woolfinbooks's reviews
520 reviews

A beautiful and lyrical love letter to henna.

"Henna Is..." explains not only how henna is made and what it means culturally, but what it means artistically and personally.. There's an adoration of its sensory impact regarding smell, texture, and appearance. I love the representation! 

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!