Isabel Klee Book Review: Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About
Hello readers! I’m really excited about today’s book review that I’ll be sharing with you. We’re going to be discussing the new Isabel Klee book, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About.
Isabel is a writer, content creator, dog mom, and foster pet advocate hailing from Brooklyn. I started following her on Instagram sometime last year, and immediately fell in love with her content. She shares her daily adventures as a dog mom as well as taking care of her different pets that she fosters and helps to find forever homes.
If you’re a fan of Isabel on social media, I think you’ll really enjoy her memoir. She writes honestly about her experiences becoming an adult in NYC and her origin story of fostering pets. I think that pet owners will find her story compelling and inspiring.
So lets get on with the book review!
What is Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee About?
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee—known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue—comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman’s search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it.
A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream.Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.
Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.
In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome—with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions, and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself. (from Amazon.com)
Trigger Warning
I know that some people are sensitive about animals dying, so I just want to mention that Isabel writes about her childhood dog in her memoir. And as well all know, dogs don’t live forever. So there is mention of animals passing away in this book.
My Initial Thoughts
I was familiar with Isabel’s story prior to starting her book. She shares a lot of her story on her different social media platforms, but since I don’t go on tiktok my main place to watch her content is on Instagram. I just started following her last year but I’m familiar withher current life which is that she lives in Brooklyn with her fiance, their dog Simon, and the different foster animals that they taken in.
I like that in her memoir she takes us back to the beginning. I think I am exactly the same age as her, so I completely relate to how hard it can be to figure out your life in your early twenties. I liked reading about her different experiences with college and trying out different roommates in her early twenties.
But I especially liked hearing about the dogs. I think she really did a good job of showing what dogs have meant to her, all the way back to her early childhood.
The Dogs
I loved reading about all of the different dogs that Isabel has had experiences with. Whether they were family pets, foster dogs, her dog Simon, or others. Each dog has a special place in her heart. It’s very obvious from the storytelling in this book.
The Boys
As you can probably tell from the title of this book, Isabel shares different dating experiences that she had during her early twenties. Not all of them are good, but they are relatable.
I met my fiance on a dating app, but it took me a couple of years to find him. So I completely related to her talking about things like weird conversations and bad dates.
I’m such a big fan of Isabel now, so some of her dating stories made me really mad. I was like, “How dare you?” whenever one of the guys she dated mistreated her or cheated on her. Lol.
But it just goes to show that all good things take time. It’s a little over halfway through the book before Isabel tells the story of meeting her fiance, Jacob, during the pandemic. It warmed my heart and reminded me that everything takes time! You really do have to trust the timing of your life.
Her Story was Different From What I Thought
I think it’s easy to think that the people we follow on social media have perfect lives. And that’s because we’re often only seeing the best things that they choose to post. So I really appreciate the openness and hoensty in Isabel’s story. She’s very open about the fact that it took her most of her twenties to figure out who she was, and who she wanted to be.
I think many millenials and gen z will be comforted by that. Life is hard. And you don’t have to have everything figured out all at once. It’s okay to take chances and make mistakes and figure things out the hard way.
Isabel’s Memoir is going to be a TV Show
How cool is that? She recently announced on social media that her memoir is being adapted into a TV show (you can find out more information here). It’s obviosuly still in beginning stages so there’s not too much information yet, but I can’t wait to find out more!
In Conclusion
Thank you for stopping by today and reading my book review of Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee. This was a really eye opening and interesting memoir. I don’t really have any critiques. I just have to say again how refreshing and heartwarming I found it.
I hope Isabel keeps writing! I know that in the meantime I’ll be following on Instagram to find out what happens to her, Simons, and her foster dogs next.
