I, Cosmo — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“You can fix anything but a blank page.”
~ Nora Roberts ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Do you wonder about feedback and who is in charge? HERE on Writers in the Storm, James Preston has an excellent article on Who is in Charge of Your Story. Some good examples here.

Most of us grew up thinking we should never end a sentence with a preposition. HERE Melissa Donovan at Writing Forward has a good post that addresses that issue. She has great examples.

Openings are so important to stories. HERE Jacob M. Appel has a very good article from Writer’s Digest with 10 Ways to Start Your Story Better.

You will be getting a two-fer this week. A good friend of mine, one of my critique partners, has a book coming out this week I want to tell you about before I get to my main, MMGM book review. Elizabeth Varadan has been a member of critique groups I’ve been involved with for many years. She has had several books published, and this new one is the second in a series of mysteries set in Portugal. The first, Deadly Vintage, came out last year and, if you haven’t read it, I recommend it as well. I have seen this new one grow from an idea to a finished, polished book, and I do love it. It is called Deadly Verse, and it will grip readers from beginning to end. HERE is the link to the trailer. I hope you get a chance to read it!

Sorry for the earlier post today. I have been having problems with WordPress, and I had to repost last week’s post. I made it disappear. Sheesh. Anyway, this is the real post for this week. Thanks for all your good wishes on my health. I am getting better every day, although I still have a long way to go. Naps are my new best friends. It has been interesting this week to watch what is going on in politics. Never a dull moment. I am really hoping this new bill will pass with real money to combat climate change. Watching all the frightening repercussions from climate change in weather worldwide has been a real eye-opener for many. Fingers crossed Washington can get this done.

I received an email from the publicist at Candlewick Press and Walker Books with an offer for ARCs of new books they have coming out in exchange for an honest review. I had so much on my plate I almost passed, but one book just jumped out at me. I have said so many times, I don’t read books told by animals, but then it seems I do. This is one of those exceptions. I mean, look at that face. How could you pass by that one? I am a total sucker for golden retrievers. And I noticed it was written by Carlie Sorosiak who also wrote Leonard (My Life as a Cat), another book told by an animal that I absolutely loved. You can read my review HERE. So I asked for a copy of I, Cosmo. What a great choice! I love this book as well.

Have you ever wondered when your dog lays his head in your lap and looks deeply into your eyes what is going on in his mind? I know I have. Well, maybe Carlie Sorosiak has the answers you’ve been looking for. She simply allows Cosmo to tell his own story, and it is a wonderful one. Cosmo was just a pup when he was adopted by Zora and David Walker, a young couple deeply in love who dance a lot. Soon, they have a child, Max, who becomes the center of their lives, including Cosmo’s. Max is Cosmo’s person, his responsibility, his reason for being. They do everything together. In a few years, Max gets a sister, Emmeline, who is sweet and fun and loves Cosmo too. It’s a wonderful family and a wonderful life and through it all, the family dances. Cosmo would like nothing more than to dance, but he is a dog. And dogs just don’t dance, do they?

Max is ten when things start to change. Mom and Dad aren’t dancing anymore. In fact, they are hardly talking. They only seem to be fighting, and Max is sad and worried. He doesn’t know what to do, and Cosmo can’t seem to help him. When Uncle Reggie comes home from the war, he has to leave his dog, Rosie, behind to finish her tour. He’s hoping he can get her when she finishes so he can start a dog training school. He finds out there is a training and contest for dogs and their owners to learn a dance together and compete for an appearance in a movie. Max decides if he and Cosmo can win, maybe it will be enough to convince his parents to stay together. But Cosmo is getting old and has arthritis and has never been able to dance. Can they do it? Can Cosmo overcome his age and aches to help Max?

Carlie Sorosiak has written a brilliant story that will have readers riveted to the pages, believing every step of the way that a dog named Cosmo is really the author. How she gets into a dog’s head to tell his story is amazing. Cosmo’s story is sweet and funny and so, so smart. This might be marketed to a young audience, but anyone who gets their hands on this book is in for a treat. Do not miss this book!

I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.