JUNKYARD DOGS

While struggling to care for his little brother, an unhoused teen goes looking for their absent father and finds himself in over his head—literally as well as figuratively.

In a mean-streets–style tale raw in language and feeling alike, Higgs-Coulthard propels 17-year-old Josh—desperate to raise the rent his flinty, pot-addicted grandmother demands to share her decrepit trailer with him and 9-year-old Twig—into the deceptively welcoming arms of his missing dad’s longtime pal. Uncle Stan, full of big, vague plans and reassurances, is hanging out in an abandoned building and running a clandestine scrapping operation, diving into manholes to harvest the copper wire and plumbing beneath. Distressing events in Josh’s family history add further grit, and once he begins finding dead bodies with the pipes underground, betrayal as well as escalating illegal activities ramp up the danger and suspense. But it’s the succession of cold nights in filthy settings; the daily rounds of opportunistic snatching of scraps of cast-off and barely edible food to assuage constant, gnawing hunger; the pressure to present a facade of normalcy at school; and the pervasive lack of any sense of safety or trust that will likely evoke the strongest reactions in readers. Josh’s unwavering loyalty to his brother offers a bright spot, and the story ends on a note of catharsis, if not resolution. Main characters are cued as White.

A visceral story; not utterly tragic but grim and sad overall.