Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Xavier isn’t your average ten-year-old Tasmanian boy. He likes wearing brightly coloured clothes. His best friend—well, his only proper friend—is a girl. His mother is a hippie. His parents are on a break for reasons he doesn’t understand. They say it’s not forever. It’s just for the meantime. And his constant companion is a big black dog. But it’s not a pet. It’s the (in)visible symbol of depression—invisible to everyone but Xavier.

Xavier’s best friend is Aster (of Aster’s Good, Right Things, the 2021 CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers). I haven’t read Aster’s Good, Right Things, but didn’t feel I missed anything.

Based on reading Xavier’s story, I can see why Aster’s story won the award. It addresses some hard questions (depression, chronic illness, and other mental health challenges) at an age-appropriate level and without talking down to the children. That’s a positive feature of the story: none of the adults talk down to the children.

Xavier isn’t the only person with problems. His mother has Chron’s Disease. Aster has her own challenges, not least her new foster sister. Yet, despite being a book about depression in children—something that could easily be a depressing topic—the writing style and voice lift the writing into something that’s both easy to read, yet profound.

It’s also not a story with easy answers, which impressed me. There was an early clue that this wasn’t going to be a book with an easy answer, where Xavier was magically cured:

"He’d felt hope at ... the suggestion that if you have depression it’s fixable and once it’s fixed it’s fixed forever. He also knew that the moves never showed ... that depression is rarely cured forever."

I think that’s an unfortunate but important fact to acknowledge. Depression isn’t like a broken leg. It can be treated and controlled (and if someone has depression, they absolutely should get treatment). But not being cured isn’t a failing. It’s not an excuse. And the depressed child isn’t broken.

Yes, I like stories with happy endings and a story where the problem isn’t fixed isn’t necessarily happy. Despite that, Xavier in the Meantime is still an uplifting story that I hope will encourage people with depression and educate their family, friends, and the people they come into contact with.

Recommended for confident middle-grade readers, their families, and people who work with that age group.
Thanks to Riveted Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I loved this book, but it also broke my heart.
Xavier wakes up most days with his metaphorical black dog looming. Sometimes in the corner, sometimes it's so close he can feel its breath. No one wants to imagine children with depression, but they exist and this book brings the struggles of these kids into the light.
Xavier has a Mum and Dad who love him, and good friends, but his feelings are not something he can just snap out of. He has to work at it every day, and he has strategies to help him.
This book covers tough topics, but it's not too heavy, and it leaves you full of hope. It's a reminder for everyone to talk and voice your worries, and that it's ok to ask for help, and to let people know how they can help you.

It's a companion novel to Aster's Good Right Things, but you don't need to have read that, to enjoy this.

Thank you to the publisher and author as well as netgalley for allowing me access to this eARC of this book and allowing me to give feedback and read books in exchange for a review.

This is a lovely children's fiction, own voice book. This is a beautiful novel based on Xavier's battle with 'the black dog' ie depression. This was so carefully put and understanding it was breathtaking, I loved this overall and although I have not read the first book I want to go back and read that one too

XAVIER IN THE MEANTIME is a companion novel to ASTER’S GOOD RIGHT THINGS, which I read and loved last year. Xavier is the boy with a pet bunny Aster meets in the other book. As soon as I saw that this book was about him (and incudes Aster as a side character!), I knew I needed to read it.

Xavier is such a cool kid. He has his own wild sense of style– I loved the descriptions of his outfits. He’s a bit of a loner. Homeschooled. Aster is his only friend. And everywhere he goes, the black dog follows him. It’s not a literal real dog. But he sees it in his mind, and it gives shape and presence to his depression. I thought the way the black dog is described and used as a metaphor for his depression was really powerful and original. It reminded me a little bit of the captain in CHALLENGER DEEP by Neal Shusterman.

When Xavier meets Aster in the other book, he and Aster learn about how doing small kindnesses for others can make them feel good inside. Xavier decides that small kindnesses won’t be enough to make him feel good, but he gets an idea for a big kindness, something that could help him and the other kids in his therapy group. It was really cool watching how the people around Xavier responded to the idea of the retreat and the way it impacted his connections with other kids.

