Dog Driven

October 1, 2019
A teen enters a challenging, multiday dog sled race to raise awareness of the incurable disease that's blinded her sister and now claims her own sight. To retain her independence, McKenna, 14, has hidden her deteriorating vision from her family, dropped extracurricular activities, and withdrawn from friends. Only 8-year-old Emma knows that McKenna, too, inherited Stargardt disease, a juvenile form of macular degeneration. (Both retain some peripheral vision.) Observing how parental conflicts, exacerbated by their mother's overprotectiveness, have undermined Emma's progress toward self-reliance, McKenna's avoided disclosing her disability. She's certain the knowledge would devastate her parents, but hiding vision loss is a risky strategy--especially on demanding, unfamiliar terrain, the route Canadian couriers once used to deliver mail by dog sled. An experienced musher--her (presumed white) Michigan family raises and trains sled dogs--McKenna hopes her skills can compensate. As the weather deteriorates, sighted competitors (the daughter of a famous musher and the descendent of a dog sled courier) also make dangerous mistakes. McKenna's dread of losing her autonomy while her teen peers move toward independent adulthood resonates. Giving and accepting help, she confronts her own beliefs and fears about disability. Johnson's mushing expertise pays off in a suspenseful plot laden with convincing details. The lively, crowded, chaotic world of dogs and mushers is memorably complemented by the silent, icy wilderness they race through. A densely plotted, fast-moving, thematically rich tale set at the intersection of ability and disability. (author's note) (Adventure. 10-14)

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December 1, 2019

Gr 5-8-Fourteen-year-old McKenna's sister, Emma, wants to race their sled dogs, but she's lost most of her vision due to Stargardt disease, so she asks McKenna to race in her stead. But McKenna agrees reluctantly-she has the disease, too, and her vision is slowly deteriorating. Still, she wants to deliver a letter to the Foundation for Fighting Blindness. The race begins with McKenna in the lead. She befriends a boy named Guy, and the two take shelter in a cave during a wind storm, wondering how they will finish the race. Guy and McKenna are well developed, and the action is captivating. The plot becomes sluggish at points; a shorter narrative might have been more powerful. Each chapter ends with fictionalized historical letters between figures based on the era of dogsled mail couriers from 1856 to the early 1900s, as well as letters between the contemporary characters. These parallel exchanges tie the chapters together well. VERDICT Recommended for libraries where hybrid contemporary and historical fiction is high in demand.-Jill Baetiong, Bloomingdale Public Library, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2019
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Fourteen-year-old McKenna is about to embark on a dangerous mission to deliver a letter from her younger sister, Emma, to the Foundation for Fighting Blindness. Why dangerous? Because McKenna has entered a dog sled race that follows the Great Superior Mail Run?the trail used by nineteenth century mail runners that extends north through Ontario, taking its travelers along and on frozen Lake Superior and over treacherous mountain terrain. McKenna's parents don't know she, like Emma, has the genetic retinal disease Stargardt and her vision is failing. On her first day out, she befriends another teen, Guy, who's become the eyes for his blind lead dog, and the pair supports one another along the three-day race. In a strong voice, McKenna describes her harrowing adventures on the trail, showing her fear but also her strength and determination. Readers will feel the cutting, icy wind and the obstacles on the trail, and they'll hold their breath as they wait to see if McKenna stays safe. Like Gary Paulsen's Winterdance (1994), Johnson shows the deep bonds and trust between musher and dogs, while also shedding light on a little-known genetic eye disorder. Johnson's personal experience of living in Ontario with her own team of Alaskan huskies shines through this book, which bracingly captures the excitement and trepidation of McKenna's adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)