I Need More About Bo!

 

TITLE: Unnatural Selection

AUTHOR: CoCo Cooper

PUBLISHER: Victory Editing

PUBLISHING DATE: June 13, 2025

PAGES: 333   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Meet Teddy, a dog who hasn't understood the assignment. 

Instead of digging holes and fetching sticks, he prefers the trappings of humanity – a species he's convinced, against all biological evidence, includes himself. 

But when his doting owner Maggie mysteriously vanishes, and Teddy is left in the care of the menacing man he suspects is behind her disappearance, his perfectly curated existence descends into a nightmare. 

Determined to bring Maggie home, Teddy starts investigating, only to unearth a series of questions about his own identity: Why does rain terrify him? What’s with his insatiable need to be told he's a "good boy" every five seconds? And does he really like puppacinos, or has he just been conditioned to think he does? 

Told through the eyes of an adorably unreliable narrator, Unnatural Selection examines our modern obsession with treating pets like people with heart, humor and wickedly clever insight

MY THOUGHTS: After reading and enjoying a cat-centered book last month, I kind of felt like I owed the boys this one.  And seriously, you all know there is no way I could resist an adult book told from a canine POV right?

Teddy has lived with his "girlfriend" Maggie for almost a year.  During that time, Maggie as worked from home, so she and Teddy spend every waking moment together. But suddenly, Teddy's perfect life takes a turn for the worse.  Maggie's "friend" Charlie who Teddy despises has moved in, and Maggie gets a job, and he finds himself in Doggy Daycare every day. Then one day Maggie vanishes.  Teddy is sure Charlie has murdered her and sets out with his daycare friends and his other best friend Patrick to find out what has happened. Along the way, Teddy makes a few discoveries which shake him to the core including some animal instincts which he didn't even know he possessed.

While this book sounds really darn cute, don't be fooled. Even though told from Teddy's POV, the author handles some serious topics and manages to delve into the lives of Maggie's found family. Clearly the author is highlighting how important pets are to so many people but also looks at it from the dog's POV showing just how extreme some people can be (yep, me, I'm one of those extreme ones 😂).  

But let me share one of my favorite things about this book - Bo.  Bo is an abused pit-bull that attends Teddy's daycare.  Bo and Teddy get off on the wrong paw and despite numerous warnings, Teddy continues to get on Bo's bad side.  However, Teddy learns over the course of the book why Bo is so negative and why he is so skeptical of the humans Teddy holds so dear.  At one point I thought Teddy was a goner because he was a stubborn little thing and kept asking Bo how to get rid of Charlie.  And by get rid of, I mean kill. 

Overall, this was a wonderful read, and I recommend it to anyone who loves dogs and loves to spoil their four-legged family members. It may be too much to ask but I really hope the author continues with this writing style and gives us a book featuring more of Bo's story. 

MY RATING: 4 PAWS