Gemeinhart, Dan. Some Kind of Courage.

Gemeinhart, Dan.  Some Kind of Courage.  Scholastic Press  2016  233p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-545-66577-3  elem/ms    Realistic fiction     VG-BN

Joseph Johnson has lost his mother and sister to a deadly disease, and then his father in a carriage accident. He is sent to live with a cruel and abusive caretaker who sells Joseph’s last living love, his precious, fierce, and fast pony Sarah. Joseph escapes his evil environment and takes off on a journey of adventure with many dangerous twists and turns as he attempts to buy back his precious Sarah. Along the way he encounters and befriends a young Chinese boy who speaks no English.

This comparatively short but fast-paced novel contains an amazing amount of action, suspense, trial, and danger. There is so much going on that readers will not be able to put the book down. Readers will feel as if they are traveling with Joseph and are as anxious to be reunited with Sarah as he is. The emotional bond that Joseph feels toward his pony is so well developed that the reader can’t help but become attached to and desperate for her rescue and their reunion. And (this is not really a spoiler), get out the tissues. The novel is a real tear jerker as well.

Summary: Joseph Johnson has lost his ma, sister, and pa. When his abusive and cruel caretaker sells his last living love, his precious horse Sarah, twelve-year-old Joseph takes off on his own to buy her back, meeting adventure and much danger along the way.        

Pet horses-Fiction                                          --Virginia McGarvey