I enjoyed this book. The dialog felt very real. I loved the relationship Troy has with his horse and could understand the difficulty he felt as he grew in another direction from his closest friend. The time it took for him to make it to the polo team seemed awfully short to me. I found the ending to be abrupt. It did leave things open to hope. All in all a very satisfying read. Thank you to Scholastic and Edelweiss+ for making this available to be in exchange for my honest review. ( )

The real story is tougher than the book, but Kendall's novel gives taut and revealing insights into the lives of inner-city African-American families and the few kids that find hope through the innovative and successful Work to Ride program.

Troy is a good kid with a supportive family and friends, but he lives in a hard place and has recently lost his Mom. He's confused and troubled. He gets into trouble and is faced with juvenile detention. The last thing he wants to do is muck out stall's and hang out with horses. Until he tries it. Until he meets the polo pony, Chance.

Turns out, Troy's a natural with horses. He bonds with Chance, but in his new obsession with horses, he almost loses his best friend, Foster. Troy makes mistake after mistake, including lying to everyone who's trying to help. I wanted to shake him and tell him to straighten up, but I stuck with him because he stuck with Chance.

In the Author's Note, Kendall writes that her inspiration for this story came from the Work to Ride Program. I can see why. It's both heartbreaking - the kids in the program have faced horrible violence in their Philadelphia neigborhoods - but the Work to Ride horse program grants them safety and hope. Don't miss the facts at WorktoRide.net, especially Kareem Rosser's story. ( )