Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. When his ship wrecks,ack, a nineteenth-century cabin boy, finds himself stranded on a remote island near New Zealand. Once inhabited by farmers, the island now has only sheep and sheep dogs, left behind after the people abandoned their homes. Whenack arrives, the dogs have split into two groups: one that loyally cares for the sheep and another that attacks them. The story, told in alternating viewpoints shifts betweenack's perspective and that of Moxie, a young dog. Asack negotiates the two canine groups and learns to survive in his new world, he achieves a bond so deep that he can communicate with the dogs. Morgan delivers an unusual, engrossing novel, using vivid language to project the reader into the sounds and smells of the animal world as he examines the ancient bonds between humans and dogs. --Todd Morning Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A tender exploration of the bond between man and his best friend, Morgan's thoughtful adventure uses the relationship between human and animal to cast a warm glow on each. The narrative alternates between the point of view of Moxie, one of the dogs living on a remote island years after his master died in a house fire, and Jack, an orphan who is taken in by a crew of sailors only to be shipwrecked and deposited alone on Moxie's island. The old blind dog Sage has been telling of a messianic return of "the humans," and Jack's arrival on the beach is seen as a great blessing by most, but as an ominous portent to the suspicious Kelso. Morgan uses simple, clean prose to paint two separate pictures of two distinct perspectives on innocence-the kind that Jack has apparently just lost, having to face the world on his own once again, and the kind that Moxie is just discovering, rooted in the singular love that comes from the connection between man and dog. Many insights come from the canines' view of humanity ("Humans are complicated.... I was told that often humans think by barking in their minds. The inside of a human's mind must be a very noisy place," Sage tells Moxie). The pacing is swift, and the surprising and touching finale begs for a sequel. Ages 9-12. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-After being cast overboard during a storm, a young cabin boy is washed ashore on an island inhabited by two packs of dogs. One group protects the sheep that were left behind by now-departed settlers, while the other, the wild fangos, hunts the herd. Soon after his arrival, Jack has a suspenseful life-and-death encounter with the fangos and is rescued by the sheep dogs. They lead him to the ruins of a farm, where he is able to find the necessities of survival. Lonely, he tries to reach out to the canines, but they keep their distance. Soon Moxie, a little Border collie, befriends the boy, and before long, the two form a bond. The events are related from alternating viewpoints. During Jack's scenes, the plot moves more quickly, while Moxie's chapters are more thoughtful, as she listens to her leader, a blind old English sheepdog who guides her to an understanding of the pack's history and the connection between humans and dogs. In many ways, this story is really Moxie's, as the themes of companionship and communication develop through her thought processes and her budding relationship with Jack. More than just an exciting adventure tale, this novel is an exploration of the hidden link between people and animals. Get out your Kleenex; the ending is no fairy-tale wrap-up.-James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A young castaway washes up on an island inhabited by two rival packs of canines+sheepherders and wild dogs known as fangos. Jack befriends Moxie, a border collie, and helps out her pack when the fangos attack. The narrative alternates between Jack's and Moxie's perspectives, but Jack is a rather remote protagonist while Moxie is cloyingly portrayed. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Set early in the last century, this echoes Robinson Crusoe and recounts the adventures of Jack, an orphan of indeterminate young age, who washes ashore on an uninhabited island off New Zealand. The hands on the ship that he served as cabin boy set him adrift in a fierce storm in hopes that Jack would be spared the fate of going down with all aboard. The island turns out to be inhabited after all--by two factions of dogs. There are the friendly sheep herders, one of whom, Moxie, becomes a special friend to Jack, and the fangos, feral dogs who represent the constant threat of violence and evil. This is a tale with mythic overtones: Ultimately Jack becomes imbued with the power to communicate in telepathic dog language with his friends, the sheepdogs, and comes to their rescue in a final showdown with the vicious ones who long ago lost their ability to live as noble dogs and to live among humans. Morgan tells the tale in chapters that alternate between the inner voice of Jack and the "voices" of the herders. The dogs fare particularly well. They are not anthropomorphized, but they are relatable as noble and generous. Middle-grade boys and girls will find much to appreciate here, right up to the poignant ending. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
