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RED RIVER STALLION

Name: RED RIVER STALLION
Author: Troon Harrison
ISBN: 978-1-59990-845-8

by Troon Harrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2013

The emotionally satisfying ending underscores the relationship beautifully.

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Amelia Otterchild Mackenzie, a Cree-Scottish half-blood, orphaned twice, struggles to find places for herself and her young sister Charlotte among the Hudson’s Bay fur-trading community.

Her birth father abandoned her and her mother when she was an infant, traveling west to the Red River and never returning. She has friends among the white men of the fort, but no place to live; the Cree, who welcome her, are starving. When a mysterious creature swims toward her in a fogbound river, Amelia recognizes it as her pawakan, her spirit-animal, and hopes it will lead her to her true life. The creature is a stallion whose white mistress—the first white woman Amelia has ever seen—is bound for none other than the Red River. Amelia's fascination with the horse leads it to trust her enough to follow her up a swaying gangplank onto a small riverboat; she, Charlotte and the white woman, Orchid, embark on a 600-mile journey west. Harrison sensitively depicts Amelia's feelings of both belonging and abandonment as she stands with her feet in two worlds. The Cree and the white settlers are portrayed accurately and sympathetically, but without sentiment; complicated situations unfold without simple answers. Amelia never believes that the stallion Foxfire belongs to her, only feeling in her heart that they are linked. (A map will be posted on the author’s website.)

The emotionally satisfying ending underscores the relationship beautifully. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-59990-845-8

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIRDMAN
by Troon Harrison ; illustrated by François Thisdale

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HORSE ROAD
by Troon Harrison

- BOOK REVIEW
COURAGE TO FLY
by Troon Harrison & illustrated by Zhong-Yang Huang

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HOW TO SPEAK DOLPHIN

by Ginny Rorby ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015

Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.

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Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?

Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.

Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)