cover image Hummer

Hummer

Linda Gruenberg. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $13.95 (184pp) ISBN 978-0-395-51080-3

Hummer's life has become almost too difficult to bear: her emotionally disturbed mother won't leave the house and can't stand to throw anything away; her kind but ineffectual father sleeps in the cow shed and rarely enters the stinking, garbage-filled house. Shame and fear keep Hummer from seeking help for her family's problems. Then, in the middle of a thunderstorm, the Arab mare Fox gallops into Hummer's life. Fox's owner, Old Man Riley, comes to claim his property, but changes his mind and lets Hummer keep the mare for a while. Under Riley's guidance, Hummer begins to train Fox for a grueling competitive trail ride. As she works with the mare, Hummer gains a deep inner confidence and enough strength to cope with the results of her mother's mental illness. The accurate details of horse training add conviction to this bittersweet first novel. Ages 10-14. (Mar.)