Sometimes a book hits you at the right moment. Golden Boy was that book for me. I love dogs and desperately love my very opinionated one, so this story of a girl doing what she could to make her dog better hit home. I received an early copy of this from Simon Teen, and thought the premise was intriguing. Once I read it, my brain started turning to find two comps to describe the book. Golden Boy is the iconic 2000s movie, Life-Size, meets Because of Winn-Dixie. I found myself laughing at so many parts and just enjoyed the story.

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to ask A.J. Symon about his debut!

About Golden Boy

Science-obsessed, teen-genius Emma Branch is used to being the odd one out—in her family, among her classmates, and in her small town that only ever seems to care about football. She doesn’t mind being all alone; in fact, she prefers it. Besides, who needs friends when she has a best friend already—her golden retriever, Hudson.
But when Hudson gets into an accident, Emma can’t bear to lose her only friend. Luckily, she’s been working on an experimental substance for her school science project that could help him out. All it was supposed to do was heal Hudson, not…turn him human?!
Emma, her family, and the whole town is about to learn just how a golden retriever can change hearts and minds for the better—that is, after causing a big, old mess first.

About A.J. Symon

A.J. Symon lives with his family in Barnesville, Georgia, where proceeds from his work will keep several golden retrievers in the lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed. His ultimate dream is to create a foundation that helps families pay for advanced veterinary care provided by places like UGA’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital so that no one ever has to choose between going into debt or saving a beloved family member.

Author Interview With A.J. Symon

 How would you describe your book in 2 sentences?

Golden Boy is ultimately a story about friendship and family and seeing the world through another person’s (or dog’s) eyes. Sometimes it takes a dog to remind us what it means to be human. In Golden Boy, when the beloved family golden retriever becomes human, a teenage girl’s relationships with herself and her family transform in ways she never thought possible.

What inspired you to write young adult?

I knew I wanted to write a book for young people, but I didn’t gear it specifically for young adult versus middle grade. I just wrote the story that was in my heart, and fortunately, Simon & Schuster saw the potential, and they decided which audience it was right for.

Did you have a favorite you read while growing up?

My favorite young adult book growing up was Then Again, Maybe I Won’t by Judy Blume. I was amazed by her ability to capture a young adolescent boy’s experience so accurately.

What was your writing process like?

I wrote this as a way to deal with the grief of losing Chip, my service dog of ten years, so it just poured out of me very quickly. It was almost like automatic writing. All the grief and sadness poured out of me onto the page and came out through the mouths of my characters. And then all of the joy that Chip gave me, all the lessons he taught me, and ten years of unconditional love poured out, too, and I started to feel better. I think Chip's spirit lives on in this story. So I hope that this book lifts the reader up the way that he lifted me up all those years.

What sort of research did you have to do for Golden Boy? What was the most surprising thing you came across?

I wanted to make the story feel as if it could be possible for a dog to become human, so I did a lot of research into genetics. I discovered that dogs and humans share almost 90% of the same DNA, so we're almost cousins in that respect. Also, dogs only express about half of their genes, so it seemed plausible that if Emma, the main character, found a way to turn on some of those unexpressed genes, then maybe a dog could evolve into a human being overnight.

What was it like to create a character like Emma and her science experiments?

There is a lot of me in Emma. I was a big nerd growing up, and my dog was my only true friend. So I had to dig deep into my own experience to create her emotional life—or lack of emotional life. Again, I did a lot of research into genetics to make her serum sound plausible. Also, both of my parents were chemists who taught at Emory University, and I grew up around science labs, so I was pretty familiar with the setting already.

There were so many ways to write a dog becoming a human. How did you decide to write Hudson the way you did?

I will probably embarrass myself with this answer, but I know I’m not the only dog lover who does this. I’ve always imagined what my dogs would be like if they were human. I have full-on conversations with my dog all day long, and I do his voice and mine. In fact, I’ve created voices for every dog I’ve ever had. I’m sure that I would appear an absolute lunatic to anyone who happened to witness these exchanges. So I have years of experience under my belt imagining what a dog might say in everyday situations.

Would you want any of your dogs to be human? And why?

Only when they’re sick. Dogs are so stoic when they don’t feel well. It would be great if they could tell you what they were going through so you could help them. But otherwise, no. I want my dogs to be dogs.

Your book deals with family complexities and the far reaches of grief. What was it like to put those subjects into a book?

It was healing for me on both fronts. I guess most writers use their personal lives as fodder for their fiction. My family was not comfortable expressing our feelings, and that’s the main issue between Emma and her father. And then I worked through a lot of the grief losing Chip through writing about Emma and Hudson’s relationship. The great thing about fiction is that you can fix things in your stories that you have no control over in real life.

You’re a avid dog lover—what dogs in your life inspired Hudson?

Hudson is based on Chip, the service dog I lost, and his father, who is the real-life Hudson. So the character of Hudson is an amalgam of both of them.

Who is your favorite character in the book?

That’s a tough one. I really like Emma because I understand her so well. I also love Hudson because he’s so sweet and innocent. And this may be surprising, but I also like Emma’s father Wayman, who I know is really gruff and brusque and not particularly likable on the surface. But that all comes from his own pain and fear. He’s a damaged individual just trying to do the best he can with the tools he was given.

What is your favorite scene in the book?

I love the scene where Hudson the dog learns how his new human body works. That was fun to write. I also have a weakness for heart moments. There are a couple of those that still give me a lump in my throat. I just love it when characters find new ways to connect.

What’s a recent book you’ve read and loved?

I’m re-reading the Talisman series by Stephen King and Peter Straub because the last book is coming out soon, and I needed to remind myself what happened. My stories tend to be set in the “real world” where some extraordinary event happens (like a dog becoming human), so I’m always awed by other writers’ ability to create full-on fantasy worlds with rules and hierarchies and all of that.

How do you hope readers feel after finishing your book?

My hope is that it lifts readers up. They’ll laugh a lot and may even shed a tear or two. It’s perfect if you just want to be entertained, feel good, and smile. But the book has a lot of layers, so even though I wrote it for young readers, anyone of any age can relate. You can read it just for the funny story, but it also deals with family relationships, friendship, honesty, bullying, grief… A kid who picks the book up today can enjoy it one way, then a few years down the road can discover completely new things in it. And even more when they’re an adult. It’s definitely something that will get the whole family talking.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on both a prequel and a sequel. Not sure which will be done first. But there is definitely much more to come. I’m excited to share them with readers.

Thank you so much A.J. for allowing me to ask you questions about your book. If you haven't already, grab a copy of Golden Boy.