Junkyard Dogs

Higgs-Coulthard delivers a gritty, emotionally nuanced read about an unhoused teen searching for his absent father. Since his mother died in a tragic fire that destroyed their home five years before, 17-year-old Josh has lived in his spiteful grandmother’s trailer with his father and nine-year-old brother, Twig. When Dad suddenly disappears, he leaves Josh with some cash and a note: “Have to see a man about a horse. Take care of your bro.” Gran, unwilling to continue caring for Josh and Twig, threatens to call the Indiana Department of Child Services, but agrees to let Twig stay in exchange for Josh paying rent and bringing his father back home. Josh’s search leads him to Stan, an old friend of his father’s, and he becomes inadvertently embroiled in Stan’s illegal scrap metal operation, stealing copper wire from inside manholes. But when Stan’s schemes take a deadly turn, Josh worries that he might never find his father or see Twig again. Utilizing atmospherically tense prose and layered, moving characterizations, this melancholy novel showcases one teen struggling to cultivate a better life for himself while navigating financial precarity and personal betrayal. Characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)