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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In The Junkyard by Bryan Reilly, after escaping a dog-fighting ring run by a violent junkyard owner named Mr. Fergusen, a battered pit bull called Ninja is taken into a hidden settlement beneath piles of wrecked cars where abandoned dogs survive under the leadership of a German Shepherd named Dodge. Ninja hopes to leave fighting behind, but the junkyard is divided between Dodge’s northern yard and a rival Rottweiler named Saab, whose growing power threatens the fragile order keeping the dogs alive. While tension spreads through the junkyard, a gray wolf named Canis begins hunting Dodge for reasons tied to the death of his father near the fence line. As rivalries close in from the forest and from inside the junkyard itself, Ninja finds herself pulled toward a fight far larger than the one she escaped.
Bryan Reilly’s The Junkyard is an animal-driven novel told from the point of view of the abandoned dogs living inside a sprawling scrapyard ruled by violence and underground dog fighting. For all the horrors of what goes on in the junkyard, there are some genuinely heartening moments. Dogs that are injured and can't fight are exterminated, and knowing this, Ninja secretly convinces another fighter, Sumo, to fake a match so both animals might survive another night. I love the Labrador Ruby, who risks severe punishment to feed a starving Sumo. All of Reilly's characters are fully fleshed out. Maytag combines battlefield instincts with heartbreak after a kidnapping by Canis, and the antagonist Saab turns every darn moment into a power contest. Reilly's settings are pure cinema, from the junkyard itself and its southern yard, built from filthy passenger rail cars, to the sweltering garage full of chains and blood stains. Well written, gritty, and wholly entertaining, this is perfect for strong young readers and the young at heart. Very, very highly recommended.
