PAWS: Gabby gets it together by Michele Assarasakorn and Nathan Fairbairn

 Readers are immediately plunged into a panicky scene with the main character trying to control a whole pack of dogs - and losing all but one. Cue a flashback to two months ago, and we learn that her name is Gabby and she's a 5th grader at a small private school while her two best friends, Mindy and Priya, are sixth graders. The trio all have very different personalities, families, and interests, but are brought together by their shared love of dogs - and their family's refusing to get any of them a pet.

While out in the neighborhood the three meet an exuberantly friendly mastiff and come up with the idea of a dog-walking service that will let them play with dogs. Almost immediately though, they run into issues. Priya's sports involvement mean she's never available and she's worried about triggering her mom's severe allergies. Mindy is bossy and doesn't like their uniforms; she also wants to take on more clients than Gabby thinks they can handle. Gabby feels like no one is listening to her and is also dealing with her over-protective father.

A final argument breaks up the trio and Gabby makes the foolish decision to walk all the dogs alone, thus losing them and taking the reader back to the starting point. However, with the help of their parents and their own choices to value their friendship, the three repair their broken bonds, apologize, and rework their business so they can all have a great time doing what they love - playing with cute dogs!

The colorful, brisk art is along the lines of the style popularized by Raina Telgemeier, but Assarasakorn adds her own particular twist with the diversity of the three friends, the varied personality of the dog pack, and a fresh, contemporary look at the interests and lives of the three tween girls.

Verdict: Sure to be a hit at your library for readers who love comics (and dogs) this is a must-have for most library collections. There are planned sequels featuring the other members of the trio, so keep an eye out for those!

ISBN: 9780593351864; Published March 2022 by Penguin/Razorbill; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library