cover image Over the Joshua Slope

Over the Joshua Slope

Lyman Hafen. Bradbury Press, $14.95 (172pp) ISBN 978-0-02-741100-3

This modern-day western is as much about father-son relationships as it is about rounding up cattle. Brian Winsor, who spends two weeks of each year with his rancher father, is less than prepared to meet the challenge of helping to move three herds of cattle to their summer pasture after a leg injury prevents Mr. Winsor from riding a horse alongside his seasoned partners, Will and Malcolm. During the arduous journey over Joshua Slope, made up of several miles of desert, Brian finds the physical punishment--extreme heat, sore muscles and injuries sustained from falling off a spirited horse--more bearable than his inability to meet his father's high expectations. While Malcolm remains as critical of error as Mr. Winsor, kind-hearted Will takes the seventh grader under his wing and provides comfort by recounting stories of his own children's trips through the slopes. Gaining insight through campfire tales and the conversations of the three men, Brian develops confidence and rediscovers his father's love. While evoking both the danger and the beauty of nature, first-novelist Hafen, a cowboy and rodeo rider, produces a moving book about human strengths and frailties. Ages 9-13. (Apr.)