Jackie's Wild Seattle

by Will Hobbs

Overview

How do you rescue a coyote trapped in the elevator of a downtown office building? How do you save an injured seal at the bottom of a cliff with the tide coming in? Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her younger brother, Cody, are about to find out as they spend a summer of breathless, sometimes reckless, often hilarious adventure visiting their uncle Neal at a wildlife center called Jackie's Wild Seattle.

When Uncle Neal is injured, it's up to Shannon, Cody, and Sage, the rescue dog, to keep the circle of healing unbroken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780380733118
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/13/2004
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of nineteen novels, including Far North, Crossing the Wire, and Take Me to the River.

Never Say Die began with the author's eleven-day raft trip in 2003 down the Firth River on the north slope of Canada's Yukon Territory. Ever since, Will has been closely following what scientists and Native hunters are reporting about climate change in the Arctic. When the first grolar bear turned up in the Canadian Arctic, he began to imagine one in a story set on the Firth River.

A graduate of Stanford University, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-This exciting, poignant, and beautifully developed story covers a crucial few weeks for several people whose lives intertwine to change and benefit all. Shannon Young, 14, and her younger brother, Cody, traumatized by witnessing the events of 9/11, arrive in Seattle to spend the summer with their uncle while their physician parents travel to Pakistan with Doctors Without Borders. Uncle Neal is living and volunteering at Jackie's Wild Seattle, a wildlife rescue and rehab center where Tyler, an abused teen, is "doing time" for torturing a dog. Neal has not told the children that he has cancer, but Shannon overhears a conversation and finds out. When he injures his hand and is unable to perform rescues, Shannon and Cody-under his tutelage-take over with thrilling results. Tyler slowly breaks out of his shell, Cody begins to overcome his fixation with disasters, and Neal finds meaning and hope in his life through a badly injured bald eagle and a rescue dog. Seen through Shannon's increasingly maturing and observant eyes, the fabric of these characters, human and animal, is woven tightly with crisp, realistic dialogue in a remarkable story of adventure and redemption. Based on a real wildlife center and the experiences of some of its denizens, this story will reach deep into the hearts of young readers.-Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

An unsubtle but absorbing story about animal rehabilitation, the state of the world, fear, achievement, and trust. When 14-year-old Shannon and her little brother Cody are sent to visit Uncle Neal for the summer, they have no idea that they'll end up speeding around the greater Seattle area in an animal ambulance, rescuing various raccoons, beavers, bear cubs, and birds of prey that have been injured or orphaned. Adventure begins when Uncle Neal is injured by a hawk and Shannon takes over the rescues, wrestling a bear cub down from the rafters of a shed, rappelling down a cliff to rescue a seal, and talking a coyote out of an elevator in a downtown building. Cody loves the animals but continues to dream about the September 11 terrorist attacks, which he witnessed in person from a cliff in New Jersey. His subsequent obsession with disasters of all kinds exists alongside Shannon's fear for her parents, who have gone to Pakistan and Afghanistan to help refugees, and for Uncle Neal, whom she learns has been concealing an illness. Meanwhile, Tyler, a 15-year-old boy working at the wildlife refuge, is afraid of his violent father-just as Neal has fears about Tyler himself, who previously abused animals. Messages about the precariousness of safety and life are not subtle, but the narrative takes on no more than it can handle; animals are front and center, politics are straightforward if simple, and characters are likable. A slight awkwardness regarding race is unfortunate. Seattle-specific details ensure special fans among Seattle readers as well as among wild animal enthusiasts. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews