SAVING CODY

In their third interstate journey, the Wilder brothers travel west to save their dog.

Following The Journey Home (2016), 14-year-old Jake and 12-year-old Taylor settle into a peaceful existence in Wyoming with their happily reunited parents, their friend Kim, and their loyal Jack Russell terrier, Cody. But when they encounter the school bully, who attacks the brothers and attempts to kick Cody, Cody nips him. Worse, the bully’s father (who’s on the town council) demands Cody be destroyed. The brothers don’t trust animal control to keep Cody safe from the bullying family, so they abscond with their dog, fleeing injustice. Their goal is reaching their off-the-grid grandmother in northern California. They know her only through letters; their father’s concern over their grandmother’s living alone in the wilderness resulted in a disagreement and then a multiyear estrangement (based on the seemingly paranoid content of some of the letters, Jake and Taylor’s parents feel their worries are justified). The journey is fast-paced, with sympathetic strangers (mostly fellow kids or teens) assisting (especially with transportation). The boys’ nature know-how helps them navigate encounters with wild animals; the book also highlights wildfires and the consequences of deforestation. The biggest conflict comes as the brothers learn the truth about their grandmother’s troubles and find a way to help her, though the resolutions to both stories—the grandmother’s and Cody’s—come easily and anticlimactically. The Wilders are cued White, Kim is Shoshone, and there is diversity in background characters.

The strength’s in the journey—survival skills and environmentalism—not the destination.