!!!!!) and also struggles to multitask and perform executive functioning skills. In short, B is trying to manage a lot, so when they get two new foster moms, this is a real boon.

While there is a lot to like about this book, my challenges with it come from a very specific place. I volunteer a lot for a dog rescue, and I really struggled with the way B and various adults interact with and talk about dogs here. Let me say it for the folks in the back: kids should not care for dogs. Picking up after them? Great. Walks? NO. Introducing dogs with behavioral challenges to strangers? Also no. Taking training liberties with dogs that are not well socialized? You get the idea. For good thematic reasons, B is really focused on this dog, but nearly every scene with the dog stressed me out so much because the humans just do not know how to interact with him. Again, admittedly, this is all tied to my personal incoming set of issues, but I felt distracted and concerned throughout the entire listen just waiting for the next canine disaster (and it's always the dog who pays in those cases).

Readers who want to experience some great rep and who want to get into the mind of a frustrating but well intentioned (and well written) character but do NOT have my same dog-related drama should have a listen.

The story of B is one that made my heart hurt. This kid has been through a LOT in the short time they've been alive. Their parents die when they're 5 and they're put into the foster care system.

B has been through several foster care homes, and at the start of the book, the one they're in just gives them back to the system. It's heartbreaking.

How B felt - how overwhelmed they were all of the time, and how they just wanted something stable, but also just wanted a dog, was so well written.

This was hard in parts for me to read, but my heart went out to B and their struggles. Especially the bullying - kids can be so mean.

The audio was lovely - the narrator captured the story of B so very well.

This book was an excellent look at the struggles and triumphs of a trans youth. The characters are fantastic, the tone warm and understanding, and Gooseberry is one lovable dog! This is an excellent book that I will stock in my class library. Many students want to read this type of book but there are not many that show trans kids in a realistic and positive light.