This isn’t a story where he finds a magical cure for depression. The story mentions more than once that many people have chronic depression that doesn’t just go away forever. While it’s a really hopeful story, it doesn’t pretend that Xavier has found a magical cure. Rather that finding a supportive community that will be with him when the dark days come and the black dog returns is the true goal for him. I liked that, and I liked that the story explored what a supportive community can look like and how it develops.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to riveted press for the earc to read and review.

This book hit me hard, I mean it literally hit me so hard and I connected and I cried so incredibly much and I felt like the author knew some of what was in my head. I haven’t related to a character this deep in such a long time. I honestly feel like Xavier’s mind was so similar to mine in so many ways. I’m shocked that a book can hit me so hard. I still loved every single bit of this book and I ate it up and read it so quickly.

It’s so rare to find a book about mental health in this age range let alone find one that has been written so delicately, accurately and so knowledgeably with so much care and dedication put into it. The way the characters are written makes them incredibly real, make your mind join with them as you relate so deeply. You want to help them, you, learn of their struggles even on better days and how hard everything is inside their minds.

I read Asters, Good Right Things as an earc previously and loved and connected so much to that beautiful story and I did it again with this one. I loved the new path the story went on, I loved that we saw a different perspective and a new struggle to understand oneself and ones mental issues. I loved that Xavier had a dream and Aster jumped in so quickly to help with the dream, then so many people rallied to help too, to make it a reality. I loved that even as good things happened it showcased that it’s still hard to get out of a bad place mentally.

There is nothing to fault in a book like this, it’s raw, it’s deep, it’s realistic, it’s painful, it beautiful and vital. This is a kind of book that needs to be given to kids, to teachers and parents to ensure everyone understands mental health, to understand what is going through someone’s mind. I’m so happy that this book and it’s predecessor exist.

It’s a heartbreaking, realistic and incredibly well written important wonderful book.

The sequel to Aster's good right things, this is the story or Aster's best friend Xavier who has depression embodied in the book as a black dog that he sees. His dad has moved out to live and run the families sheep farm and Xavier worries it is to get away from him and his depression, A charming book that follows Xavier, written from his viewpoint it is accessible and an understandable account of depression. He is also a delightful little boy and it is also nice to read about his freuindship with Aster and how they understand and support each other.

With thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

Xavier in the Meantime by Kate Gordon

In the complimentary book to Aster’s Good Right Things, Xavier is struggling with depression or, as he prefers to call it, the black dog. When his dad moves out to work on a family farm it feels like the final solid thing in his life has been shattered. He trundles along to his support group where he feels no number of positive affirmations will ever get him out of this hole.

With the help of his best friend, Aster, he comes up with a plan that he thinks might actually make a difference to those in his support group. He is going to turn his family farm into a therapy retreat for children struggling with their mental health after Xavier felt the black dog lift as he spent time on the farm.

I absolutely adored Aster’s Good Right Things, it is an incredible middle grade story that could help so many children that may be struggling with their mental health without even realising it. Kate Gordon has such honest, heartbreaking writing and I could really empathise with Xavier as he so longed to feel “normal”.

This story highlights the importance of having the right people around you that understand what you are going through, and support you no matter what. I am so thankful that books like this are being published for young children around the world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️CW// depression, mental illness

I read the previous book Aster’s Good Right Things and loved it, so I was keen to read the sequel. This book involves all of the characters from the last book, but this one focuses on Xavier, a young boy who suffers with depression. He describes his encounters with the black dog and explains that although it sometimes goes away, it always comes back. This makes him determined to enjoy the times in between, the “meantime”.

It is not necessary to have read the previous book before reading this one but I think you will have a better understanding of the supporting cast if you are aware of their stories. I loved the way in which depression was handled in the book and the author wasn’t searching for a cure, but simply the acceptance that you should enjoy the good times and accept that bad times will happen. This would be a useful and uplifting book for anyone who knows someone living with depression.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow another amazing book by Kate Gordon. This is a book that needs to be out in the world! I felt for Xavier the whole time and can't even image being a child and struggling with depression like that. I have depression myself and I know all about the black dog that follows you around, but I didn't really feel my depression until I was older than Xavier.
I love Aster and Xavier's friendship. I also love Xavier's mom because she lets him feel his feelings and helps him work through them.
This is a hard book to read, but I think it is so needed for any children who might be going through these feelings too. It's a book to help you know that you aren't alone.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I loved this book and I think it needs to be in every library that children use. Xavier suffers with depression: this book describes it perfectly in an an accessible way to help children understand this condition - whether they suffer personally or know someone that suffers. This book normalises what living with it might be like.

