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.
Kirkus Review
Twelve-year-old Joseph Johnson searches the Northwest frontier for his missing horse and a new family. When first his mother and beloved little sister die of typhoid, and then his father dies in a wagon accident, Joseph is left in the care of a drunkard, his Indian pony, Sarah, his only remaining family. When the drunkard sells Sarah to a swindler, Joseph reclaims his father's pistol, takes the money given for the horse, and sets out in pursuit, on foot, through unforgiving wilderness. He wants Sarah back more than almost anythingbut he sees the stars as the campfire his family members sit around, and he plans to be the person they taught him to be. So when he finds a starving, abandoned Chinese boy, Ah-Kee, Joseph spends part of his horse money to feed him. Ah-Kee joins him on the trail, and together they battle grizzly bears, survive river rapids, cling to the outside of a steam train, and deliver a pioneer woman's babyall without speaking a word of each other's language. Told in Joseph's authentic voice, this is true adventure with strong underpinnings of moral courage and love. Gemeinhart shines truth on difficult situations, such as Joseph's shooting an outlaw, and the ending brings Joseph home: "There was plenty of sadness in the story, I reckon, but it wasn't sad all the way through." Poignant and real. (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Says a grateful admirer to Joseph and his unlikely traveling companion, You boys. You got some kind of courage. In the Wild West of 1890 Washington State, Joseph, not yet 13, has lost his mother and sister to typhoid and his father to a tragic accident. When his beloved horse is underhandedly sold by the greedy man to whom Joseph was entrusted as his father's dying wish, Joseph will stop at nothing to reclaim his four-legged soul mate. Guided by memories of his late parents' caring wisdom and befriended by an abandoned Chinese boy named Ah-Kee, who happens to be both bear- and baby-whisperer, Joseph's odyssey toward reunion features Indians and bandits, a sturdy canoe, a speeding train, cold racism, and the kindness of many strangers. Gemeinhart's follow-up to his lauded debut, The Honest Truth (2015), makes for a wonderful addition to the man-and-beast tales of devotion that include Michael Morpurgo's War Horse (2007) and Cynthia Kadohata's Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (2007). Exhilarating and enthralling, this promises even the most reluctant readers a breakneck adventure that will keep them turning the pages with utter devotion.--Hong, Terry Copyright 2015 Booklist