As a story of a city boy's toughening up, and wising up, on a ranch, this has good moments of humor and touches of realism that seem to stem from personal experience. When Billy arrives at the Wards, he is ""the project"" to them- for his parents have sent him there to remove him from the influence of a rowdy neighborhood gang that has instilled into Billy a set of pretty false values. The snobbish boy has a lot to overcome- but reach life, riding, herding, exploring, and the friendship of Rusty and Bud- do it.