Pony

Pony

R.J. Palacio

Knopf, 2021 304 pages

Grades 5-8

Historical Fiction/Fantasy/Adventure

Welcome to the wild west! Silas Bird witnesses the kidnapping of his beloved father by counterfeiters and outlaws to secure dad's early photography skills. Even though Dad tells Silas to stay put, a beautiful horse, whom he names Pony, returns from the kidnappers to lead him to the hide-out. Accompanied only by his best friend Mittenwool, who happens to be ghost, Pony leads them down the trail. Eventually they meet an elderly sheriff who shares the mission to find the outlaws for his own-and very personal-reasons. Silas's journey is filled with new experiences, leaving his comfort zone, and finding the inner courage he didn't know he possessed. Meanwhile, family secrets are revealed, including the truth behind his father's past, information about his late mother, and Mittenwool's backstory. Eventually the outlaws are discovered, but the encounter does not go as planned and a massive gunfight ensues. Who will survive?

One thing I have to say about R.J. Palacio is that she is a true Renaissance woman. Having hit kid-lit stardom with Wonder, she created a graphic novel, utilizing her graphic arts background. Now, Palacio is exploring her love for photography in this departure from anything else she has created. I haven't seen a true western for kids come out in many years. This is classic to the genre in many senses beyond setting in that there are proper heroes and villains and a big shoot out in the end. An added layer is that Silas can see ghosts and is accompanied by Mittenwood, a ghostly best friend. This was an interesting element and while I was reading I had to figure out if Mittenwool was really a ghost or an imaginary friend. The only fantastical element of the story are the ghosts, placing the title more in the world of magical realism than flat-out fantasy. There is also a mystery element as Silas searches for his father and slowly untangles the threads of his past. A few surprises crop up along and way and strange coincidences. I felt that it ran a little long and could have ended soon after the shoot-out instead of following Silas into adulthood, but actually the last bit was so satisfying and delicious, that I'm glad the author indulged us readers. Chapters are introduced by haunting daguerreotypes, adding another interesting dimension and perfectly tieing into the story. A carefully crafted gem of a book.