The story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

This is Wroblewski's first novel. I always love reading new authors books and I was very pleased I read this one. The author grew up in rural Wisconsin not far from the Chequamegon National Forest where the setting for the story is.
The novel begins with the needless killing of an injured, limping, stray dog with a poison by a herbalist. This brutal killing fits into the story later on.
The protagonist is a fourteen year old boy named Edgar Sawtelle, who is born mute. His parents, Gar and Trudy are dog-breeders, who live on a farm in a remote part of northern Wisconsin not far from the National Forest. They breed and train a unique and special breed of dogs that were developed by Edgar's grand father. The dogs have earned a good reputation not only for their noble temperament, but also their ability to anticipate commands by watching body language. The training methods by this young mute boy are extraordinary The family's life is disrupted when Claude, Edgar's creepy uncle visits them. Gar offers him a job at the farm and a place to stay. Gar then dies suddenly and mysteriously. Edgar suspects that Claude murdered his father. He tries to prove it but, his plan backfires. So, to save himself from Claude he runs away into the Chequamegon forest, along with three young dogs. The author's vivid descriptions of nature, his ability to describe the terrors of the wilderness, and narrating a part of the story from a dog's perspective are incredible. Even the supernatural incidents in the story seem to be natural and believable. This is definitely a book I will read again.