Sky Rider

by Nancy Springer

Dealing with her mother's death, a back injury that prevents her from riding, and the imminent destruction of her sick horse, fourteen-year-old Dusty receives physical and spiritual healing from the ghost of a recently killed boy.

• ISBN10: 0380976048
• ISBN13: 9780380976041
• Publish Date: 6 July 1999
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 117
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sarah Says]

This was a short and sweet story with a beautiful horse and a happy ending (well as happy as a story with a 16 year old that’s killed by an unjustifiable and inexcusable crime can be).

So we have two young characters that have both suffered grave injustices - 16 year old Skye Rider and 14 year old Destiny “Dusty” Grove – you can tell pretty early on that Skye and Dusty need each other, that they need to heal each other. The story is written in multiple points of view; log reports from an Angel supervising Skye’s transition, diary entries from Dusty and a narrator that I couldn't quite figure out.

This is a fast paced story about love, justice and finding peace. There was a bit of insta love, but I just ignored that. I liked Dusty; she’s only fourteen and she’s already lost her mother to the grave and her father to alcohol. Even after the car accident that results in her being in constraint pain, she doesn't give up and doesn't complain.

I liked this book; sure I wasn't gasping or staying up all night to find out what was going to happen next and yes the ending was predictable, but still satisfying. It was nice.

I found it interesting that in this book the Horses can see spirits, is that a thing? I know horses are supposed to be brilliant at interpreting people and “reading their souls” (I heard that on some documentary where they use horses in therapy). -Anyway- I didn't fall in love with this book, but it was short and sweet and well worth the read.