Set in eastern Oregon in 1917, it tells the story of 19-year-old Martha Lessen who pictures herself a cowgirl—horse girl really—who will strike out on her own and break horses in an unconventional way for the times. We find ourselves in a small community with Martha breaking a circle of horses and getting to know the families associated with them in the year the US enters WWI. Fairly balanced between history and romance, Gloss’s goals for her writing are a bit transparent from her depiction of strong women to one farmer’s death from cancer. But, aside from that a nice little novel for a summer day. Of course, I thought of Patches, the pinto pony in my life, and the good horsemen I knew growing up—Dad, neighbor Harry and, most of all Uncle Fred who not only trained at Fort Riley, Ks, but worked with horses in the army during WWI in France.

posted Jun 28, 2010 at 12:41PM

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