May 14, 2024 by Amulet Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley
**Slight spoiler in What I Really Think*
B has been in foster care since the age of five, when their parents died, and has struggled to find a permanent placement. Currently, they are living with Mandy and Rick, who "smell like chicken broth and dead roses" and do not always correctly gender B, who identifies as non-binary. At a block party, B sees rescue dog Gooseberry, and is immediately drawn to him, being very emotional when told that there is no way the family can adopt a dog. After the foster parents return B to Haven House, a group home, B is placed with Eri (who is trans) and Jodi, a lesbian couple who are very understanding. Despite a rough start with B, who also evidences some neurodivergent qualities, they decide to adopt Gooseberry. Gooseberry has been traumatized, is very leery of humans, and spends a lot of time under the kitchen table. Despite this, and despite being told by Eri and Jodi to give Gooseberry the kind of space that B themselves often wants, B is obsessed with training Gooseberry so that he can be a service dog who visits Haven House. Gooseberry does not do well with the training. While living in his new foster home goes fairly well, school is still a struggle. B has a good group of friends, including Clementine, who uses ze/zero pronouns, but is also made fun of frequently by Cody and Zane, who pick on just about every aspect of B's personality. The teacher tells B to ignore them. Eri and Jodi don't like that, and offer to call Cody and Zane's parents, but also suggest that perhaps B should pick out a name to help solidify their identity. A crisis occurs when the class is on a camping trip, and Jodi brings Gooseberry. Gooseberry runs away, as he has been wont to do, and B reconciles a bit with Cody when the two are helping to find the dog. Will B be able to choose a name for themselves and remain at their new home?
Strengths: It is good to see a variety of experiences in foster care, since this is something that an increasing number of students are seeing or living. The inclusion of a rescue dog, and a description of his plight, was interesting, especially since B wanted to train Gooseberry as a service dog to visit the Haven House. The LGBTQIA+ representation was well done, and the problems B faces definitely occur in some settings. There's a happy ending.
Weaknesses: While it was good to see that Eri and Jodi wanted B to be happy, there was not enough consideration given to Gooseberry's well being. B was not kind to the dog, did not respect the dog's boundaries, and repeatedly endangered the animal. It seemed hard to believe that Jodi would bring the Gooseberry to the camping trip, having witnessed how poorly B read signals from the dog. This reminded me a bit of Arnold's A Boy Called Bat, where Bat really wants to keep a skunk as a pet even though it is not the best environment for the skunk.
What I really think: It was completely apparent to me that B was on the autism spectrum, given the description of the emotional states B experiences, but there is no official diagnosis until the end of the book. This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Riley's Jude Saves the World or Taylor's Starting from Scratch.
Strengths: It is good to see a variety of experiences in foster care, since this is something that an increasing number of students are seeing or living. The inclusion of a rescue dog, and a description of his plight, was interesting, especially since B wanted to train Gooseberry as a service dog to visit the Haven House. The LGBTQIA+ representation was well done, and the problems B faces definitely occur in some settings. There's a happy ending.
Weaknesses: While it was good to see that Eri and Jodi wanted B to be happy, there was not enough consideration given to Gooseberry's well being. B was not kind to the dog, did not respect the dog's boundaries, and repeatedly endangered the animal. It seemed hard to believe that Jodi would bring the Gooseberry to the camping trip, having witnessed how poorly B read signals from the dog. This reminded me a bit of Arnold's A Boy Called Bat, where Bat really wants to keep a skunk as a pet even though it is not the best environment for the skunk.
What I really think: It was completely apparent to me that B was on the autism spectrum, given the description of the emotional states B experiences, but there is no official diagnosis until the end of the book. This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Riley's Jude Saves the World or Taylor's Starting from Scratch.
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