‘Golden Boy’ imagines what might happen if a dog transformed into a boy.
I don’t know about anyone else’s social media feed, but there was a minute during the COVID-19 pandemic when mine was filled with funny memes and videos extolling the virtue of boyfriends with “golden retriever energy.” You know the type — upbeat and playful, sociable and chill, quick to smile, eager to please.
That’s the concept behind “Golden Boy” (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), a new young adult novel by Atlanta author A.J. Symon coming out Tuesday. Science nerd Emma Branch is a high school sophomore living in a small coastal town in South Carolina, dreaming of the day she becomes a veterinarian. When her beloved golden retriever Hudson nearly dies from a congenital heart condition, Emma injects him with an experimental drug she hopes will prolong his life. Instead, it turns Hudson into a blond-haired boy.
He’s not boyfriend material, though. Hudson channels his golden retriever energy into becoming a star football player and an agent of change who helps bring out the best in the whole student body.
But the question remains: Is this new kid in school who goes by the name Bud Golden good enough to end Sparta High School’s losing streak and save Emma’s football coach father from getting fired?
“Golden Boy” is Symon’s first book, although he’s had a long career as a writer in Los Angeles, where he wrote screenplays for original Showtime productions, and Las Vegas, where he wrote variety shows.
Inspired by a game of fetch with his golden retriever Spiffy, Symon had kicked the idea of “Golden Boy” around in his head for a long time.
“Spiffy got it in his head he was going to play keep away,” said Symon, 60, speaking from his home in Barnesville. “I threw the ball for him once and never got it back. I ended up chasing him all over the yard for an hour. … I thought, my gosh, if that dog was human he’d be the world’s best football player. That’s when a light bulb went off, and I thought, oh, I think there’s a story somewhere in there.”
