Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them most, offering companionship through life’s hardest moments and bringing unexpected joy into the everyday. This month’s reading list celebrates that connection through moving fiction, heartfelt memoirs, rescue stories and a wildly funny new adventure for the grandkids.
Good Boy by Michelle Wright
Set in September 1997, Michelle Wright’s moving novel follows Cookie, an inmate serving the final four months of his sentence in a minimum-security prison. Hoping for another chance at life, he joins a rehabilitation program that pairs inmates with abandoned dogs.
Cookie is assigned Nigel, an anxious dog with a habit of gnawing through walls, whom he quickly renames Good Boy. Cookie must prepare him for a behavioural assessment that will determine his future: if he passes, Good Boy can be adopted, but if he fails, he will be put down.
As the assessment draws closer, Cookie realises Good Boy is unlikely to pass and must decide how far he is prepared to go to save him. Their growing friendship also forces Cookie to confront the experiences that shaped his own life and the truths he would prefer to leave buried.
The verdict: An affecting Australian story about two damaged souls finding trust, hope and another chance through each other.
Every rescue dog has a story, and photographer Suzanne Stevenson captures them beautifully in Rescue Dogs on Doorsteps.
Following her bestselling books Dogs on Doorsteps and Country Dogs on Doorsteps, this collection introduces adopted dogs from across Australia and the people who have welcomed them into their homes.
Through photographs and personal stories, Stevenson celebrates the resilience of rescue animals and the difference that patience, belonging and a safe home can make. A passionate animal advocate, she created the Dogs on Doorsteps series to raise awareness, encourage adoption and support animal shelters around the country.
The verdict: A beautifully photographed celebration of second chances that would make a lovely coffee-table book or gift for a dog lover.
What begins with Tony Parsons’ daughter asking for a rabbit leads to Stan, a bandy-legged dog with bright red fur and an enormous personality, joining the family instead.
Set against the backdrop of Parsons’ life in Hampstead and the pair’s daily walks across Hampstead Heath, Man & Dog: A Love Story explores the companionship, loyalty and happiness Stan brought into his owner’s life.
Along the way, they encounter the ponds, rolling hills and familiar dog-walking characters of the Heath, but it is the relationship between Parsons and Stan that remains at the heart of the book.
The verdict: A warm, funny and honest memoir for anyone who understands just how profoundly a dog can shape a human life.
When Anna Heyward adopted Freddie, a rescued Italian greyhound, she was delighted to finally welcome a dog into her life. She soon discovered, however, that Freddie had severe separation anxiety and could not be left alone for more than 30 seconds without crying or hurting himself.
Rather than giving him back, Anna devoted herself to trying to understand the world from Freddie’s perspective. Her efforts placed enormous pressure on her work, relationships and social life, while also changing the way she thought about animals, behaviour and the limits of what one being can understand about another.
Living with Freddie considers what it means to label behaviour as good or bad, how much people should try to change the animals in their care and what might happen when we learn to see the world through another creature’s eyes.
The verdict: An honest and thought-provoking account of loving an animal whose needs reshape every part of your life.
Dogs, Boys and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee
Readers who discovered Isabel Klee and her dog Simon through the popular @SimonSits social media account can now read the story behind their online community.
At 20, Klee moved to New York City and began building a life filled with new friendships, parties, difficult decisions and unpredictable romances. A lifelong dog lover, she eventually found work with The Dogist and discovered a passion for using social media to help rescue dogs find permanent homes.
Her first great love was Simon, a fluffy puppy rescued from the meat trade. Through the highs and lows of her twenties, Simon remained a steady presence while Klee fostered other dogs and helped them overcome their own difficult beginnings.
The verdict: A winning mix of dogs, dating and the search for belonging, perfect for dog lovers and hopeless romantics.
Recommended for readers aged eight to 12, Game of Pets: The Boy Who Knew Too Much launches a hilarious new series from Australian author Aaron Blabey, the creator of The Bad Guys, Pig the Pug and Thelma the Unicorn.
Eleven-year-old Griff has countless allergies and a very big problem. A talking axolotl named Bob has informed him that he is the only person capable of saving the world from a diabolical intergalactic game show.
Unfortunately, the prophecy also comes with a warning: pets are not what they seem.
The verdict: A fast, funny and wonderfully ridiculous adventure that will leave young readers looking at the family pets with suspicion.
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