Reviews

Gooseberry by Robin Gow

tayberryjelly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

woolfinbooks's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

content/trigger warnings:
bullying
death of parents (off-page)
foster care system 
grief
group home
homophobia 
hostility towards dogs (I don't think it can be classified as abuse, just unkind thoughts and behaviors)  
social worker 
transphobia 

representation:
adhd
autistic 
lesbian
nonbinary 
queer 
trans 
they/them pronouns 
ze/zer pronouns 

The first Robin Gow book I read was "Dear Mothman", which made me cry "Bridge to Terabithia" level tears. After reading the synopsis of 'Gooseberry', I figured this would be another tearjerker, but I was pleasantly surprised with how fun it is! Yes, there are sad moments. Some chapters made me cry and reflect on my nonbinary childhood. There were happy tears reading about acceptance and understanding one's identity at a young age. The sadness wasn't profound, it was more of a feature. 

I don't think this is as much of an issue as other reviewers are making it out to be, but how Gooseberry was trained isn't the 100% correct way to train a dog if you're a professional. The thing is, B isn't a professional. They're a child. Of course, they're not magically going to know how to perfectly train their first dog. Which is fine because the children reading this book are smarter than adults give them credit for, and this isn't a how-to guide. Kids know this is just a book and that fiction means it's not real! You see B struggles with training Gooseberry. You experience their frustrations. They try over and over again to get it right, and it doesn't happen as quickly as they want it to. Gooseberry isn't perfectly trained by the end of the book either, so I truly do not understand the hate for that aspect of it. 

Sorry to complain about other reviewers again, but I disliked how several reviewers claimed B not being diagnosed sooner was unrealistic. Healthcare in America, especially mental healthcare of trans children, is subpar at best. Children in the foster system are often overlooked and go well into adulthood without a diagnosis. Social workers, foster parents, teachers, and other adults in their lives tend to view it as a symptom of the surrounding situations instead of a mental health issue or neurodivergence. Whatever year it is doesn't erase the fact that millions of kids experience a lack of mental health care. 

Overall, Gooseberry is a good book. I enjoyed the positive representation of various queer identities and how well they were handled. I'd suggest this for any middle-grade reader in need of diversity as well as nonbinary adults who need the positive representation they were missing during their childhoods. 

I rate it 4.5/5 stars and will be recommending it to tons of other people! 

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michelleheegaard's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Cute, cute, cute! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The characters were all lovely and different. It had an interesting plot and conflict. I loved the relationship between the main character and Gooseberry, the dog. I have my own personal gooseberry and I could really relate to all the feelings that were going through our MC when trying to train him.
I LOVED the main character and I would adore having a kid like B in my life. They are absolutely amazing, loveable and just wonderful. Love how they were written and I really hope the author writes a follow-up. And if not, I can see they have a lot of other great books to dive into. Can't wait! 

autumnruth's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

laejone's review against another edition

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2.25

This book was cute, and while I didn't love it, I think it could be great for a young trans and/or neurodivergent kid to read. The writing was very simple and the main character was sometimes a little frustrating to read about, but it was all in a way that still felt realistic to the character and the life they'd led up to that point. As for the narration, I similarly think it worked for the character, but I felt like I was being talked down to for a lot of the book. I think there are a lot of young people this book would be fantastic for, but if you're an adult looking for something fun I'd maybe skip this one.

nonamesorgender's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

So cute, don’t read middle school often but this was so cute and sweet. 

abbie_'s review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.5

This was a cute, wholesome, hopeful middle-grade read about a young person called B who’s just trying to figure themselves out with the help of their friends, foster parents and newfound furry best friend, Gooseberry. This book is filled with so many gorgeous characters disrupting heteronormative and neurotypical norms, and I just hope it helps a few kids who feel like their differences are a bad thing realise that differences are something to be celebrated.

I did find myself occasionally wishing for B to make different decisions, mainly around their training of Gooseberry. Gooseberry is a stray who’d been abused in a former home, and considering B wants to be a dog trainer and dogs are one of their special interests, they often get frustrated at Gooseberry’s reluctance to learn or make irresponsible choices. However, you have to remind yourself that B’s just a kid, and a kid who’s had an extremely tough time of it.

I loved their friendship circle, and it definitely reminded me of my own little circle of wonderful weirdos growing up. Gow does a marvellous job of depicting the ups and downs of school - spending all day with your pals, bullies, good teachers, teachers with good intentions but who still cause harm, all the frustrations and small joys of a school day. Jodie and Eri, B’s foster mothers, are also wonderful and show what a massive impact a bit of understanding and consideration for people’s differences and needs can have.

The writing was a little bit stilted at times though - too many likes and justs, which people definitely do use but to that extent? Unsure. But still, v heartwarming little book and who doesn’t love a wholesome story about dogs!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

B has been bounced around to different foster families for as long as they can remember. So much so that they’ve had to come up with different nicknames for each of the houses they’ve stayed at. Through it all, they’ve always dreamed of becoming a dog trainer. And when they meet the dog Gooseberry, they know that he’s the dog for them.

The only problem? Trying to convince their new foster parents, Eri and Jodie, to adopt Gooseberry. When they finally get to bring Gooseberry home, training him isn’t as easy as they thought. Will they be able to train him enough to be able to stay? 
 
Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for an advanced copy of Gooseberry by Robin Gow to review! First of all, let’s talk about that cover. From the adorable dog to the color palette, I love everything about it. I think it will definitely draw kids in, too!

Gow has a knack for writing such authentic middle grade voices. For a lot of the book, B is trying to figure out who they are, especially when it comes to their name. They want to pick something that feels right to them, which is a hard thing to do!

In addition, they’re also learning about the other ways they might be different, too (mainly autism and ADHD). The way their new foster parents, Eri and Jodie, handle this is beautifully done. Yes, B makes frustrating decisions at times, but it’s a part of growing up. They’re learning, both in a place that actually makes them feel safe and in who they actually are.

At its core, this is really a story about learning to be okay with change and finding your place in the world. Both worthy themes for a middle grade novel. Definitely check it out when it comes out this May! 



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thischarmingamy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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aspring's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

this was so sweet, so quick and so fun. there was so much fantastic queer rep with an AuDHD trans non-binary mc and a best friend who uses neopronouns, a trans femme friend, two foster moms!!! one of whom is trans and has ADHD as well!! 

overall this book was utterly delightful, gooseberry was so sweet.

i did have some reserves with it though! such as, B and all the other children are written as younger than what they said they are and there wasn’t much of a focus on the dog training which i was expecting and kind of hoped for - i was excited to see the process of B working with this anxious dog and slowly gaining confidence and teaching new tricks but we really only got a few scenes which isn’t a bad thing, i just wished for more - especially with how short it was! the pacing was also REALLY fast, we didn’t stay in any one scene for very long

but i definitely definitely recommend this, again: it was so sweet 
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