Book excerpt: “A powerful story” of a boy leaving the city streets for a summer at a horse farm—and discovering the possibility of a different life(Kirkus Reviews). An ALA Best Book for Young Adults An ALA Quick Pick With an absent mother and a domineering stepfather, Travis uses his tough-guy exterior to hide his true passion: writing. After a violent confrontation with his stepfather, Travis is sent to live on his uncle’s horse ranch—exile to a born-and-bred city kid. Angry and yearning for a connection, Travis befriends Casey, the horse-riding instructor at the ranch, and the untamable horse in her stable: the Star Runner. When a friend from the city visits with stories of other kids from the neighborhood facing jail time, Travis is more determined than ever that he needs to escape the life of juvenile delinquency he seems destined for. When the offer of a book deal comes through, Travis is hopeful that this is his chance to escape—if only his stepfather will stop standing in the way of his dreams. In this novel, the acclaimed author of The Outsiders “portrays her characters with sympathy and yet commendably refuses to gloss over rough edges or gritty truths” (Publishers Weekly). “Hinton continues to grow more reflective in her books, but her great understanding, not of what teenagers are but of what they can hope to be, is undiminished.”—Kirkus Reviews