Jed and the Junkyard War by Steven Bohls (review)

Jed’s parents have always emphasized survival skills and independence, and it turns out that there was a reason: after they disappear when he is twelve, he’s more able than most kids would be to negotiate a hidden world (through a tunnel behind the dishwasher, of course) filled with massive junkyards, pirates, and Borg-like murderous mechanical creatures. There are a few moments that threaten the suspension of disbelief, but mostly this is a survival story about being menaced by pirates, dreads (the aforementioned flesh-hungry metal things), and junkstorms. It’s not much of a surprise that Jed’s not an ordinary kid and that he has a past in this place that he can’t remember, but it’s nonetheless quite the shock to him, and the final reveal of Jeb’s real relationship to this world is equally startling. Readers will likely be hooked from the start, and once you add in a memorable side cast, a group of daunting villains, and a cool alternative world, there’s more than enough to guarantee interest in the certain sequel.