Endling #1: The Last by Katherine Applegate

My name is Byx, and I may be the last surviving dairn after my family was massacred by the Murdano's soldiers. I'm now accompanied on my journey by a wobbyk named Tobble. I rescued him from poachers, and he insists he must save my life three times to make up for it due to the Wobbyk Code. As the endling of my species, I don't have a home anymore. Khara, a human, thinks a scholar she knows can help, but humans are the most untrustworthy of the six governing species. A new friend told me to never underestimate humans when it comes to duplicity and slaughter. Luckily, dairns can sense all lies, so I'm going to trust Khara. However, I never could have imagined the terrifying truths I've learned since arriving in Cora di Schola. I'm going to need my unlikely group of friends to stay alive, but there's more at stake here than my life.

The author makes the dairns similar to dogs, but they can stand upright, speak to humans, and have opposable thumbs. They only speak the truth and can sense lies from any other creature. The possibility that Byx is the last dairn in existence bumps up the drama level. Extinction is pretty dramatic. Humans are portrayed as the most evil characters due to their dishonesty and violent nature. Ironically, the author adds a human to Byx's band of friends. The group is an unusual mix, since the wobbyks are often mentioned as food for other species (Byx has eaten one before) and another "friend" is the subject of nightmares. Tobble often says you don't want to make little wobbyks angry, so you can look forward to that happening. All of this adds a bit of humor and levity to the overall adventure. The book's theme boils down to a good versus evil story, with conservation of a species the central conflict. The elimination of dairns is only the beginning, and the human race's desire for power is at the root of it. The hints of truth in the book's portrayal of humans is a bit disturbing, but sometimes the truth hurts. I enjoyed this book a lot, but now I'm on the waiting list for when my library receives the sequel.