My Friend Flicka by Mary O' Hara

 Have you ever wanted something so bad that it hurt? Ken or Kennie McLaughlin is the youngest boy of 2 sons. Near Cheyenne, Wyoming, Ken lives on Goose Bar ranch. Ken has grown to love horses. He struggles in school and is a day dreamer. Ken has problems following directions and looses lots of stuff. All of a sudden Ken's dream came true. His parents, Rob and Nell, decided to give him a colt. He chose Flicka. Rob did not like that Kennie did because Flicka comes from a long blood line of Albino blood  that is considered loco. Ken thinks Flicka is the most beautiful filly because of the way she runs. When Kennie caught Flicka, she tried to escape and got cut by the barb wire. The wounds the barb wire gave her became infected. Flicka became very ill. Her fever was eating away at her flesh. When it was a rainy night, Ken went down to see her and saw that she was in the river. Kennie ran to her  and held Flicka's head in his arms above water. When Gus went down to shoot Flicka, he found Ken and quickly ran him inside. Ken became very ill. My opinion of this book is that it shows how responsibility can turn a kid into a man. Mary O'Hara weaves a story of friendship between a horse and boy into an adventure with mountain lions and commitment.  Ken never gave up on his dream of owning his own horse, even when it went against his father's wishes. In the end, it was the relationship between Rob and Ken that developed an understanding when Rob saw the difference in his son.  I recommend this book to anyone  that likes  animal books, especially horses, and suspense. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars!

Review by Callen in 6th grade