GATHER

Family matters; friends, both two- and four-legged, help too.

The story opens with Ian Gray’s Aunt Terry bustling around the house in anticipation of his mom’s return home from the hospital, just a week before Thanksgiving. In bits and pieces, readers learn that Mom struggles with addiction. Through this and all the subsequent challenges Ian faces, a stray dog who has wandered out of the woods adjoining his backyard becomes his anchor and steady best friend. He names the large, galumphing stray Gather. Ian recollects spending a lot of time with crusty Gramps, who liked to hunt. Mom makes a slow recovery, landing a job and a boyfriend. Between school, family, and friends, Ian’s world is heavily populated. Cadow’s debut novel portrays a challenging coming-of-age in rural Vermont with warmth, humor, and insight. Ian observes the turmoil that surrounds him with bewilderment and deadpan humor. At one point, after a potentially dangerous incident, he remarks, “Obviously I made it since I’m telling you about it.” Cadow captures Ian’s engaging naïveté, which is tempered by a survivor’s unflappability and a blossoming sense of irony. The novel has the flavor of a collection of linked stories, boosted by snappy chapter titles: “What You Come Across and What You Do with It” is a reminiscence about a fishing trip and a found jackknife but also reflects Ian’s philosophy of life. Main characters read white.

A heartfelt novel about the challenges of youth and the value of community.