Golden Boy (Hardback or Cased Book)

For the first printing only! This hardcover features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts.

When the beloved family golden retriever becomes human, a girl’s relationships with her family and herself transform in ways she never thought possible in this “fun, fast-moving” (School Library Journal, starred review) young adult novel.

Emma Branch has always been the odd one out. As a stubborn, socially inept teen genius, she’s had a hard time finding her place in her small Southern town. But that’s okay, because Emma already has the only friend she needs: her golden retriever, Hudson.

So when Hudson falls critically ill, Emma can’t say goodbye. With her science smarts, she injects him with her latest experiment, a longevity formula she hopes will save his life. And that’s when things go hilariously wrong. Emma wakes the next day to find she’s turned her dog into a human boy!

Before she can make an antidote, Hudson runs off and inadvertently impresses Emma’s father out on the football field. As a struggling head coach, he proposes a wild idea: put Hudson on the team. Soon enough, everybody is talking about the mysterious new football star who’s catapulting the team to victory. And Emma, her father, and the whole town discover how a good boy can change people’s hearts—but only after he causes a doggone mess!

A.J. Symon lives in Barnesville, Georgia, with his family, which includes several golden retrievers, including descendants of the real-life Hudson on which Golden Boy is based.