Jack's Knife (Sirius Mystery Series) Book

Fifteen-year-old Jackson has big dreams fueled by long talks with his elderly next-door neighbor, Al McMann. At 91, McMann has many stories about policing the northwest as a young man. But their friendship worries Jackson's single mom, who finds it "unhealthy." When she insists that Jack break off the friendship and sign up for community baseball instead, he is hurt and angry. When a stray dog turns up, his mother demands they call animal control, and Jack ends up dodging the dogcatcher with his new friend. Ducking through a fence, he stumbles into an unfamiliar place — Juneau, Alaska in the mid-1930s, where he’s soon involved with a fledgling law-enforcement team that just might need his help. This new young adult novel from the husband-and-wife team of Chris and Beverley Wood blends a compelling story of a troubled teen and his canine best friend with an exciting time-travel adventure.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-Fourteen-year-old Jack lives in Brampton, Canada, with his overprotective mom who is being weird about his friendship with Al, a former lawman. And she refuses to even consider letting him keep the stray dog he brings home. But things change quickly when the teen follows the dog through some bushes and emerges in a backyard in Juneau, AK, in 1935. Patsy Ann, a bull terrier, is the key. She's deaf, but seems almost telepathic. Why has she brought Jack here? A daring robbery of a floatplane takes place at sea and all the evidence implicates antiwhaling biologist Stanley Bayne. The federal marshal who brings the charges is a young Al. Jack is about the only person who thinks Bayne may be right about the need to stop whaling and is innocent of the crime. There are some loose ends, and the climactic chase scene is implausible. But so is time travel, right? This fun story infused with humor integrates a bit of history, a dash of moral suasion, and a dose of good old-fashioned pluck to counter the bleaker aspects of Jack's life. This title easily stands alone, but those who missed DogStar (Orca, 1998) will want to read it and will eagerly anticipate the third title in the series.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.