Jed and the Junkyard War

This offbeat debut thrusts 12-year-old Jed Jenkins into an alternate universe where boats fly through the air and wage battle over a vast landscape of junk. Jed’s quirky parents primed him for adventure and survival, having recently dropped him in Yellowstone National Park with “four dollars and a can of orange soda” so that he could race home to Denver for his 12th birthday. He succeeds, but his parents have vanished, leaving behind an iron key, strange wristwatch, emergency backpack, and instructions about traveling to the “junkyard” through a tunnel behind the dishwasher to find his grandfather. Once he arrives, Jed relies on his wits to persuade the grouchy Captain Bog to take him aboard his ship, uses his cooking prowess to earn his keep, encounters mechanical enemy “dreads,” and attempts to find his grandfather. Bohls builds a high-stakes story line, a memorably off-kilter world and a loopy cast of junkyard sailors. Although the story bogs down somewhat during its chaotic middle chapters, the cliffhanger ending will keep readers eager for the next installment in this planned duology. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marisa Corvisiero, Corvisiero Literary. (Dec.)