Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton

The fourth book in the wake of The Outsiders, and S.E. Hinton still has not lost her touch.

This is the story of Travis, the coolest kid in his city school. He's got looks, friends and parties every weekend. Life should be just about perfect, right? Wrong. His father's dead and he hates his new step-dad, some of his friends have started using drugs, and now his mom is sending him off to live on a ranch with his uncle. Life seems like it couldn't get any worse.

But it does. Travis is practically ignored by his uncle, who is busy with his law firm. The kids at school ignore him, and think he's a hood because of the way he dresses. No one even talks to him. Weekends are boring. He gets sick of going out for pizza, and the only place to hang out is the barn, full of giggling little girls and horses. Just what Travis doesn't need.

Then he meets Casey, the beautiful rider who leases his uncle's barn. Hanging around the barn becomes less of a chore, and the more he learns about horses, the more he learns about Casey. Her horse, the Star Runner, is dangerous. He's wild and a free spirit, and, like Travis, he is not to be tamed. Everyone calls Casey crazy for riding him, saying she's looking for trouble.

Suddenly, Travis' life changes drastically with news from home. His friends are in trouble, and it could have been him in their shoes. Just when tensions are about to explode, the Star Runner teaches him that fate is what happens to you, and will is what you make happen to you.

If you liked The Outsiders, you'll love Star Runner. S.E. Hinton is the best teller of stories about ordinary kids with not-so-ordinary lives. She knows just how teenagers feel (she wrote The Outsiders at age sixteen!) and you can find some of yourself in each of her characters. Taming the Star Runner is a great novel, and I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like horses! n



Review by A. A. Wellesley, MA