Firehorse - Softcover

Wilson, Diane Lee

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1442403314 ISBN 13: 9781442403314

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Rachel is furious and lonely when her father moves the family to Boston in 1872—especially since she had to sell her beloved horse. But in Boston she finds the Governor’s Girl, an injured firehorse, and begins caring for her and thinking about becoming a veterinarian. Then an outbreak of fires causes Rachel to question the ethics of her journalist father, and when the horses who pull the fire engines fall ill, the danger escalates. In a dramatic climax, the Great Boston Fire of 1872 is brought to life with cinematic vividness, and Rachel proves her grit and determination to make something of herself.

About this title

About the Author:

Diane Lee Wilson is the author of Black Storm Comin’ (which won a Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile, was a Booklist Editors’ Choice, a VOYA Top Shelf fiction pick, a Notable Social Studies book, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon book, and a Book Links Lasting Connection), Firehorse (which was a Booklist Top Ten Mystery/Suspense pick and an ALA Amelia Bloomer Project pick), Raven Speak, and Tracks. She lives in Escondido, California. Visit her online at DianeLeeWilson.com.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* It's 1872, and 15-year-old Rachel often escapes the confines of corsets and social strictures by going for gallops on her beloved horse around her small-town Illinois home. When her father moves the family to Boston and the horse is sold, she has a difficult time adjusting to her father's demands of ladylike behavior and her mother's coaxing her toward womanly pursuits. The author of Black Storm Comin' (2005), Wilson paces the story well, with tension building: an arsonist is at work setting fires in Boston and the horses needed to pull fire equipment are falling ill at an alarming rate. At first only her grandmother seems to understand the importance of Rachel's dream of becoming a veterinarian, but soon she has other allies, and a path that appeared to be blocked begins to open before her. The love interest and the mystery that are integral to the story are secondary to Rachel's pursuit of her goal, which begins with helping one firehouse horse recover from burns. The novel's finest achievement, though, is the convincing depiction of family dynamics in an era when men ruled the household and women, who had few opportunities, folded their dreams and put them away with the linens they embroidered. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1442403314
• ISBN 13: 9781442403314
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336