by Louise Moeri
Solveig (pronounced Sol-vay, with a long o) Nilsson wishes her life were a little more interesting. She wishes she were the imaginary Xenia Y. Zilch with an exciting life and a name at the end of the alphabet instead of stuck in the anonymous middle. A strong desire to ride a special horse and prove she’s somebody leads to an adventure worthy of her far more exciting alter ego.
When Solveig is taken far from camp when Snake Dancer sets off at top speed, she thinks she’s in danger of getting in trouble, but the real trouble hasn’t even started yet. Soon Solveig finds herself trying to evade a group of dangerous horse thieves. With a little luck and ingenuity, Solveig manages to make it through the ordeal safely.
I would have adored this book as a child. A quick thinking female lead, a clever horse, just the right level of excitement and danger without being frightening, it would have sent me turning the pages at a breakneck pace. This will definitely appeal to the horse wild (as well as serve as a cautionary tale against rash action)!
The only drawbacks are a few bits that tell the age of the book, specifically, a nasty bit where Solveig wonders why she, who has no problems bites her nails, while some of her classmates have gorgeous nails. The problems of the other girls are an alcoholic mother (agreed, definitely a problem) and two complete sets of parents – plain and step (not necessarily a problem and not all that unusual in this day and age). A pay phone is available for guests who are “financially embarrassed” and need to call home. I’m not even sure what “financially embarrassed” is supposed to mean! I’m assuming it means poor, but I don’t like the way the term implies poverty is something that should cause shame.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – “for Pete’s sake,” “Oh, Lord,” “oh jeez,” “cripes,”
Death, Violence and Gore – a girl jokes about a pickle juice bomb. Someone slips a dead mouse into the headmistress’s purse. A girl contemplates lying and saying she was kidnapped by a man who held a gun to her head. A girl wonders if a horse will kick, bite or trample her, breaking all her bones. A man hits another man in the face. A man fires a gun. Solveig wonders how long it would take a person to starve to death. Solveig muses that going into camp with dangerous men around is how people end up on slabs in the mortuary. She thinks she might end up being the youngest person to die of a heart attack. Solveig kicks a horse, it seems that she’s doing this as some type of punishment, at it makes me far more uncomfortable than any of Solveig’s outlandish fears of dying. She worries she and the horse will be a pile of bleached bones. There are gunshots from two separate guns. She’s worried that she’ll be killed by the horse thieves and that it will be assumed that she’s drowned. She blacks out after a bad fall. A teacher had “something like a heart attack.”
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – One girl has an alcoholic mother. A teacher once drank too much punch at a party.
Frightening or Intense Things – A horse bolts with a girl on his back. Horse thieves seek a stolen horse.
I always thought “financially embarrassed” just meant that the camper had spent all their pocket money and needed to call home for more–not really being poor.
I LOVE this book–so glad you reviewed it!