cover image Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About: A Memoir

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About: A Memoir

Isabel Klee. Morrow, $28 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-345107-0

Social media influencer Klee’s sweet debut sets her coming-of-age against the backdrop of her experiences fostering dogs. Bookended by Klee’s preparation for a TV interview in the summer of 2024, the memoir spans 11 years, beginning with her decision to move to New York City after dropping out of college and traveling around the U.S. In the city, Klee took a job assisting a pet photographer (“I came home from my job interview soaking wet and covered in dog slobber”), which spurred her to interact with animals more often in her downtime. She eventually signed up to foster dogs in her Queens apartment, and charmingly recounts the trials and rewards of each of her charges, including Simon, an epileptic mutt Klee wound up adopting in 2019. Along the way, she recalls opening her heart to a variety of men, friends, and occupations, and shares the wisdom she gleaned from her parade of four-legged companions (“They live unencumbered, unrelenting, and the state of the world doesn’t matter”). Throughout, Klee proves an endearing, unfussy guide to growing up. Readers will be charmed. Agent: Jessica Spitz, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Apr.)