MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

This past week what arrived was a freebie (thank you to the publicist for Cowboy and Wills!) and one that I ordered, "Thomas Riley" by Nick Valentino.  (steampunk)

Cowboy and Wills by Monica Holloway looks like a very heartwarming tale about an autistic boy who falls in love with a dog, and vise versa.  My great nephew has autism, so this book pulls at my heartstrings in a profound way.  Here is the blurb from the author's website:

In this exceptionally touching memoir, critically acclaimed author Monica Holloway shares the extraordinary, deeply moving story of Cowboy, the golden retriever puppy who changed her son’s life.


The day Monica learns that her lovable, brilliant threeyear- old son, Wills, has autism spectrum disorder, she takes him to buy an aquarium. It’s the first in a string of impulsive trips to the pet store to buy animals as a distraction from the uncontrollable, crushing reality of Wills’s diagnosis. But while Wills diligently tends to the growing menagerie, what he really wants is a puppy. And one Christmas, when Wills is six, Cowboy Carol Lawrence joins their family.

Like all dynamic duos, Cowboy and Wills complement each other perfectly. Wills is cautious, fastidious, and irresistibly tenderhearted. Cowboy, a rambunctious golden retriever, is overeager, affectionate, and impulsive. And from the moment Cowboy enters their lives, Monica sees her son step a little farther into the world.

Soon, the boy who could barely say hello to his classmates in kindergarten is sharing stories of his new “sister” Cowboy during morning circle. Children crowd around them at the park, and instead of running away, Wills, holding Cowboy’s leash in his sweaty fist, proudly answers all of their questions. With Cowboy, he finds the courage to invite kids over for playdates, overcomes his debilitating fear of water to swim along beside her in the family pool, and, after years of gentle coaxing, Wills finally sleeps in his own bed with Cowboy’s paws draped across his small chest. Through it all, Cowboy is there, dragging him toward other children, giving him the confidence to try new things and the courage to face his worst fears. And when Cowboy turns out to need her new family as much as they need her, they discover just how much she has taught them—about devotion, about loyalty, and about never giving up.

Sometimes it’s what you don’t know to hope for that saves you. For Monica, her husband, Michael, and their son, Wills, salvation came in the form of a puppy with pale blonde fur, chocolate brown eyes, a fondness for chewing the crotch out of underpants, and a limitless capacity for love.

The next one is one I ordered myself from first time author Nick Valentino.  It's a steampunk book called "Thomas Riley".  I LOVED the cover and the website is super cool, but when I read the first 2 pages I was very disappointed.  I hope the rest of the book is not written this way.  Once again the need for copious  amounts of description of EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY is prevelant in the first few pages, which tells me that this author likely wants to "help" me "see" his characters and world.  I really like this author as he is a lovely man, so I really really hope to enjoy his debut novel! 

We are only 8 FOLLOWERS away from starting our MEGA 200 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY!!!!! WOOOOT!!  And not only THAT...... I have hired Karen Lewis from SIMPLY AMUSING DESIGNS, and she has created an AWESOME design for Book Blab which I will hopefully be unveiling THIS WEEK!!!!! 

Have a wonderful day!