"In the aftermath of Chernobyl, a stunning tale of human and animal courage, resilience, and hope"
Shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023
Being published at a time when Chernobyl and the Ukraine have very much been in the news again makes this remarkable story resonate even more powerfully.
While it does not go into any detail about the 1986 nuclear disaster itself, that looms oppressively over scenes which can be heart-breaking and brutally realistic. Animals frequently bear the brunt of human disasters, and it is well documented that soldiers were sent to dispatch abandoned pets and livestock. So initially the story is of a young girl Natasha being torn away from her beloved puppy Zoya, when she is forcibly evacuated.
Natasha’s life is emotionally blighted by this loss, as we see in chapters interspersed with the heart of the story which is of how Zoya survives in this fierce, cold and terrifying landscape where it is not just predators she has to fear. She makes it in the wild, mating with a wolf and raising two cubs, Misha and the radiation damaged Bratan and when she is finally killed in a battle with a lynx the story becomes theirs.
Brilliantly told, full of naturalistic details and completely nonanthropomorphic but entirely relatable descriptions of pack dynamics, attachments and characters, this is a totally gripping survival story. Dog lives run a shorter span and when, after 20 years have passed since she left, Natasha returns to the blighted area as a scientist studying radiation levels, it is a very elderly Misha that satisfyingly and credibly completes the circle of both story strands.
An unforgettable and moving novel that can genuinely stand up to comparisons with Call of the Wild and deserves similar classic status.
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Chernobyl, 1986. Natasha’s world is coming to an end. Forced to evacuate her home in the middle of the night, she must leave her puppy behind and has no idea if she’ll ever return.
Some time later, growing up in the shadow of the ruined nuclear power plant, pups Misha and Bratan have to learn how to live in the wild—and fast. Creatures with sharp teeth, claws, and yellow eyes lurk in the overgrown woods. And they’re watching the brothers’ every move…
But will the dogs survive without humans? And can humans live without them?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Dogs of the Deadlands and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Dogs of the Deadlands features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommendations, Star Books, Animal Stories, Gritty Reads, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Dogs of the Deadlands is available in Paperback, Hardback
Dogs of the Deadlands was written by Anthony McGowan and published by Rock the Boat an imprint of Oneworld Publications
Dogs of the Deadlands has 302 pages
£7.19
