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.

The Honest Truth, Dan Gemeinhart. The cancer has returned for a second time and 12-year old Mark is dying. With $100 in his pocket and Beau, his dog, in his backpack, he sets out to climb Mt. Rainier, the tallest mountain in North America. No notes, no hints are left for his parents to have a clue where he might have gone. Only Jessie, his best friend and confidant, knows where he went and swore she wouldn't reveal his plan. Despite her personal turmoil, she is keeping her promise. Along his journey, he comes across bullies that knock him down, stealing from him, and sweet Hispanic angels that hold him up and remind him of Jessie's family. Mark is sick and weak and tired and alone. He is making this climb for his grandfather. But with his face plastered on TV screens, he avoids people at all costs, until a gentle man in a pick-up truck finds him near frozen, picks him up, and recognizes him; yet, gives him a small window of time to complete his task before he will make a phone call. With Beau at every step, he begins his ascent of the mighty mountain.

This book will grip you from the very first page, the very first sentence, and hold you until the last sentence wraps itself around to the beginning. Each chapter shares how many miles Mark has left to get to the mountain and each half chapter is told from his one dear friend, Jessie. The climb will have you biting your nails with horror and fear. I found myself thinking about Mark and worried for his family, desperately looking for him. Was Mark selfish or selfless? A question I found myself asking over and over again. Perhaps, you will, too.

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina, Rodman Philbrick. After Zane's mother does some digging to learn that his late father has a grandmother in New Orleans, he and his dog, Bandy, fly down to stay with her. Zane warms to Grammy immediately and hopes to learn how his father died. But, Hurricane Katrina is fast approaching so they leave town on the preacher's bus. When Bandy jumps out the window, with Zane fast on his heels, they end back up at Grammy's house, with the storm licking at their heels. When water begins to drown the house, they must escape to the attic, with only a vent for hope. Along come Malvina and Tru in a canoe to rescue them. What follows is their harrowing experience through stink, filth, danger and death. Although familiar with the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, this story takes the reader to the heart of the devastation: poverty, race, drugs, crime.

Philbrick, author of Freak the Mighty, does not disappoint with his latest book. Prepare readers for a dialect for which they may not be familiar (truth = troot, that = dat, darling = dawlin).