Xavier has a loving family, though they clearly struggle to always get it right and his parents appear to be struggling in their marriage, possibly as a result of living with this. Xavier goes to support groups but it is clear that he struggles to build meaningful relationships. He is quirky and unusual but I loved that the book celebrates that. He learns to use poetry as a form of expression which gives him an outlet for his anxiety and worries. Despite things looking up, he has a breakdown and I think it is important to let children know this can happen but that there is help on the road to recovery.

I think this title includes a diverse set of characters who don’t always get it right. It has really important, valuable messages for children of today and I expect it is a good way to open up meaningful conversations in times of difficulty.

Kate Gordon enchants readers once again with Xavier in the Meantime.

We first met Xavier in Aster’s Good, Right Things (full review here), as he and Aster form a friendship and share their mental health struggles. Aster must do good, right things in secret every day to make sure that no one will leave here. And Xavier must always watch out for the big black dog of depression that could attack at any time. Aster and Xavier lean on each other, helping one another through their hard days.


At the end of Aster’s Good, Right Things, both Aster and Xavier are getting the help they need. Xavier in the Meantime picks up shortly after the events of Aster, and continues both of their stories with Xavier as the narrator this time. Many beloved characters from the last book make a reappearance. While Aster and Xavier take place in the same world with the same characters, it isn’t required to read them in order. Xavier does a great job of quickly and efficiently summarizing the first book so readers start off feeling up to date. This is especially helpful for those of us that read Aster quite some time ago, as well.

Xavier is still best friends with Aster, and he’s still struggling with depression. Even in his happy moments, he fears the return of depression and how it will impact those around him.

This book has wonderful mental health representation, showing that different kids struggle with different things. I love the messaging, from not knowing what someone is going through based on their school/family/exterior appearance to empowering you to face your mental struggles head on to not blaming yourself for having different mental health needs than what is so often represented as ‘normal’. Gordon does an excellent job of showing kids how to be a good friend to someone going through hardship, whether that difficulty be temporary, permanent, or somewhere in between.

Xavier is full of great depictions of struggling with mental illness/depression. Unpredictable highs and lows, feeling like everyone will leave you because you’re a burden, and feeling like you have it easier than others and therefore shouldn’t have these feelings.

These depictions wouldn’t be possible without great character development. I love how Gordon populates her books with incredibly well-developed characters, so that everyone from the girl behind the counter at the ice cream shop to the therapist to Aster’s aunt are all fully developed individuals in their own right.

Xavier also normalizes getting the help you need. We see Xavier have a hospital stay, go to group therapy, talk about his feelings with trusted adults, and loads of healthy behaviors. But all of that is balanced with Xavier struggling to make those healthy decisions, feeling inadequate and like a burden long before he broaches the topic with his loved ones. One of the skills he learns at group therapy is writing his feelings down, and he chooses to do so through poetry. This makes quite a difference for him, and as a result beautiful poetry is woven into narrative. Xavier, Aster, and a new potential friend from group therapy all practice poetry, and the results are deeply emotional.

Honestly, this book just makes me incredibly emotional. I cried all the tears while reading it, which sounds like an overstatement but is mostly just accurate. From tiny heart tugs that made me misty to big moments of heartache to just the simple wonders of Xavier feeling seen and loved, my eyes were rarely dry. And yet, it is one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’m so glad it will be available to children to show them what is possible.

The ultimate theme of Xavier is that there isn’t any one, big fix-all for mental health struggles, and that there isn’t anything wrong with that. Taking care of one’s mental health is a lifelong endeavor, and it just starts a bit earlier for some than others. The best course of action is to surround yourself with loved ones who treat you well always, seek professional help, and give yourself grace.

Xavier in the Meantime will be available February 1, 2022 from Riveted Press.

