Ride On

April 1, 2018
In a gray Texas landscape decimated by natural disasters, two teens come together to find a way--and a reason--to survive.White teen Seph isn't an outlaw, but he's not sure if he's a cowboy either. He's been on the road since he witnessed his father's murder at age 9. Now he makes his way toward the ocean with his beloved horse, Cade, as his only companion. Seph's never seen the sun or a blue sky--but he still has a chance of finding open water. Meanwhile, white teen Avery lives in a coal town with her twin brother, Finn, their parents both dead. But the mine is no longer producing enough coal, so when the Lawmen show up for their share, they end up taking five boys as payment instead. One of the boys is Finn. As Avery flees, lost and desperate to save her brother, Seph is captured elsewhere; but it isn't long before their fates become entwined. Told through Seph's and Avery's distinct, alternating perspectives, a brutal saga unfolds. In the beginning, the blood and despair are almost too much to take, but once Seph and Avery team up, the darkness recedes just enough for their story to play out. Amid the chaos, a tender romance begins to spark, shedding a much-needed beam of hope onto the ruthless landscape.A starkly violent Western with surprising turns of tenderness. (Western. 14-18)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Eighteen-year-old Seph debates whether he's a cowboy or an outlaw in this postapocalyptic adventure. After a series of natural disasters, the sun was completely obscured by clouds, and plants and animals became scarce. A breakdown of society quickly followed, and the United States fell into chaos. On his own in "the Wild" since age nine, Seph is captured by a group of "lawmen" and imprisoned in the town of Kev. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Avery and her twin brother, Finn, have been recently orphaned. When their small mining town runs out of coal and is not able to meet their monthly quota, Finn volunteers to be one of several boys taken back to Kev as "payment." During her desperate attempt to free her brother, Avery's path crosses with Seph's; he decides to give up his solitary lifestyle to help her on her quest. Together they find out the significance of the red bandana his father wore and discover a safe haven in an unsafe world. The cowboy trope comes off strong at the beginning of the book and those who aren't readers of Westerns might not be fans. However, the nonstop action quickly turns the book into a page-turner and the well-drawn, complex characters are easy to like. The emotional maturity of the main characters adds depth to what could otherwise be a typical action-story plot and the romance, while understated, rings true. A richly drawn world provides a dim, gloomy context for a bright, intense story. VERDICT Recommended as a first purchase.-Sunnie Scarpa, Wallingford Public Library, CT

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