Both Can Be True

Jules Machias's Both Can Be True is a warm, honest story for 11 year olds about two kids hiding a rescued dog, and a lot of feelings.

What happens

Ash has just started at a new school. Some days Ash feels like a girl and some days like a guy, and right now it's shifting. Even choosing which toilet to use is a daily worry. So far Ash has let everyone assume "Ash" is short for Ashley.

Daniel is the boy in photography class with the Hair and Eyes. He cries easily, and his family keep telling him he's too sensitive. His dog died in the summer, his dad has moved out and his best friend isn't speaking to him.

Then, at the vet's where he volunteers, a vet tech secretly saves an old Pomeranian called Chewbarka from being put to sleep. But she has to rush off to a family emergency. Nobody else knows the dog is there. So Daniel smuggles her home in a shopping bag and hides her in a tent in the woods!

He's soon so tired he's giggling hysterically in the darkroom. And that's when he tells Ash.

The chapters take turns between the two of them, so you're right inside both heads. Ash hears sounds as colours and draws them. Daniel notices every animal that's scared or sad. They're both a bit of a mess and very easy to root for (and Chewbarka, who pees on everything, is adorable).

There's a lot in here, so it's worth knowing what's coming before you hand it over. The vet scenes are frank about pets being put down. Ash remembers being bullied and called "it" at an old school, and Ash's dad doesn't believe gender fluid is real. Ash is on puberty blockers. Both kids are thirteen, with crushes and a spin-the-bottle kiss in the background, and there's some mild swearing.

For a reader who's ready for it, that honesty is the whole point. Ash's big question is one lots of children will recognise. Why can't I just be plain me? And Daniel shows that caring a lot isn't something to be fixed.

What to read next

If it's the dog-saving that grabs them, While the Storm Rages is another story about a boy desperate to keep a dog from being put down. It's set in London as the Second World War begins.