BULL RIDER

BULL RIDER, by Suzanne Morgan Williams (McElderry 2009)(ages 10-14). Fourteen year-old Cam O'Mara would rather do stunts on his skateboard than ride bulls like his grandfather and older brother Ben, both former Nevada state champions. But when Ben comes home injured from Iraq, Cam decides it's time for him to test the O'Mara luck and take up the family sport -- both to give his brother hope and for the $15,000 prize, money they need to keep the family ranch afloat.

In BULL RIDER, Williams effectively captures the feel of a small, close-knit ranching community, delivering believable and likeable characters and an affecting arc. In short, BULL RIDER is a moving novel of hope, recovery, and family.