Pony by RJ Palacio

 Begin with the book trailer from Random House Kids - it's exquisite. 

Silas Bird and his father Martin Bird, or Pa as Silas calls him, live in a remote part of Ohio. Martin Bird is a highly intelligent man who has tried and succeeded at various occupations including boot making. His latest enterprise is photography which, up until now, has consisted of daguerreotypes but Martin has developed a new form using paper soaked in a solution of iron and salt. This process is called the collodion process. The author notes at the back of Pony give more details about the various forms of photography which were used during the 1800s. 

Late one night three armed men arrive and demand Pa and Silas ride with them to meet Roscoe Ollerenshaw. They claim he has a lucrative business proposition. Later we discover this involves counterfeiting. The men have two extra horses with them one of which is a small pony. This is clearly a very dangerous situation and at first Pa refuses to go but as things escalate he agrees to set off with the men but he refuses to take his son. 

Silas is left alone in this remote place. Well actually he is not entirely alone because he has his friend Mittenwood. Who is Mittenwood? 

The next day the pony appears in the yard.

"He was not as small in the daylight as he had seemed in the dark. Maybe the other horses around him had been especially big. I don't know. But now, grazing by the charred oak, the pony seemed of average height for a horse. His coat gleamed black in the sunlight, and his neck was arched and muscular, topped by that bright white head, which made for a most peculiar spectacle."

Silas knows his father has ordered him to stay home assuring him he will return in seven days but to Silas the arrival of the pony is a sign. Mittenwood (I am not going to tell you about him here) cautions against setting off but Silas knows his father is in danger and so their long and dangerous journey begins. 

Colby Sharp loved Pony which is why I put it on my shopping list. I am guessing he loved the survival aspect because he always says his own number one book (from when he was young) is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Colby also likens the writing in Pony to Holes by Louis Sachar. Oddly, it is the aspect of survival that concerned me the most in Pony but there are lots of tiny threads in this story which RJ Palacio neatly sews into a perfect pattern which feels very satisfying when you reach the final page.

Colby Sharp - "It's mind blowing ... when you read it the second time you see all of these clues that the author leaves for readers ... It's just a masterpiece ... It is really amazing. 

The journey undertaken by Silas is very long but he seems to go for days with no food and no water and even worse, while he clearly loves Pony, we never read about him taking the horse to a river or lake to drink nor does he complete the basic horse care I have read about in other books such as rubbing Pony down, giving him enough rest, and making sure Pony has food each day. Kirkus agree: "Among other horse-related slip-ups, novice rider Silas manages a 12-hour day without either himself or the pony dropping from exhaustion."  This will go part of the way to explaining why I gave Pony four stars. I truly enjoyed this book (as evidenced by the way I read 272 pages of very small print in one day) but I kept wanting someone to offer food to Silas and I did worry about Pony. Luckily at the end, Silas does find a new family and there is a brief mention (page 243) of eating pudding and smelling freshly baked bread but I was hanging out for a feast of delicious treats. 

This book is sure to appeal to readers aged 11+. The final gun fight scenes are utterly gripping and I mentioned tiny threads. One of these is the violin Silas takes on his journey. You are sure to wonder about this. Another is the mysterious Mac Boat and of course Marshal Farmer who guides Silas through the so many dangerous landscapes. Colby Sharp is writing teaching notes to go with Pony - they don't seem to have been published yet but I add the link here when they appear. 

The Wall Street Journal begins their review with the word 'perfection' going on to say "Ms. Palacio interleaves her chapters with antique daguerreotypes, and she evokes the journeys of Odysseus and Telemachus, as well as other classical tales, to create a brilliant story of love and courage."

R. J. Palacio spins a harrowing yet distinctly beautiful coming-of-age story about the power of love and the ties that bind us across distance and time. With the poignant depth of War Horse and the singular voice of True Grit, this is one of those rare books poised to become an instant classic for readers of all ages. Penguin Random House

In this beautifully crafted story, we meet strangers, loved ones, those dedicated to the law, and those dedicated to honor, integrity, loyalty, friendship, and above all, love.  Some of them you want to see in jail and others you wish you could make a part of your own life because the power of the connections is so amazingly wonderful and that is what really matters after all. A Book and a Hug

Here are some more review comments.

You will know RJ Palacio from her previous books including Wonder. As I read Pony I kept thinking about a book I read a long time ago - Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman. My memory is that it had similar themes of a boy alone, travelling vast distances to find his father and the promise of lost millions.