Day: September 11, 2011

  Bronze by B.B. Shepherd is the first of four books from ‘ the Glister Journals’. It tells the story of a young  girl, Allison who has just moved, with her parents from West L.A to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada   Mountains. Allison, an only child, is shy and bookish, and has always been a target for bullies in the past.  In addition to adjusting to a new town, and a new life, Allison is dealing with all the usual changes that come with growing up.

Soon after arriving at her new home she begins two relationships that will affect her life in a profound way. First is the discovery of a horse on their property, the second is Dave, the handsome third son of a local ranch owner. Through her friendship with the horse, this boy, and Dave’s old friend Robin, she develops a close circle of friends and a love affair with all things equestrian. She finds that she, and her parents, have a whole lot of new terrain to negotiate.

This book is fantastic. The characters are all well-rounded and fully developed. It is a large book, and simply for convenience sake I was restricted to reading it at home, before bed, and I found that I was stretching out my ‘bedtime’ so I could keep reading  for as long as possible. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. While most things are resolved at the end of the first book, there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered. Plus, I am finding that, since I finished reading it, I am missing the characters and want to know what they are up to.

I have categorised this book as being “Young Adult” fiction, but this classification shouldn’t suggest that the writing is in any way deficient or weak. There are very strong themes about friendship, loyalty and integrity that should be universal for everybody. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good read.