Wind Rider
by Susan Williams

Harper Trophy, 2006, 309 pp., $6.99
ISBN: 978-0-06-087238-0

Like every teenager at one point in their life Fern feels unloved and alone. Being only13- years- old she20has to start to learn how to be a mother and a wife. Her mother needs her to learn these things so she can marry Badger, a boy who only thinks of himself, can be her husband, but Fern would like to put her love somewhere else and with the help of a horse named Thunder she does just that. Fern was looking for fern heads when she finds Thunder stuck in the bog. She tries to pull the foal from the mud but is unable to free her. Every day she sneaks away to feed the foal and after a few days of pulling and earning Thunder’s trust, she’s able to pull her out. Fern keeps the foal a secret from everyone. She learns to ride Thunder and takes the horse back to meet her people, but when they see Fern riding Thunder they call her a witch. There are many twists and turns in this book for Fern; danger, fighting for her voice to be heard, the Ahnes strong traditions wanted to be broken, grief, and best of all true love. Wind Rider was one of my favorite books. It shows you the love you can share with an animal and the struggles you20go through together. Susan Williams uses a lot of detail, such as words from another language which Fern’s people speak. Williams also doesn’t give you a setting you don’t know where the story takes place or when. That leaves room to let your mind wander. Fern’s feelings are made very strong. You feel as though you and she have been best friends forever and she is telling you something that just happened over her summer. The feeling of her loneliness leaves you sad and the nagging and telling Fern to do things over and over again by her mother, rings a bell in any teenager’s mind. I would recommend this book to people who love animals and especially horse lovers. Anyone who likes an adventure and romance tied into one would enjoy it or maybe you just need a quick read on a rainy day. The book has some parts that would not be appropriate for kids under the ages of 10 or 11.~ reviewed by Senait