Finding Somewhere

Starred review from October 15, 2011
Two teenage girls and a noble, aged horse on a road trip. What could beat that? Sixteen-year-old Hattie, in an expressive, quirky yet pitch-perfect first-person voice, provides the flowing narrative, as she steals Speed, an ancient horse scheduled to be put down the following autumn morning (merely to prevent the possibility of a difficult winter burial) and heads west with her best friend, Delores. She's an emotionally fragile 18-year-old, rejected by her boyfriend-focused mother, and needs a rescue almost as badly as the horse. Their goal is to find free range for Speed, offering him the opportunity, for once in his life, to just be a horse--free, not plodding around a carnival ring. Along the way they encounter other horse lovers, most notably Julie, an elderly woman who just wants to share a few heart-wrenching moments with patient Speed; Fry, a Minnesota double amputee with plenty of land and a big heart; and Punch, a handsome young rodeo rider who loves both horses and Hattie. Monniger's writing is delicious, evocative and, especially during horse-focused scenes, moving. Horse story, road trip, coming-of-age tale: It's any and all of these, but mostly a tender and authentic voyage into the mind of a wise, funny and wholly likable protagonist. (Fiction. 11 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-Hattie, 18, and Delores, 16, love a retired horse that is scheduled to be euthanized. Neither teen is willing to accept this fate for Speed, so they borrow a horse trailer, load him up in the middle of the night, and head west to find pastureland where they can leave him to live his final days as a horse, not a pony ride. Of course, their parents are worried and constantly call to reprimand them, and they risk being found by the police and arrested for theft. Fortunately, they don't encounter too much trouble along the way, and they meet more fellow horse lovers than people trying to sabotage them. They camp and sleep in the cab of the truck, and even have enough money occasionally to sleep in hotels. This is a story for all who have deeply loved an animal and felt like they needed to help it. While the initial defiance by the teens is not something to encourage, the end result is positive.-Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, OR

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
To keep their beloved Speed from being put down, Hattie and Delores kidnap the elderly horse, put him in a trailer, and head for the Western prairie. The friendship between the girls and each one's struggle to choose a direction for her life sustain the arc of the road journey. Horse lovers will empathize with the girls' emotions and cheer Speed's eventual release into a wild herd.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)