Summary
Chester’s mom told all of her pups that the best thing in the world is to find your person and be a service dog to help your person.
But Chester gets SO scared by loud noises, he can’t be certified as a service dog. If he can’t do that, what sort of life can he have?
Then Chester is adopted by a family with an autistic son. While Gus initially doesn’t react well to Chester, in time they start to make small strides. Chester starts to understand his new person and the family and what they need. And then Chester is taken from his family.
Review
This was terrific! I enjoy stories that are told by the dog – like Magic Bone and Ellie’s Story – when authors do that style as well as McGovern did. Chester has a precious voice! He’s so bright (which the author explains in the story) and insightful.
The author uses her experience as a parent of an autistic child to craft a beautiful family for Chester. Gus’ parents are loving and earnest and desperate. They long to connect with Gus, and to see him make progress at school. They’re grasping at straws at times, looking for glimpses of recognition and understanding from Gus. And Chester helps all of them.
There’s a side plot with Chester’s trainer which felt… odd, to me. I felt like she took the story off in a weird direction. But she served to amp up the tension in the story, and Chester seems to help set her on a better path.
This was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend it!