Review: I, Cosmo by Carlie Sororiak

I was sent a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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Blurb: Cosmo’s family is falling apart. And it’s up to Cosmo to keep them together. He knows exactly what to do. There’s only one problem. Cosmo is a Golden Retriever.

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Title: I, Cosmo

Author: Carlie Sororiak

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Genre: Children’s, Middle Grade

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Review:

This book, as told from the point of view of Cosmo, the thirteen year old Golden Retriever, shows a dog on a mission to save his family, look out for his best friend, Max, dance his heart out and eat all of the yummy food possible.

I absolutely loved the narration in this book. Cosmo’s voice was a joy to read – sometimes funny, often adorable, but always heart warming. The love between Cosmo and Max was wonderful to read and will be familiar to any dog owner/lover. It’s wonderful to be able to read a book and plainly see the pure love that connects two of the characters and it’s a really warm-and-fuzzy moment whenever Cosmo and Max are together. In addition, personally, I haven’t read many books that are narrated by the family dog so it was a welcome change and made for a perfectly written children’s book that was simple enough to understand and follow without ever being boring. Cosmo’s outlook on life serves as a reminder to us that not everything has to be so complicated and sharing moments with those that we love is the most important thing.

I thought that the rest of the characters were all well-written, with Emmeline and Uncle Reggie being other favourites of mine. Uncle Reggie was such a lovely, calm presence in the book and a character that I’m sure lots of children will love. Sorosiak writes at a good pace, always keeping us moving and not leaving us waiting for things to happen, even if that something is just Cosmo trying to sneak food from Max at the dinner table – all of his musings were entertaining!

As for what I disliked about this book, there were points where things got a bit sad. There are moments when reference is made to parents fighting, running away, anxiety and animal injury (Cosmo is an old doggo with some aches and pains) so if you’re reading this to a child, just be aware that they may pick up on it. It did made me worry about whether or not Cosmo would make it to the end of the book as it’s mentioned fairly frequently that he has bad legs and is old, but rest assured Cosmo does indeed see the end of the book and is still living it up with his best friend.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a dog fan and enjoys stories that truly hold friendship and love at the heart. This is a book that will really tug on your heartstrings, particularly if you’re an animal lover.

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Rating: 4/5

Recommend?: Yes

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Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you read any of the books that come after this one? I’d love to know!

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