The+Darkest+Path

Bklst gr7-10; PW 12+; SLJ gr7+; Krks 12-18;
 * __[[image:darkest path.jpg width="80" height="119" align="left"]]The Darkest Path__, by Jeff Hirsch** 2013; dystopian survival

Recommended by Barrington Middle School

"//A civil war rages between the Glorious Path--a militant religion based on the teachings of a former US soldier--and what's left of the US government. Fifteen-year-old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were captured and forced to convert six years ago. Cal has been working in the Path's dog kennels, and is very close to becoming one of the Path's deadliest secret agents. Then Cal befriends a stray dog named Bear and kills a commander who wants to train him to be a vicious attack dog. This sends Cal and Bear on the run, and sets in motion a series of incredible events that will test Cal's loyalties and end in a fierce battle that the fate of the entire country rests on." //

Student wrote: "This book has a war setting, and is kind of like our world now. The Glorious Path is a religious-based military group that is taking over the US; so it relates to the modern day world."

Comments:

This felt like another over-told formulaic dystopian novel, with very little believable construction or depth to a backstory. Lots of stuff happens yet this abundance of stuff fails to really move the story forward. Pass. Yvette/Merrimack