Gooseberry
Forthcoming May 2024
A moving new middle-grade novel about a young nonbinary person searching for family and finding it with a sweet rescue dog named Gooseberry.
B has lived with so many different foster families and youth programs that they have to invent nicknames for them to keep track. Their parents died in a car accident when they were four, and they’ve been moved around ever since. And even though some foster families don’t really get B or why they haven’t picked a new name yet (though B has been grappling with that for a while), B tries their best to stay positive. They try to keep a list of names that might fit, and they dream of being able to live in a home where they could adopt a dog and teach him all sorts of tricks. So when they meet Gooseberry, they know they have to adopt him and give him a loving home.
But training a dog isn’t as easy as B first suspected. Gooseberry is anxious and barely even wants to let B pet him. But the queer couple B is staying with, Eri and Jodie, help them to adopt Gooseberry and start training him. Even when Gooseberry snaps and growls, B doesn’t give up. But is this new home enough to change things for good for B and Gooseberry?
Moving, heartwarming, and full of hope, Gooseberry is a friendship story classic in the making!
Reviews
"B’s struggle to find home and acceptance will have readers rooting for them and Gooseberry the dog. A must-purchase realistic fiction title for all middle grade collections."
"Gow’s latest middle-grade novel continues delving into the intersection of transgender or nonbinary identities with autistic and ADHD neurodivergence, and while B thinks no one would be able to understand their brain, autistic readers especially will find much that is both relatable and validating. A story of living authentically, finding family, and surviving bullying, microaggressions, and middle school."
"B’s search for self-identity is artfully written..."
"Evocative metaphors illuminate B’s thought processes for readers as B wrestles with a world that’s not calibrated for their autism or their gender identity... A sensitive exploration of autism, gender identity, and dog training."