Good Dog

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 17:34:23 -0700

I ended my 2017 reading year with this book. And I could not have lucked out with a better one. Brodie is a dog - a very good dog - who has died. Rather than let go and move on to Forever, Brodie chooses to return to our world to save Aidan, his boy, from danger. What entails is an adventure so unique that I couldn’t put this book down. Good Dog is BEAUTIFUL. An omniscient narrator tells the story, occasionally breaking from his POV to address the reader, which connected me to Brodie and Aidan more and more. The flashbacks Brodie experienced as memories of his past with Aidan came flooding back were vivid, sometimes excruciating, and always intentional in ways that kept me guessing. Gemeinhart’s use of imagery only added to that vividness. But the best part? Brodie’s VOICE. So singular, original, and pure, highlighting the bond between this dog and his boy. I fell in love with Brodie from the jump, laughing and crying as he worked to complete his quest. He is a character I will remember forever. This book is, in my opinion, one for the middle-grade ages, teaching kids that heroism is a choice that can come in any form.