Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, the award-winning author of A Dog Like Daisy, delivers another hilarious and heartwarming middle grade novel from the viewpoint of a service dog, Zeus, a diabetic alert dog for a tuba-playing young boy who does not want to be defined by his illness.

Zeus comes from a long line of heroic dogs, so it figures he would graduate Canine College as valedictorian. He dreams of glory as a K-9 commander but receives a more dangerous assignment: middle school! And as all good service dogs know, the only way to get through hostile territory is by being invisible.

Zeus’s new human, Madden, is diabetic, and he wants to be invisible, too. That’s hard to do with a huge German shepherd at his side to alert him when his blood sugar drops. And it’s even harder because Madden makes this noise called music that gives Zeus funny feelings—and draws attention to Madden as the star tuba player in band. Zeus’s mission becomes clear: he must destroy music.

While Zeus’s training prepared him for his most important job—keeping Madden safe—he discovers the human world is complicated. As Madden dreams of winning the state band competition and tries to reconnect with his mom, the lieutenant, Zeus must learn that, sometimes, you need to stand out to fulfill your duty.