Jungle Dogs

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A 12-year-old boy learns to brave both human and canine jungle dogs in this tale set in Hawaii. "The exotic scenery and dialect are backdrop for sharp characterizations and inventive, subtle plot twists," said PW. Ages 9-13. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA - Kellie Shoemaker

Boy is in sixth grade and he is a worrier. He worries about his older brother Damon who hangs out with a gang called the Cudas. He worries about an essay he has to write for school on someone he admires, because he cannot think of anyone. And, he worries about the jungle dogs that might attack him when he delivers newspapers each day to Old Man Cruz. Damon calls him a "pantieboy" and wonders how they could be related, but Boy knows that Damon is caught up in the violence of his gang and scared himself. There are a lot of things weighing heavily on Boy Kahekilimaikalani Regis, but he figures out how to conquer his fears and find his own place in the world. This is a semi-coming-of-age story--there are no big revelations or "issues" that Boy has to deal with, just the normal problems boys face growing up. Like Salisbury's other novels, the Hawaiian island culture plays an important role, but it is not central to the story. In fact, Jungle Dogs is not that much different from his other novels, historical settings notwithstanding. It makes for enjoyable reading, but Salisbury's audience may be looking for more from him in the future to satisfy our craving for deeper insights into the drama, conflict, and cultural identities that exist in this unique part of the world. VOYA Codes: 3Q 3P M (Readable without serious defects, Will appeal with pushing, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8).

School Library Journal

(Gr 6-8) - Set in Hawaii, Jungle Dogs is the story of Boy Regis's struggle to overcome his fears and find courage. Small for his age and ridiculed by almost everyone, he is practically immobilized with fright by the jungle dogs that supposedly inhabit the area just off his paper route. Are the dogs real or are they only symbolic of what is going on in Boy's heart and mind? His troubled brother, Damon, fears nothing, respects no one, and leads a small gang known as the Cudas, and he fights anyone who picks on Boy. Damon's heavy-handed interventions, however, aggravate a dispute between Boy and the younger brother of Crowboy, the leader of a rival gang. It's only a matter of time before the two older brothers have a reason to face off. The inevitable rumble is the result, but it is Boy's moment to shine. This tale is dark at times, lightened by the ending in which Boy finds the inner strength to stand up to bullies both real and imagined. He is, finally, no "sissyboy" even though he had been called that for so long that he had come to believe it himself. Jungle Dogs is somewhat slow getting started. In addition, the poverty, fighting, and gang violence set a grim, but realistic tone. At times, the characterizations can be uneven. For example, a teacher who takes an interest in Boy's writing skills is too sweet to be entirely believable. She is balanced, however, by the stronger characterizations of Boy's mother and father, who while not perfect, are "good enough parents." Overall, this is a decent novel that can be used to supplement multicultural collections.-Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA

Horn Book

Sensitive twelve-year-old Boy Regis is ridiculed by his older brother Damon, a member of a local gang. But even though Damon calls Boy a sissy, he still insists on fighting his battles, and subscribes to his gang's motto of "fight or die." Boy doesn't want to fight, but he doesn't want his brother's interventions, either. And Boy doesn't understand how his role as docile younger son has unseated Damon's singular relationship with their father. Salisbury gets the dynamics right between fathers and sons-their likenesses and differences, their difficulties, their jealousies, and ultimately their bonds in this coming-of-age story of both brothers. When Boy's teacher assigns the class an essay on who they look up to and why, Boy finds himself perplexed. He doesn't think he has an answer. He first writes a composition about his dog-a fiction; Boy is terrified of dogs-who saved his life and then died. When he is unmasked both by his taunting classmates and then his teacher, who recognizes his writing skill, Boy turns to his family and friends, and his newly found courage, to give him the material to respond to the essay assignment. As in earlier tales set in the Hawaiian islands (Blue Skin of the Sea, Under the Blood-Red Sun) Salisbury captures Hawaii's rich culture as well as its beauty, and intimates, through several student essays, the importance of its preservation against the encroachment of progress. Throughout, there is an effective interplay between the evocative spareness with which Salisbury crafts his tale and the lushness of the surroundings.

Kirkus Reviews

A tough Hawaiian neighborhood is the unlikely setting for a 12-year-old boy's conquering of his fears in this exciting and heartwarming novel from Salisbury (Shark Bait, 1997, etc.). Boy Regis is a smart and likable kid who wishes his older brother, Damon, would quit gang life, as well as stop fighting his battles for him. But Damon punches out Gabriel, whose older brother, Crowboy, then beats up Damon in return, cutting him with a knife. Life is already hard enough for Boy's family, living in a house without screens on the windows, and relying on the income from Boy's paper route for groceries. With everything stacked against the members of Boy's family, their devotion to one another leads to their salvation: Boy's father rescues him and Damon from a beating, and Boy reaches an understanding with his nemesis, Gabriel. Boy learns how to deal with the barking dogsþor anxieties in his life, and to face them head on, with an open heart and hand. Salisbury offers readers a rare glimpse of a neighborhood most would never stumble across, but the family's concerns are universal, and the emotional strings are never pulled too tight. (Fiction. 12-14)