Wild Horse Rescue by Nancy M Bell
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (161 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Chamomile
Laurel Rowan is happy to be home in Alberta and excited that Coll Hazel is coming from Cornwall for a visit. She’s looking forward to showing around him the ranch. The visit doesn’t turn out as she imagined when the plight of a band of wild horses comes to her attention. Laurel is angry and frustrated that her childhood friend Chance, the boy on the neighboring ranch, and his father are determined to round up the wildies and send them to the meat packers. Laurel, Coll, and Chance’s sister, Carly, embark on a mission to rescue the horses and find a protected place where they can live wild and free.
This story starts off with a rescue mission, and the action and excitement never let up! Laurel’s friend Coll is visiting from Cornwall, but her plans to show him around the ranch are thrown in disarray, as a local herd of wild horses are in danger of being rounded up and sold for meat! Like many other horse focused series, this feels a bit like the type of plot expected in The Heartland Series, or for younger watchers The Saddle Club.
I really enjoyed this style, and read this one quickly, which was made easier as this story plays out like a show, and the detail and characters were both realistic and vivid enough that I read most of this in one sitting! The story does deal with some more mature issues teens face, other than the ‘meat packers’ there’s also issues of physical and alcohol abuse and some teen/YA type sexual awakening dealt with in the story. It’s nothing not mentioned in other books or shows, but still isn’t a completely ‘clean’ read either.
As mentioned above, I really liked the writing style used, and look forward to reading more like this from Ms. Bell’s work! While this is YA, adults can enjoy this too, and this actually is one of those stories that doesn’t really feel ‘too young’ if you enjoy The Heartland Series type TV show, then this has a similar feel!
Wonderful book for young and old. Even if you are not a horse-lover like me it will appeal.
It was quite a fun read!