ARC Review: "Becoming Trixie: It's a Dog's Life" by David Horn ★★★★
ARC Review: Becoming Trixie: It's a Dog's Life by David Horn
Unique, funny, quirky and wholesome, this young adult sci-fi fantasy is so “flaming” good (if you know, you know).Our lives are about to change. Trixie already went through a huge transformation, leaving Expiry to live on Limo One and train to be a princess. And I had my change, from a four-legged furry friend to living on a space carriage. But this is their big change.
[Contains some spoilers]
PLOT SUMMARY
Twinkie the dog is chasing a squirrel when she stumbles upon a portal in a tree. The next thing she knows, she is transformed into a human – 16-year-old Trixie, Princess of the Kalaxian Star Empire. Concerningly for poor Trixie, Kalaxia has never heard of a dog. And in two weeks, she is to marry handsome besotted Prince Weibold of the Thorpian Stardom for political and military advantage.
Trixie can do nothing but navigate this outlandish way of life, confusing everyone with the sudden change in their well-mannered and quiet Princess’ behaviour as she runs around and causes utter havoc. Desperate to get back home, Trixie seeks allies in the kind Dr. Lam and her ladies-in-waiting: Marmalade (her best friend), Koko (warrior), Perri (tech genius), Brandi (a chef who loves cupcakes), and Justyna (artist). She even befriends the Artificial Intelligence machine, whom she names Willow, much to the dismay of Thorpia as its citizens hate AI as it is an insult to their many Gods.
But people are not as they appear to be, and Trixie finds it difficult to know who to trust. Betrayals come from the most unlikely places. When trouble and threats arise from Director Voltari, a Quantum Mancer with dangerous magical powers who is desperate for the alliance between Kalaxia and Thorpia, Trixie must rally her pack of friends together to fight or die trying. Will she make it back home?
This is told in the first-person present-tense POV of Trixie.
OVERALL OPINIONS
David Horn has produced a very fun and quirky story here, with some excellent messages and plot twists at the end I genuinely was not expecting. Even the Chapter titles were relevant and oftentimes amusing. I commend Horn on his efforts with this!
It is creative to have the idea of a dog turning into a human and trying (but failing many times in hilarious ways) to behave like one. From the desire to wag her now non-existent tail when she is happy, to licking her friends to comfort them, to spinning around when she is excited, Horn captures all the beloved traits of a dog and conveys Trixie’s struggle to adapt from this.
Indeed, Horn is very attentive to details, especially regarding dogs. The best thing that I’d like to mention is the colour red which Trixie is interested in throughout. For those who are not aware, dogs cannot see the colour red, therefore this is a big thing for Trixie and she discovers that red is a versatile colour as it has many different connotations (embarrassment, anger, blood). Something else that amused me is in the first Chapter, Trixie (well Twinkie, as she would have been then) is chasing after squirrels but refers to them as “Squiwel!” which I believe is due to the funny voices that owners tend to do when talking to and fussing over their dog.
Even the designs are genius, like the chapter header images of the pawprints for Chapter 1 which change into handprints essentially from Chapter 2 onwards, reflective of her transformation from dog to human. A few chapters have a pawprint on the left and a handprint on the right, perhaps to show a conflicting state of mind, or the fact that her friends know her secret by this point. The Epilogue is from the point of view of Justyna which has a pallet and paintbrush as its chapter header image which is very fitting as art is what she is exceptionally talented at. The cover is also very gorgeous and very clearly presents what the story is about without even looking at the blurb.
There are so many humorous moments that genuinely had me laughing out loud! My all-time favourite has to be the practice dinner at breakfast where they are all roleplaying and it goes horribly wrong. And the times when characters, mostly Trixie and Justyna misinterpret what has been said, for example:
“He’s very pious. Maybe that counts for something.” I do like pie.
There is also a debate throughout the book about whether AI is a help or hindrance, a very relevant subject today. Corrupt systems and people, are also covered, again a realistic topic.
I like that every character Trixie encounters she compares to dogs: Lady Marmalade she mistakes for her dog best friend Bailey who is a nova scotia duck tolling retriever. Koko seems like a large fierce rottweiler. Brandi reminds her of a chow. Perri is considered as a papillon. Lady Justyna is akin to a golden retriever. Willow’s name is picked from Trixie’s association with a goldendoodle “who thought she knew everything, just like the computer”. Dr. Lam’s hair is compared to a poodle. Voltari is compared to a pit bull, rather fitting symbolically as they are often considered dangerous. This helped me greatly to visualise what each character was like.
<< Positives >>
π A quick read and very funny.
π The chapter header images were appropriate.
π Well fleshed out characters.
π A plot that was not confusing with relatable subjects and realistic issues.
π Incredible plot twists and reveals at the end, and not in a way that did not make sense to the plot, like some authors tend to do.
π I loved the Taylor Swift references; they made me grin! Tayson Kwik is of course a pun on the name Taylor Swift, Kwikie for Swifties, Empires Tour instead of Eras tour, with some merchandise that says 13989 reminiscent of 1989 and “Amor” as a heads up to “Lover”. I think a lot of young adults will enjoy and appreciate this.
<< Negatives >>
π I did not realise this would be part of a series so I expected a conclusion though realised by the 2nd last chapter this would not be the case. I am a little disappointed but it will be interesting to see where this story goes. Hopefully, we will get the chance to see Dr. Lam again.
π I feel that, though mentioned frequently, KAMP (Kalaxian Association of Medical Practitioners) and its motives should have been explained more thoroughly early on as this was unclear and I was not sure why they couldn’t be trusted. I suggest around the time in Chapter 3 where Trixie finds out what KAMP stands for.
π The betrayals felt too repetitive for my liking, or rather *who* was betraying them.
CHARACTERS
-ΛΛ ꒰ Trixie꒱ ΛΛ-
↳ Trixie is a sweetheart, I love how much she makes a difference with her friends, bringing them out of their shells and giving them a chance to shine. She is also very forgiving which is a lovely quality.
π Willow is particularly a very touching character: she is a computer but once Trixie gives her a name, she immediately is able to take on a personality and have thoughts and feelings.
“A name is very important!” I know this from when I was Twinkie and I would listen out for my name all the time. It usually meant food, love, and rubbies... They deserve names too.
True to what Trixie says, names are so important as they are your identity that without it, as shown through Willow you lose all individuality and sense of self and purpose. A rather moving message!
FAV QUOTES
• A whole table of humans is staring at me—humans I don’t know. That’s the dangerous kind. But I feel like staring at me too.
• The sun is beaming down on us, with only a few clouds in the sky. The three of us stop rolling and stare up at the blue sky, which reminds me of *home* home.
• “Oh, thank the stars,” Perri says. “Look what you created, Trixie. She even developed a personality.” | “I was always here, Perri. You just chose to ignore me,” Willow interjects.
• I’ll never make it in this world, or to Thorpia, acting like a dog, which means I’ll never get home again to be a dog. Why is this so hard?
• “Princess, the gods breathed sound into my voice solely to soothe you.”
• My imaginary tail is straight down.
• “I love you all. I was lost when I got into this world, but you became my pack.”
• Everyone asks over her, around her, through her, or of her. But to ask *about* her?
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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank David Horn and Reedsy for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
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