E ARC provided by Netgalley

Andy is very nervous and frequently spirals into anxiety. When his class is set to go to camp together, he is so worried about what he packed that he throws up before getting on the bus. He misses camp, and spends the week at home. This is good, since his mother has just brought home a rescue dog, Ralph, hoping that this will help Andy. Of course, the dog makes him worse at first, since the dog is frightened and has to establish a new routine. Eventually, Ralph learns to wait to poop outside instead of pooping in his crate. When he follows Andy to school, it's not a good situation, but Miss Patty in the office tells Andy about a training group she runs in the local park. Andy goes, and is interested in the agility course training that the group does, but also feels overwhelmed that he won't be able to train Ralph properly, and his parents will take the dog away. With the help of the group, as well as a couple of friends from school, Andy manages to train Ralph, and does well enough in a local competition to compete in a Super Trial. He struggles with his anxiety again, but uses the coping skills he has learned to calm himself down and successfully compete with Ralph.

Books about dog training are always a good choice, and readers who enjoyed graphic novels on the topic, like Varner's Dog Trouble or Lloyd's Allergic will be invested in Andy's tale. Behrens' 2010 The Fast and the Furriest , Sorosiak's 2019 I, Cosmo, and Finnegan's 2022 New Kids and Underdogs are novels that also address agility training. I wasn't a huge fan of Andy's frequent barfing, although younger readers may find this amusing. If Andy's anxiety was this bad, I would have hoped that his parents would have had him in some kind of counseling, or would have had better plans for dealing with Ralph and getting him more formal training. I did enjoy Hirsch's notes about dealing with a new dog.

Good Boy follows Charlie, a kid with severe anxiety--so severe it makes him sick to his stomach. As a result, he misses a school trip and finds a rescue dog, Ralph, instead. Ralph has similar anxiety. When Charlie discovers the world of dog agility competitions, he wants to train and enter Ralph, but both dog and human will need to learn coping strategies for stress to compete.

I love that Good Boy follows a male main character with anxiety--more representation in that sphere is needed. Hirsch does a great job visually representing Charlie's anxiety. And I learned a ton about dog agility courses. I am even planning to sign my own dog up for a training class (she loves doing the agility activities at the park).

Charlie is a middle school student who suffers from anxiety. He misses the week long field trip to camp when his nerves get the better of him and he ends up barfing while online to board the bus. His parents think that adopting a shelter dog may help him with his stress level and lack of friends but Charlie and Ralph's relationship gets off to a rocky start. Learning patience, self-confidence and leadership while training to compete in a local dog agility trial helps Charlie overcome his deeply set anxiety.
Informational with fun facts about agility training and hopeful for kids like Charlie with few friends and a lot of anxiety and worries about "what ifs" "Good Boy" will be a winner especially for kids who love dogs and graphic novels.

Graphic novel about a middle school boy with anxiety issues that learns how cope while training his new rescue dog and they both learn about agility courses. Lots of heart!

OMG. This graphic novel is everything! Not only does this novel sparkle with the power of emotional support dogs, but it emphasizes the importance of dog training and routinely exercising and communicating with your dog!

Charlie misses camp because of his anxiety and winds up seeing an early surprise. His parents adopted Ralph the doggo to help him balance his emotions and to have a friend. Lucky for both, they have a kerfuffle at school where Ralph makes an appearance on campus and the school secretary intervenes with a plan for training and exercise to help both canine and student.

This is the story every potential dog owner needs to read. I love the way both Ralph and Charlie transform with the power of mutually respected bond and hard work!

This is a cute story that I know will resonate with some of my perpetual worriers. I appreciate the inner dialogue that allows the reader to make connections with Charlie. Charlie’s parents never give up on him or on Ralph, which is a major part of what makes this a story worth putting on my shelves.
Thank you, NetGallery for the ARC.

Anxiety.
Is there anyone who has not experienced it? Doubtful.
In Good Boy, Hirsch introduces us to Charlie, and right away we see that Charlie suffers from debilitating anxiety, which causes him to vomit.
Not good.
Enter Ralph, the rescue dog Charlie's parents have adopted. Charlie has always wanted a dog, but can he handle the new anxieties that come with training an unpredictable dog?
Hirsch weaves a humorous and thoughtful approach to handling anxiety in this new graphic novel.
Readers of all ages will devour this one.

This is a great school aged book especially for kids who have anxiety. Not only is this a book that can relate to the minority, but it also depicts a theme of resilience. I love the imagery used to depict anxiety and feel that this would be a great book to introduce to schools and libraries.