Will I love Pony?

I wear two hats. In addition to being a children’s book writer, I’m also the executive copy editor at Random House Books for Young Readers. I had the good fortune recently to work on a new novel from R. J. Palacio, of Wonder fame. It’s a one-of-a-kind Western that seamlessly and skillfully melds the material and the supernatural worlds. And it’s beautifully written and filled with heart-stopping suspense and iconic characters. Pony, a mysterious horse, leads a boy, Silas, on an epic quest to rescue his father from desperadoes. This haunting, deeply moving coming-of-age tale stayed with me long… show more.

This is the most recent book I recommend, and it’s here because I love horses and... wow, did the breadth of this work blow me away. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I turned the page, but what I got was a book that thrilled me as a western, intrigued me as a scientific history, and chilled me as a ghost story.

As she did with Wonder, Palacio gives the reader a view of the world as seen through the eyes of someone who is “different”. Silas, the main character, has a best friend who’s a ghost.… show more.