  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 11/01/2015 Gr 5–8—Joseph Johnson has had to become a man sooner than most 12-year-old boys. Following the tragic deaths of his parents and sister, Joseph finds himself the ward of an alcoholic rancher who sells Joseph's beloved horse, Sarah, to a malevolent horse trader. Joseph takes off on his own across Washington state in search of Sarah, ready to give everything he's got to get back to the last reminder of his family. Early on he is joined by Ah-Kee, an abandoned Chinese boy in similarly dire straits who doesn't speak a lick of English. Joseph and Ah-Kee are embroiled in a series of gripping dangers and narrow escapes, each more thrilling than the last. Gemeinhart's vivid language and rapid pacing capture the rugged grandeur and wild unpredictability of the largely unsettled American West of the late 1800s, though it is the fortitude and sensitivity of the main character that elevates this novel beyond a mere succession of adrenaline rushes, absorbing though they are. It is Joseph's unwavering sense of honor and duty that is propelled by love, not the familiar Wild West conception of masculinity, that makes this book truly captivating. VERDICT Gemeinhart's riveting tale of grit and grief is equally tragic and triumphant.—Anna Murphy, Berkeley Carroll School Library, Brooklyn - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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