Pony by R. J. Palacio - ADVISABLE

Pony by R. J. Palacio, 304 pages.  Knopf Books for Young Readers Little, Brown and Company, 2021 $18.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G. Violence: PG13. (Gun violence, ghosts with death wounds) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

12yo Silas is left alone when his father is taken by armed horsemen in the night. But when the pony they brought for Silas comes back for him, Silas decides that he has to try to rescue his father. Silas can see ghosts - in fact, Mittenwool, who woke him in time to see the riders coming, is a ghost. So when Silas starts off on the Pony, Mittenwool comes along. It's a dangerous undertaking, not one for a 12-year-old on his own, not even one as courageous as Silas. 

Oh, I loved this book so much! A beautiful ghost story, written in 19th century dialogue - like reading Poe or True Grit. It caught me on the very first page and I could hardly put it down. However, I have such a hard time getting my patrons to read historical fiction (1860 Ohio). I hope the ghosts will help me sell it. 

Lisa Librarian