Banjo by Graham Salisbury, 212 pages. Wendy Lamb Books (Penguin Random House), 2019. $17
Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Two parallel stories of two young teens on farms meet up through the trauma of a dog. Danny’s dog Banjo is accused of killing a neighbor’s sheep and Danny is forced to kill Banjo. Danny is unable to follow through and instead the dog is on the loose and Meg, the second voice of the novel, finds him and cares for him, eventually caring for Danny as well.
This novel lacked the emotional depth necessary when writing about traumatic experiences. There was a lot of shame and trauma presented in the book, but it was never really processed or dealt with. My 10 year old had a hard time with the repetitiveness of the plot given that bad things constantly happen to Banjo.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
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