A Dog Worth Stealing

Corbin vividly combines backwoods hiking lore with the rugged beauty of Oregon's mountains to create an exciting tale about a young man's steps toward self-mastery. Jud, 16, breaks a promise to his father by losing his temper yet again, and beats up a boy named Mattingly who insults him at school. Jud takes off alone into the Kalmiopsis Wilderness where he sees a magnificent German Shepherd, Bo, guarding a marijuana plantation. The plantation is owned by brutish Bull, whose girlfriend tells Jud that Bo is going to be turned into a vicious killer. Jud ""rescues'' Bo, pursued by Bull and a thuglike crony. Figuring out how he's going to keep Bohis stepmother is terrified of dogsis the least of Jud's worries, after his father tells him he has to apologize to Mattingly. Jud gets a powerful lesson in self-control from Bo, and learns that sometimes it's harder to make friends than to fight. But even after he makes peace with his enemy, more trouble is in store for Jud. Readers will be glued to the action-filled story until its upbeat and unmawkish ending. Ages 10-up. (September)