“Dogs Don’t Break Hearts” is ‘Nathan Burgoine’s second YA book under Lorimer’s “Real Love” imprint since his fun “Stuck With You” two years ago.

Like the earlier book, it is a “Hi/Lo,” a “high interest, low reading complexity book” meant for young readers who do not have a high reading level for one reason or another. And like the earlier book, none of it comes off as talking down to any reader.

Timothy Beck (“Beck” to his friends, all six of them) is an out, Gay High School kid in Ottawa, Canada who is in need of volunteer hours. Beck has broken up with Mason, a fellow member of the school’s GSA group who didn’t even acknowledge they were boyfriends. Not wanting to be around his ex, Beck grabs a note from the volunteer board about “Rescues In Motion,” a local dog rescue organization. Everything is going fine until Beck runs into Oliver who is dating Mason and is also volunteering at Rescues In Motion.

Sparks do not immediately fly as the two of them make the best of having to be together. As this is a romance book, part of the fun is seeing how the two of them eventually get together. And if that seems a bit contrived, Beck and Oliver’s actions come off as very humanly real.

As well as Burgoine handles the human characters it is in the depiction of the dogs where Burgoine’s skill really shines through. From pretty little Cinnamon, to sad-faced Sampson a Black Lab with a rough past to Coffee the adorable brown husky who plays an instrumental role in Beck and Oliver’s story. Every bark, every tail-wag, every heartrending canine glance is played with flawless precision. There is never a moment when the dogs do not seem anything but real, breathing, living beings.

And again, Burgoine handles the bits about some of the dog’s difficult earlier lives perfectly, without detail and it works. Readers feel sympathy and compassion for them as does Beck.

Adding to the fun are Burgoine’s chapter titles, cast as a series of picture posts Beck has been doing online. (“Today’s Gay Agenda: Volunteer.” “Today’s Gay Agenda: Walk Through A Door.” “Today’s Gay Agenda: Don’t Get Parasites.”)

Making the human characters more real is Beck’s acknowledgment that he shares blame for cutting off with his small friend group at school because of Mason. And the last few chapters where Oliver and Beck finally officially do get together are heart-tugging.

And while a reader should not judge a book by its cover, this delightful cover by Tyler Cleroux totally conveys the happiness of both Beck and Coffee.

“Dogs Don’t Break Hearts” is a fun, breezy charming read well-recommended for anybody. Especially dog lovers.

SPOILER ALERT: All the dogs survive through the end of the book.

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Here’s a link to get the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221149582-dogs-don-t-break-hearts