Thirteen-year-old Justin lands a job with a security company. Not only is he shocked to discover that the guard dogs are being mistreated, he also suspects a colleague is involved with a recent spate of thefts. Melodramatic touches--Justin's mother is gone, his hard-drinking father's out of work--somewhat undercut the power of this otherwise direct, accessible, high-interest title.

Orca Currents continues its line of hard-hitting novels for reluctant readers with this brutal yet rewarding moral quagmire. Thirteen-year-old Justin is initially thrilled when he is hired by a man who provides guard dogs to convenience stores, junkyards, and car dealerships stin's father is jobless, and a few extra bucks would put food on the table. But the fact that Justin loves dogs quickly becomes a liability. The animals, many of which are acquired illegally from animal control or shelters, are cruelly "debarked" and treated like disposable machines. When Justin's favorite dog, Smokey, becomes too feeble, Justin is forced to abandon him on the highway, setting off the climactic dilemma of making money versus doing what's right. Polak writes with a nervy confidence, and her specificity (for example, Justin suffers from hair loss due to his extreme anxiety) lends an authenticity that lives beyond the book's relatively few pages. A powerful story for anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of a dog and accepted the offer: "Be good to us, and we'll be good to you."