Junkyard Dog

October 15, 2009
Grades 5-8 Orca Currents continues its line of hard-hitting novels for reluctant readers with this brutal yet rewarding moral quagmire. Thirteen-year-old Justin is initially thrilled when he is hired by a man who provides guard dogs to convenience stores, junkyards, and car dealershipsJustins father is jobless, and a few extra bucks would put food on the table. But the fact that Justin loves dogs quickly becomes a liability. The animals, many of which are acquired illegally from animal control or shelters, are cruelly debarked and treated like disposable machines. When Justins favorite dog, Smokey, becomes too feeble, Justin is forced to abandon him on the highway, setting off the climactic dilemma of making money versus doing whats right. Polak writes with a nervy confidence, and her specificity (for example, Justin suffers from hair loss due to his extreme anxiety) lends an authenticity that lives beyond the books relatively few pages. A powerful story for anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of a dog and accepted the offer: Be good to us, and well be good to you.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
Thirteen-year-old Justin lands a job with a security company. Not only is he shocked to discover that the guard dogs are being mistreated, he also suspects a colleague is involved with a recent spate of thefts. Melodramatic touches--Justin's mother is gone, his hard-drinking father's out of work--somewhat undercut the power of this otherwise direct, accessible, high-interest title.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)