Samphire Song

Gr 5–8—Jodie Palmer, 14, lives with her mother and younger brother, Ed, in southern England and volunteers regularly at a horse stable. She has fond memories of her father, a Royal Air Force pilot who died when his plane crashed. Ed has weak kidneys and needs dialysis treatments, yet his interactions with Jodie seem bubbly and playful. When Mom lands a new job, she offers to buy the children something they want-a radio-controlled plane for Ed, and, for Jodie, a horse of her own. Thus, Samphire, a gray part-Arab stallion with a wild streak and a melodious whinny, enters the tale. When Ed needs a kidney transplant and Mom's job ends, Jodie decides to help her family by selling her handsome horse, having promised him she would not ride another horse until they were reunited. After Mom gets a new job, Jodie makes plans to repurchase Samphire but finds his ownership has changed, and Ed sells his model planes to help her raise money. In a secret bike ride at night, Jodie wheels into the countryside looking for her horse and, against all odds, hears his distinctive song. She tracks him to a large barn filed with mistreated animals, where she and an injured Samphire escape the cruel animal traffickers. The plot is overly dramatic and the family sacrifices too selfless. The book's strength lies in the interaction of horses and people, especially the bond between Jodie and Samphire, and her watchful care during his slow, uphill recovery from abuse to full equine health.—Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT