Callum "Cal" Roe just wants to be safe for a change. He doesn't care which side, the Glorious Path or the US Federal Army, wins the civil war raging within the United States, as he still misses his home back in New York. Currently in Arizona and on the path to citizenship within the Glorious Path, Cal is given one assignment he just can't complete. Instead, he finds himself on the run with a stray dog in tow. Will Cal find his way home?

Cal is such a typical teenage boy that at times he was more than frustrating. He's only 15 years old and yet he's had to face the ravages of war and see and participate firsthand in the devious machinations of the Glorious Path. He has no real loyalties, beyond that to his brother James, until he befriends a stray dog named Bear. He's infuriating, maddening, and yet somehow Jeff Hirsch still manages to redeem him, more so through the secondary characters that impact this impressionable teenager.

And wow, Jeff Hirsch creates spectacular secondary characters! From Cal's dog, Bear, to Grey Solomon to Nat Whitacker, the secondary characters remain in the reader's heart and mind long afterwards. Nat in particular challenges Cal to pick sides, to decide who and what he wants to be. I couldn't help but cheer her on every single time she addressed Cal's indecisiveness. Bear, of course, stole my heart immediately as who can't help but love the loyalty of a dog?

THE DARKEST PATH is an unsettling tale of a militant religion trying to overtake the entire country of the United States. Jeff Hirsch does an excellent job at showing how a teenage boy, torn between loyalties and homesick for his parents and the life he used to have, would react. THE DARKEST PATH is a solid entry in the ever growing field of dystopian young adult tales.

Book Summary

USA TODAY bestselling author Jeff Hirsch once again creates a futuristic world with stunning, dramatic realism.

A civil war rages between the Glorious Path--a militant religion based on the teachings of a former US soldier--and what's left of the US government. Fifteen-year-old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were captured and forced to convert six years ago. Cal has been working in the Path's dog kennels, and is very close to becoming one of the Path's deadliest secret agents. Then Cal befriends a stray dog named Bear and kills a commander who wants to train him to be a vicious attack dog. This sends Cal and Bear on the run, and sets in motion a series of incredible events that will test Cal's loyalties and end in a fierce battle that the fate of the entire country rests on.