About the Author:
S. L. ROTTMAN is a former teacher and the author of Hero, Rough Waters, Head Above Water, and Shadow of a Doubt. A graduate of Colorado State University, Rottman now lives in Wyoming.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 7 Up. This earnest first novel tackles a topical subject?the emotional effects of child abuse and abandonment?and gives readers both a realistic picture of the damage done and reason to hope. Hot-headed, confused, and fiercely defensive, 15-year-old Sean is easily drawn into fights at school and then tangles with the law. What he is not telling anyone is that his alcoholic mother has been taking out her frustrations on him, physically as well as emotionally. Sean is sentenced to community service at a horse farm. Under Mr. Hassler's steady hand, the boy experiences, and sometimes resists, the structure and guidance for which he has hungered. When he assists at the birth of a foal that bonds with him, Sean discovers the rewards of attachment and trust, as well as the responsibility of caring for a young creature. However, patterns of distrust, violence, and isolation cannot be overcome in one week of community service. Sean is tested, fails, and emerges to try again, all the while gaining a sense of personal responsibility for his future. In places the plot is contrived; the foal is rejected by its mother, providing an oh-so-obvious substitute on which Sean vents his rage. Also, a concerned teacher keeps showing up at all the right moments to cheer the young man on. Nonetheless, Rottman avoids the expected ending. Through Sean, she gives readers a convincing and difficult protagonist and a fresh perspective on what it means to be a hero.?Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
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