Sand

by Luanne Armstrong

Fiction. Young Adult. SAND tells the story of a young girl, Willy Cameron, her horse named Sand, and her involvement with therapeutic riding. The novel begins when Willy is involved in a car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. After the doctors tell her she may never walk again, Willy becomes depressed and self-pitying. She then meets a young boy, Ben, who is involved in therapeutic horseback riding for his juvenile arthritis. Ben persuades her to give it a try, and the riding gives Willy back the partial use of her legs. While still recovering, she takes on the training of Sand, a spirited rescue horse at the stable who was injured, and now spooks easily. When her friend Ben disappears after becoming depressed and involved in drugs, Willy secretly takes Sand from the stable against the orders of the stable owner to find Ben. But Ben is not in his right mind, and Sand is easily spooked. The fate of Willy, Ben and Sand all depends on what happens next."

210 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2016

Reviews

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some good parts in this book. This is especially true in the passages that deal with therapy horses, where the author's personal experience shows through.
Otherwise I have many problems. The young characters don't feel authentic. Their use of jargon strikes a dissonant chord.
Then there is the issue of Willa's, response to finding herself paralyzed after a traumatic car crash. Having lived with someone following their own experience with this, I understood her anger. Yet as the story progressed, I was constantly l appalled by the use of the word 'cripple'.
I can't recommend this book.

[Darlene Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

SAND tells the story of a young girl, Willy Cameron, her horse named Sand, and her involvement with therapeutic riding. The novel begins when Willy is involved in a car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. After the doctors tell her she may never walk again, Willy becomes depressed and self-pitying. She then meets a young boy, Ben, who is involved in therapeutic horseback riding for his juvenile arthritis. Ben persuades her to give it a try, and the riding gives Willy back the partial use of her legs. While still recovering, she takes on the training of Sand, a spirited rescue horse at the stable who was injured, and now spooks easily. When her friend Ben disappears after becoming depressed and involved in drugs, Willy secretly takes Sand from the stable against the orders of the stable owner to find Ben. But Ben is not in his right mind, and Sand is easily spooked. The fate of Willy, Ben and Sand all depends on what happens next.