G. Neri just has what it takes to get the attention of any reader but young urban male readers in particular. Not just your typical teenage angst stuff going on here, rather an unusual, setting of neglected horses and black cowboys on Chester Avenue in the northern part of Philadelphia working together to maintain their tradition, their culture, their way...the cowboy way which unites them and the community to stand up for themselves and be heard.
I listened to the audio production performed by JD Jackson which was well done. The variety of character's voices worked well with the tone and mood of the book and were never distracting. The musical segues enhanced the theme. Recommend this for all teen readers but in particular plan to read it to our TEEN group at Mount Pleasant because they'll be fascinated by the combination of coming of age story told as a western in an urban "hood". Also recommend this to inner city school librarians and teachers in grades 5 and up and for teen reluctant readers.
