An outstanding debut novel for young people by retired amateur steeplechase jockey Hambleton, who uses her knowledge of horses and the equestrian world to tell of the tragedies and triumphs that befall a thoroughbred racehorse—from the horse’s point of view.
Reminiscent of Anna Sewell’s 19th-century classic, Black Beauty, in its deeply felt narrative as voiced by a thoroughbred racehorse, this first-time novel for ages 11 and up is written with empathy and a vivid sense of drama by Hambleton, a lifelong equestrian and former amateur steeplechase jockey. Raja, a promising foal of distinguished lineage, bears the “Mark of the Chieftain” on his forehead. Bedouin legend has it that such a mark predicts either “great glory” or “great despair” for a horse, and Raja assumes that his road to glory is assured after triumphs on the track as a 2-year-old lead to early Kentucky Derby buzz. But the world of racing has a dark side. An injury, sparked by Raja’s fear of thunderstorms, drops the sensitive horse into obscurity and worse. What follows is a colorful succession of owners and riders (good and bad), a brush with horse drugging and the ugly reality of “kill buyers,” who purchase former racehorses for their meat. Friends and enemies, both human and equine, appear and reappear in Raja’s life as fate takes him far from his pampered youth. Along the way, the elegant horse learns dressage, Cossack trick riding, the exhilarating art of steeplechase—and the depth of his own courage. Hambleton’s compelling prose—deftly interwoven with technical realities and the emotional investment inherent in horse training, racing, care and ridership—is accompanied by a glossary of horse-world terms and evocative pencil drawings by Margaret Kauffman, a professional sculptor and horsewoman. Lifelong equestrian Hambleton makes an impressive outing as a first-time author of juvenile fiction, weaving her knowledge and love of horses, horsemanship and the world of competitive racing into a moving narrative that will keep fellow horse-loving readers of any age enthralled.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0615540290
Page Count: 261
Publisher: Old Bow
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A thought-provoking story of one boy playing his own game of life.
An urban Native American boy’s gripping survival story.
In this complex and emotionally resonant novel, Opin lives in a car, enduring unpredictable days as his family struggles. Opin’s mother guides Opin and his brother, Emjay, to live life as a game, even though their battle with being unhoused seems unwinnable. They move constantly to avoid “the cavalry”—or Child Protective Services—as they search for money, food, and a forever home. Opin’s mother insists that he “keep an active mind.” He hunts down science facts and learns all his school subjects from library books. His mother teaches him Ojibwe words from her grandmother’s handwritten notebook. She teaches him reciprocity, only taking what they need to survive, and street smarts. Opin and his new friend, a Black boy from the shelter they move to in Stockton, are attacked by racist teenagers. The storytelling is superlative, but some of the phrases and descriptions—for example, “metal pony” for shopping cart, “buffalo hunt” for stealing food—feel reminiscent of Native tropes, despite seeming to be intended to show Opin’s feelings of connection to his heritage. Some scenes would have benefited from more context: Opin’s mother, who performs her own version of Ojibwe dancing for money, rebuts a passerby’s criticism that she’s “exploiting our dying Native American culture.” Rather than critiquing the framing of Indigenous cultures as “dying,” she says that she’s “reviving our culture.” But do vibrant contemporary Indigenous ways of life need to be revived? Still, Bird seamlessly weaves in historical events, like the government’s distribution of smallpox-infested blankets to kill Native people, while telling a story of admirable resilience.
A thought-provoking story of one boy playing his own game of life. (song list, Ojibwe glossary, author’s note) (Fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781250877628
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
From McDonald (Tundra Mouse, 1997, etc.), a haunting, dramatic glimpse of the Bone Keeper, a trickster with special transformational powers. Some say Bone Woman is a ghost; some envision her with three heads that view past, present, and future simultaneously. Most, however, call her the “Skeleton Maker” or “Keeper of Bones.” Chanting, shaking, moaning, and wailing, the Bone Keeper is frenzied as she sorts bones; not until the end of the book are readers told, in murmuring lines of free verse, what the Bone Keeper is creating in her mysterious desert cave. Out of the darkness, a wolf springs to life, leaps from the cave, howling, a symbol of resurrection and proof of life’s cyclical nature. Also keeping readers guessing as to the Bone Keeper’s final creation are Karas’s paintings; they, too, require that the final piece of the puzzle be placed before all are understood. The coloring and textures embody the desert setting in the evening, showing the fearsome cave and sandy shadows that wait to release the mystery of the bones. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2559-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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