The Dog Runner

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Ella, her half-brother Emery, father and mother live in a small apartment along with three dogs. They hide the dogs, as many judge them for having extra mouths to feed when food is already scarce. When Ella’s mother doesn’t return from work and her father goes out to find her and also doesn’t return, Ella and her brother escape their apartment, taking their dogs along with two others, and using a bike sled, set out across the country to try and make it to Emery’s mother’s property. The book also gives me quite a warm and cozy feel, like something that I would read in bed before sleep, or a book that is read out aloud to children, which is really quite wonderful and brilliant as it is a children’s book. There are books which give you an Epic feel, like LotR, or books that doesn’t make you feel anything at all. This book makes me feel at home, and maybe it is because I’m Australian or the warm looking cover, but either way, the writing was very enjoyable and I liked it immensely. The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble is a wonderful middle grade book that focuses on lots of issues that actually plague the world today. As she is an Australian author, the dystopian world that she has created here is wonderfully believable. In this book, a Red Fungus has destroyed essentially all crop life that have to do with grasses like wheat which has led to a major food shortage in the cities. As Australia constantly suffers from droughts that already leads to water shortages, this book is in fact not very far fetched especially with Climate Change that has made the situation even more dire over the past few years. I liked Ella a great deal, and I liked the developing relationship between Ella and Emery as we see that they overcome their differences, and the fact that although they have the same father and they have different mothers, they are still family, and belong to each other. The dogs also feature largely in the story, pulling them loyally on the sled across the dusty landscape, eating the remaining cans of sardines and then surviving on stringy kangaroos, stinky possums and even a bit of snake! They become characters themselves, and you are rooting for all of them to survive all the way to Emery's grandfather's house. This is an exciting read, and highly recommended.

In The Dog Runner, not only does the reader encounter a stark possibility for the future as we unbalance the world and its resources, but themes of loyalty, what constitutes family, the almost primeval bond between humans and dogs, love and identity (including ethnic and social) are all there to be contemplated. There is such depth to The Dog Runner that it would make a sensational class reader for children aged 9-13, but I’d like to see as many adults as possible read it too because there is a warning here for us all as well as a superbly compelling narrative. What a great story from Bren MacDibble! It follows our very brave characters on a journey across a desolate and depressing landscape. Emery and Ella are siblings who are in a world where a 'red fungus' has destroyed all grasses across the country and the world. This has dire consequences (grass=grains) as now food is scarce and people are waiting on food deliveries to survive. People starving and most animals have starved. The world they know has become a very dangerous place with people stealing and terrorising each to survive. The siblings decide to leave the city with their beloved doggos to go to Emery's mum's house in the country where they will be safe. In a country reliant upon grain, a red fungus has spread throughout the city and native floral, grasslands have died, animals who normally feed off the land are starving. The narrative encourages discussion surrounding sustainable farming and sustainable living. All it takes is a bacteria or fungus introduced into our environment for our food source to completely overwhelmed. The government guaranteed rations would continue but ultimately left communities to ruin while those desperate for food begun to turn on one another.In The Dog Runner, not only does the reader encounter a stark possibility for the future as we unbalance the world and its resources, but themes of loyalty, what constitutes family, the almost primeval bond between humans and dogs, love and identity (including ethnic and social) are all there to be contemplated. It's a book that would encourage some discussion afterwards, so would work as a class read in a school. The devastation that would ensue from crop failure is very obvious, and it felt a painfully close to the bone topic in our world today. It doesn't preach, however, and you don't feel as if you're reading something educational because over and above any message, it is a good adventure story. There is such depth to The Dog Runner that it would make a sensational class reader for children aged 9-13, but I'd like to see as many adults as possible read it too because there is a warning here for us all as well as a superbly compelling narrative. The city is dangerous, especially for two children and when their father doesn't return home, Ella and Emery decide to travel across the rough terrain to reach Emery's mother's farm. Along with their three dogs, two new recruits and a mushing sled, Ella and Emery will need to navigate the desolate countryside, avoiding armed offenders and learning to survive on the dying land.

Summary: Atmospheric adventure story that might be a bit too exciting for bedtimes, but raises some excellent discussions about environmental issues. I thought the final resolution was a little simplistic. There was no real reason their troubles wouldn't continue to find them at the Christmas's, and the menace felt from Mike and his men wasn't really explained or explored.

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The Dog Runner is a powerful imagining of things to come, and a reminder of the importance of kindness in the midst of uncertainty ... an excellent choice for sophisticated middle grade readers who want something meaty. It’s also a hopeful story for children thinking about climate crisis and what they might be able to do about it. The Dog Runner is a middle-grade dystopian novel, in which a red fungus has destroyed all wheat, leading to a shortage of food and a fight to survive. Ella and Emery take five big doggos and travel across the Australian desert to Emery’s mum’s house, avoiding danger and hoping to be reunited with their dad or Ella’s mum, who have both gone missing.