- Dogchild by Kevin Brooks
2020 [480p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9781536209747 $22.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9781536214154 $22.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 10-12
In a desolate future, where two factions making up the last of the human race stand poised on the brink of war, preteen dogchild Jeet stands apart from all. Raised by wild dogs who roam the surrounding Deathlands, Jeet has been rehumanized but still feels part dog inside. When fellow dogchild Chola Se is taken by invading fighters, he volunteers to raid their camp in hopes of rescuing her. Their return, though, exposes a traitor and sets up further conflict. Now, as the final battle begins, Jeet must decide if he will stand and fight or find his own way and return to his canine roots. This harrowing tale, rife with battle scenes and bloodshed, unrelenting violence and fear, drops readers into a bleak reality and keeps them there with the power of Jeet's narrative voice. With its distinct grammar that uses no apostrophes, quotation marks, or chapter breaks, Jeet's account keeps readers hooked as he describes his world but struggles to understand or explain it. Stark depictions of Chola Se's multiple rapes, meanwhile, add another dimension to the trauma, but followed closely by her initiating intimacy with Jeet, they read problematically like plot devices. Scenes with the dog pack, though, offer an ironic respite from the inhumanity. Grim but ultimately gripping, it's a compelling post-apocalyptic tale for readers ready to grapple with nihilism and the darker side of what it means to be human. [End Page 8]