Bull Rider

by Marilyn Halvorson

Layne wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and to be a bull rider. His dad was one ride away from a National Championship when he got trampled to death. Layne wants to be able to give his dad that championship--by winning it for him. What he doesn't want, though, is to end up like his father and die in the rodeo arena. When the chance comes, Layne realizes he must face up to his greatest fear. With the help of his friend Jana, and his bratty younger sister, Layne learns to reach deep inside and trust himself.

Also available in French.

Genres: Young Adult, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Ebooks, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Blue Moon is Marilyn Halvorson's second book in the Orca Soundings series. Bull Rider was an ALA Quick Pick nominee. When she is not caring for cattle on her ranch, Marilyn spends her time writing.

Reviews

[Chase Parrish]

Book Review

Bull Rider by Halvorson Marilyn
Here I read this book at the beginning of the school it was a very short book took me only a few days to read but it was an enjoyable book, it's not going to be the best book you will read ever but it is a fun and interesting book. In the book it goes through the struggles that a young kid had growing up and facing the obstacle of his mom not wanting him to be a bull rider do to the fact that his dad was killed riding bulls.

[Darby Dubose · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my personal opinion, I really enjoyed this book. The main character, Layne wants to achieve in bull riding. Layne's mother will not allow him to ride bulls because his father was killed by a bull. Yet, Layne's father was so close to winning the National Championship. Now, Layne wants to make his father proud and become the bull rider he was. Layne's friend Jana, her father owns rodeo stock. So therefore Layne and his little sister, Tara, would go up to their arena and practice. Jana's grandfather, Chance, spotted Layne and decided to help him become a better bull rider. Chance was also an excellent bull rider and was the man Layne's father looked up to. On the night of the rodeo, Layne was riding the biggest and meanest bull, Rhino. Only one black sharp horn and was the bull Layne had already fallen off once and almost lost his life. It was Layne's time to shine and he was let out of the chute. So far, so good. Right at the end of his ride, Layne slowly started loosing his balance and fell right before the horn went off. Even though Layne didn't ride the entire eight seconds, he finally felt like he would live up to his father's dream.

[Scott To · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, Bull rider was an amazing book. This book made me think of if I wanted to do something my mom wouldn't want me to do, would it be worth doing it, if its risking hurting my moms feelings. I thought over it and I wouldn't want to hurt my mom, even if it means hurting myself. The main character in this book is named Layne. To me I think that he has a crush on this girl named Jana. I noticed that he talks sweetly when shes around him.

The characters in this book also include Layne's little sister which her name is Terror. In the beginning of the book Layne seems to not love or even like his what he calls kid sister. But when I kept on reading, I noticed that Layne started to be more closer to Terror. For example, in this one scene where Rambo, their horse, got hurt during a rough ride, Layne was actually heading for somewhere else with Terror and Rambo. Then Layne was in a hurry to get to the rodeo but instead he decided to stay and wait until the vet got there. To me this was a very emotional and touching moment.

[Rayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This kid named Lane and his dad got killed riding a bull and lanes mom dont want him to follow in his dads foot steps.i like this book because i like to ride bulls for a challange.

Bull Rider by: Marilyn Hal

This is a really good book. If you like rodeo and horses, cow’s, sheep that is where I grew up mostly around rodeo’s then you will really like this book it will kind of tech you how to stay on all relax if you get hung up. My favorite character is Lane he is a bull rider his mom don’t want him to be a bull rider because his dad got hung up and the bull killed him. that is why his mom don’t want him to be a bull rider but he goes behind his moms back to his friends house to ride bulls but her grandpa catches them in the act an Lane gets hung up if u want to find out if he gets unhung or not then read this book.

[Tyler Clare]

It's not a bad book. This book is about a kid that had always watched his dad ride bulls, that was until his dad died riding one. He watched his dad get mangled by a bull when he was young which took a big toll on his mother but he felt like he wanted to ride bulls just like his dad, but without the dieing part. So hs trying to rid bulls while his mom disagrees after what happened to his dad, but he doesn't think shes right. so he sets out to go to rodeo and ride a bull without his mom knowing. When he gets there they tell him to pick a bull and, and instead of starting with a small bul he picks the biggest one and loses to it. He finds someone willing to train him and they both disagree with their methods and don't get along at some points. He wants to get payback on the bull for throwing him off and youll have to read it to find out if he does.

[Ricardo R · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bull rider" is a great book to read, because the things you learn from it can really help you in real live. The book also tells you the entire struggle Layne has to go to become what his father were a bull rider. One lessens I learn was to always persuade on the things you want to do, and one day you who’d be able to do them. Another thing I enjoyed in this book was the relationship between Layne and his sister. However I also enjoyed how Layne was the biggest fan of his own father even thou his dad was dead, but that didn’t bother Layne to follow his father’s footsteps. At the end hi becomes a bull rider just like his father.

[Jeeoh Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bull Rider" is a novel written by Marilyn Halvorson. Layne, the main character, saw his father die in a rodeo when he was only ten years old. His dream is to become a good bull rider, in order to win the National Championship for his dad. However, his mother strongly disagrees with him, because she doesn't want to lose her son too. Layne faces various difficulties when trying to achieve his goal. Although I thought I would like this book, because the theme was interesting, it turned out to be rather boring. Therefore, I recommend this book, but only to those interested in bull riding and rodeos.

[Vashane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book. My cousin recommended it to me, she was yelling and laughing the whole time and it was about the strongest animal a bull which was cool to read because I liked all the action that took place it was a really good book.