Thank you to author Kate Gordon, Riveted Press, and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy such that I could share my honest review.

This. Book.
God, this book.
This is a middle-grade novella that will 100% change lives.
I'm an adult, but this made me feel seen in ways that very few adult novels have in the past.
This follows a side character from one of Kate Gordon's other books (which I have unfortunately not read, but will be picking up when I have the time), Xavier, who struggles with depression. Xavier sees his depression as a big black dog that follows him around, breathing down his neck and whispering doubts in his ears. He constantly struggles with trying to fight the dog's influence and wanting to just lay down and accept the sadness. He learns to cope with his mental health problems by writing poetry and hugging sheep. As I read his story, I saw so much of who I was in middle school in him. I saw how confused and scared I was of my depression, and I saw how desperate I was to get rid of the unbeatable sadness in his actions and thoughts.
I truly think that when kids get the chance to read this it will save so many kids the pain of feeling isolated and alone in a world that doesn't try to understand them. I wish I had this sort of mental health representation when I was growing up. It would have saved me so much pain.
I really can't wait until this hits shelves -- I want to see exactly how large of an impact it will have.

Xavier knows what he is up against and his struggles are enormous. He also knows how important those “meantimes” are. They are the times to be cherished, when he can breathe normally. Writing helps, poetry helps, so much doesn’t help. He needs help and wants to help others equally afflicted.

I can’t even imagine what it is like living with the Black Dog of depression lurking, panting in the corner. I can’t even imagine, but maybe I can because this books gives you tremendous insight into what life can be for a young person living with constant depression, fear and negative self-worth. What a wonder, what an idea, what a brilliant attempt to climb up and out, helping himself and the “others” and enjoy the “meantime”.

Thank you NetGalley and Riveted Press for a copy.

Xavier in the Meantime is a beautifully written middle grade book that deals a lot with mental health and the importance of friendship and family. I loved how unique Xavier was, and felt he was a well thought out character. Despite the obvious age difference, I saw myself in Xavier, especially with his struggles with mental health. The symbolic nature of the dog was quite interesting, and felt like the metaphor was well done.

Mental health is such a difficult topic, but I think that Kate Gordon did a fantastic job in her portrayal of it, especially with the target audience of this book. Even though the characters are young, they do a good job at accurately depicting depression.

A unique aspect to this book that I really appreciated were the daily affirmations at the start of nearly all the chapters. I think that they have the potential to be beneficial to readers, especially if they themselves are struggling.

Wow, a fabulous exploration of mental health issues written into a readable, accessible and fun story. What a brilliant way to bring mental health issues into the minds of UKS2 and to open those all important discussions that lead to acceptance and understanding. Simply brilliant.

A heartfelt story, deals with good topics around depression and grief. Intense, but well written. As a young kid, I also struggled with depression so this definitely hit me in the feels!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novella.

This was an amazing portrait of depression. Xavier's struggle was heartbreaking, and the window into his thoughts, plagued by the black dog, were a great opportunity for others to learn how crippling depression can really be. A wonderful read for adults and children, I look forward to seeing this on classroom shelves.

It's so important for middle grade readers to see depression depicted in nuanced, sensitive ways in age appropriate stories. This book did a good job addressing the topic.

Aster's Good, Right Things was my favorite book of 2020, so I was very happy to return to her small world. In fact, I re-read it before diving into Xavier in the Meantime and loved it just as much.

Xavier is a unique kid, who likes to dress colorfully and go on adventures with his best friend Aster. But in this second book, his depression comes back in like a lion and becomes a character of its own. Xavier is dealing with a lot, and Kate Gordon pulls no punches about the tenacious tentacles that can pull a person down, even when they want to be happy.

I appreciate that she broaches difficult topics with a soft touch, helping middle grade students experience mental illness with empathy -- truly demonstrating that anxiety, depression, and anger can affect us all in different ways. As in the first book, I appreciated that the adults in Aster's and Xavier's lives are caring and capable. Still, this book shows that even when friends and family members do ALL the right things, mental illness never really disappears altogether.

Definitely a solid addition to the series -- and leaves me wondering if we'll get a trilogy with Indigo as the lead.