School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Joseph Johnson prepares to leave the abusive man who took him in when his pa died, taking money that was owed him, his pa's gun, and little else, then sets out on foot for the larger city of Wenatchee, WA. Though Joseph's parents died too soon owing to frontier hardships, their teachings about kindness and fair play guide him as hurries to reclaim his sweet Sarah, the pony that is one of his only ties to his family. Joseph befriends a Chinese boy, despite widespread prejudice against Chinese immigrants working on the railroads, and together they tackle the challenges of navigating the 1890s Washington State wilderness, including bears, lost Wenatchi children, and raging rivers. Narrator Andrew Eiden's voice makes the dialect on the written page ("gonna," "gotta," "yammering," "ain't") flow smoothly to the ear. Joseph moves from one hair-raising adventure to the next, and (luckily for him) his kind and honest decisions consistently pay off. Everything resolves neatly in the end, and many readers will feel that Joseph earned every scrap of happiness that comes his way. VERDICT A straightforward choice for schools looking to add historical fiction with a rural, rustic, and Western feel. ["Gemeinhart's riveting tale of grit and grief is equally tragic and triumphant": SLJ 11/15 review of the Scholastic book.]-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Gemeinhart (The Honest Truth) delivers another emotional page-turner in this gripping historical novel about 12-year-old orphan Joseph Johnson. It's 1890 and Joseph is alone in the Wild West. His father, mother, and little sister have all died, and the only family he has left is his beloved horse, Sarah. When the drunk old man who looks after Joseph sells Sarah without asking permission, the young boy sets out to get his pony back. He is joined, for part of this quest, by a young boy named Ah-Kee. Both boys are alone, both are searching for something, and although they do not share a language, they bolster each other on their journeys. Voice actor Eiden performs as though he is telling readers a yarn over a campfire, performing Joseph and most of the other characters with a cowboy-like twang. The sound is crisp and clear, and there is a pleasant warmth to Eiden's voice. He handles this middle-grade story with aplomb, making it interesting for adults as well as the intended audience. Ages 8-12. A Scholastic Press hardcover. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