I would definitely recommend this book with all the drama that went on with him and his family. People had to keep his spirit up to become an bull rider because his mother was totally against it because of what happened to his father. It's an must read book.

[Rosemary Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing i liked about this book was that you never wanted to stop reading it. it was really sweet how there was a little flirt between Lawne and jenna. I started crying when lawne stayed with his younger sister when rainbow got hurt instead of living his dream. When i was reading the book at home and read the part where the mother said "your crazy,just like your father and that why i think thats why I love you as much as your father" my haert bled alitle in the inside so i ran said "I love you" and gave my mom a hug

[Seth Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Layne, Tara, Jana, and Jana's grandfather. At the beginning Layne was filling out a sign up paper for bull riding. His mom asked him was he was doing and Layne said homework. Then Layne and his sister went to Jana's house because her parents own rodeo stock (bull). And Layne was going over there when Jana's parents weren't home to practice for this event. Then the rodeo date came. Then Layne and his sister when to load Rambo his sisters horse on the way to the rodeo a crazy driver came by and spooked the horse and the horse got hurt. I really like this book.

[Olivia MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bull Rider by Marilyn Halvorson was an amazing book which I enjoyed a lot. It was about a teenager boy who wants his father’s memory last by going to a rodeo to bull ride and to last eight seconds at least just like his father, who died in a bull riding accident when a year ago. His mom though didn’t want to bull ride because she didn’t want her son to get hurt like his dad did. I like this book because it about doing what you love to do even though it might mean to not telling you parents (which is wrong but in this story its okay).

[My.Name.Is.Wookie.Wookie.Chewbacca/Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Bull Rider by Marilyn Halverson. I liked the book because it had a lot of cool parts in the book. I liked when Layne got bucked off a bull named Rhino and when they loaded the horse up in the back of the truck and the horse fell out because these party animals drove and shouted out the window. This story is about a boy that wants to become a professional bull rider but his mom won't let him. His mom won't let him because his father died riding. I think the person who would like this book is someone who likes action and bull riding.

[Maren · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the box:
These Orca books are supposed to be for reluctant readers. I don't know if it would do much to turn someone into a book lover, but it's certainly easy to get through. The plot is predictable and the novel is short enough to think of as a short story. It works best as a book that you would use to help improve reading skills. So, if the interest in the subject is there, it would work well for that.

[Austin Druyor]

This book was a really great book because it shows how Layne wants to follow something after his dad which he has been killed by a bull from bull riding. It was also a great book because Layne wanted to prove that Layne wanted to be as good as his dad and never quit. In the book i could tell how Layne showed how if you get knocked down and you just have to get back up and never quit just keep on fighting.

[Kittrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read a good book called bull rider. the authors name is Marilyn Halverson. The mane character is named Layne. Layne's father was a bull rider, but during one ride his father died from a bull. Layne wants to be a bull rider, but his mother doesn't want him to because she is afraid that he will get hurt. Layne secretly practices on one of his friends farm. During one ride, Layne gets hurt. Luckily, his mother dose not find. I would totally recommend this book to anyone.

[Avery Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bull Rider is about a boy names Layne whos mom will not let him enter the rodeo because of a past experience with her husband dying. Sooner or later he knows that his mom will find out he is sneeking around riding bulls. there is a rodeo close to his home and his coach chase wants him to enter it. what will happen?

[Moemoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love This book ya'll gotta read it if ya'll like bull riden like me. if turns out different then ya'll would think it would. i would recomend this to any one of all ages its just one of them book i read over and over i no it as well and the front and back of my hand. i give it the 5 stars ya'll got to put this book on ya'll to read list .

[Da Hua Ruan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is pretrty interesting because i never read about bull riders before. i also think that this story is interesting because it talks about how a kids father died by getting killed by a bull. it was dangerous, but you have to be brave enough to ride one.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book a 4 star raiting because its interesting it keeps you into the book. it describes all the details and always tells you what is going on. layne rides a bull at the rodeo and doesn't win. his mom finds out but she's ok with it. layne will go on riding bulls and became professional.

[Ms. Heres]

This book has just enough detail to get the reader involved and rooting for the main character. Layne is determined to be a bull rider...and his mom is just as determined to keep him off bulls. When Layne decides to defy her, he is truly risking his life to do it.

[Pj Armentrout · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I learned from this book was that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. It was a really good book and I could relate to it a lot as well.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[Blake bachuss · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was great because it giver great detail about this 17 year olds experiance riding bulls bewhind his mothers back.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it so far i am 68 pages in so i can't wait to finish it

[Young Woo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Book, but a bit boring

[Nik Fiset]

this book was interesting

[Rae-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I noticed one of my students reading this in class and asked them to tell me what they thought of it when they were finished; I told them my dad rode bulls in high school and I’m a fan of professional bull riding. The next day, they brought the library’s second copy to me so I could read it with them. One of the best teacher moments ever.
I love this book: it has all the best elements: suspense, humor, teen rebellion, sibling quarrels, and family values. Definitely recommend for reluctant readers with interest in rodeos and/or rebellion.

[Denton Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I liked about this book is how it relates to my life of being a cowboy. Layne has the same life style that I have and had growing up when I was a kid. Layne explains about the rodeos and the stock contractors, and being a stock contractor I know what he goes through so that made me even closer to the book. I was a really good book and I recommend anyone that loves rodeos or cowboys to read it.

[Tangerine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting much from how short this book is. I read this because I've read dare by this author as well and enjoyed it. This author is very low-key and I am glad for that day I picked up dare. I read this before bed and I do recommend this authors books

[Bailey Trcka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way the author chose to write this book, but I wish it was a slight bit longer. I feel it needs to go more in depth with everything