Some Kind of Courage, Dan Gemeinhart. The newest book from this talented author had me racing along with Joseph, the main character, in his gut wrenching run to reclaim Sarah, his beloved horse. Set in 1890, young Joseph has lost his dad to a freak wagon accident and his mother and little sister to typhoid. All he has is Sarah, sweet Sarah, who was sold out from under him by the very man his father asked to take responsibility for him. But Ezra Bishop, a mean spirited, conniving bullish man, now has his horse and is headed off to Wenatchee. When Joseph arrives, too late to meet up with Bishop, he finds a young Chinese boy outside the trading post, starving and thirsty. With his mother's warm words nestled in his soul, he kindly feeds him and encourages him to tag along. Although they can't understand one another, they learn to communicate in other ways and Joseph soon learns his name is Ah-Kee. They continue onto Walla Walla, where Bishop is next headed. Along the way, they come across a momma grizzly and Joseph and Ah-Kee barely make it up a rock when the grizzly stands tall enough to scrape Joseph's leg. About to shoot her point blank in the eye with the gun he took from the drunkard who sold Sarah, Ah-Kee, forces the gun down, climbs down the rock and . . . talks to the bear. And that momma took her cubs and wondered off. This is only the first of many hair raising adventures these two will have and the reader will be right there with them, gasping, choking, chugging.
Town after town finds Sarah just out of Joseph's reach, yet she is the only family he has and he will not give up. The two boys run across wickedly mean men, as well as tender hearted, generous folk that clothe and feed them. Joseph does finally rescue Sarah, sweet Sarah, from Caleb Fawney, the outlaw on the run, only to have her shot in the neck while riding her bareback from the dying Fawney. They both go down and they go down hard.
Oh, the tears flowed. You won't escape this story without shedding some tears and thinking of this story long after the pages come to an end.
