sweet, gentle, affectionate

Marisol Rainey has a problem. Daggers has gotten loose. He’s the big dog who lives on her favorite bicycle route. She love to ride her bike, Ginny, with her best friend Jada and her bike, Bunny, around the neighborhood. But one house has a fence and on the other side of the fence is a big dog that Marisol thinks of as Daggers.

Only, he’s not behind his fence anymore. There are posters up around the neighborhood that says that he’s missing. And that his name is Gregory. And that he’s friendly. But just because he’s friendly to the people who own him doesn’t mean he’ll be friendly to everyone. It doesn’t mean he’ll be friendly to Marisol.

Marisol decides to try their friend Felix. Felix says he can communicate with animals. Maybe she can get Felix to talk to Gregory. She asks him, and he says he’ll try but it may not work if Gregory is not in the same place as he is. But Marisol promises to teach him how to ride a bike in exchange for his trying to talk to Gregory.

But Felix has trouble learning to ride his bike. And even with Felix trying to talk to Gregory, Marisol is still scared of him. And then Jada starts acting like she’s unhappy with Felix, or maybe with Marisol, and Marisol doesn’t know why. Will she be able to figure out how to deal with her fears and help her friends out?

One thing that helps Marisol is to learn more about dogs. While German shepherds are big, her mother also points out that they are known for being loyal, courageous, and confident. Marisol points out that she’s not like a German shepherd, because even though she’s loyal, she doesn’t feel courageous or confident. So her mother does some research on her phone and finds out that Marisol is like a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, sweet, gentle, and affectionate.

Like Marisol herself, this book is sweet, gentle, and affectionate. Author Erin Entrada Kelly brings Marisol to life with gentle adventures that help readers deal with their own anxieties and challenges. In Only, Only Marisol Rainey, Marisol has to face her questions about her fears, her friendships, and the possibility of falling. These are big topics, but Marisol brings her thoughtfulness and awareness to the situations as best she can, and she knows to ask her mom and dad for help when she feels like she’s in over her head.

I love Marisol for her big heart and her curious mind, and I think she will appeal to young readers who worry about asking too many questions or about how their friends are feeling or about big dogs or about trying teach someone how to ride a bike when you don’t know how to teach someone how to ride a bike. It’s her sweetness and sensitivity that brings so much to her stories, and even as an adult reading the Marisol Rainey books, I find myself comforted by how much she cares. The world is better for having Marisol in it, and the readers who share in her stories are better for it too.

Egalleys for Only, Only Marisol Rainey were provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books through NetGaley, with many thanks.