Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Dog Driven (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2019) by Terry Lynn Johnson is quite the scary adventure.
It’s risky enough for any teen to participate in the Canadian Great Superior Mail Run dog race, but for fourteen-year-old McKenna, who has hidden her deteriorating sight from her family, it could mean death for her and her dogs. But she is determined to win this race to encourage her younger sister Emma in her battle with Stargardt, an eye disease. Afterwards, she’ll tell her parents about her vision problems. And maybe she can help eight-year-old Emma gain some independence, too.
The author puts you right on the trail with McKenna and her dogs so you hear and feel what’s going on. As I said above, it’s scary to see what McKenna risks, but her determination is believable. Plus there are letters from the late 1800s about this mail run that increase the tension of the story.
Earlier I recommended her award winning book, Ice Dogs. I missed reading Falcon Wild, which I need to catch up with. Her newest book, is Rescue at Lake Wild–coming soon. Read about Terry Lynn Johnson here.
Note: Dog Driven is aimed at ages ten to sixteen according to the publisher.
Ice Dogs (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2014) by Terry Lynn Johnson puts you right there with 14-year-old dogsledder Victoria Secord and her team of dogs. You’ll feel cold and hungry with her and her companion in this realistic story of how easy it is to be in danger in winter in the Alaskan bush. And, you’ll find yourself worrying about several of the dogs as well as the two teens. The book makes me think of Gary Paulsen’s survival stories, except this time with a girl main character!