The White Horse

Raina is 16, pregnant, and an all-too-frequent victim of her drug-addicted mother's violent rages. Ms. Johnson is Raina's fortysomething teacher who has a love-hate relationship with her job and a serious problem with the fact that she has no life outside of work. This pair seems too caught up in their own problems to pay much attention to each other, but how else will Raina be saved from her family's cycle of abuse--and Ms. Johnson rescued from her suffocating self-pity?

Cynthia D. Grant has broached the topic of survival before, in Mary Wolf and Uncle Vampire--both of which feature strong girls persevering against impossible odds. The White Horse explores this same tough-as-nails territory but adds a responsible, caring adult who is not afraid to admit her own fallibility: "I am not cut out for this. I'm a lousy teacher. The kind who uses the word 'lousy.'" Alternating between Ms. Johnson's wry, humorous voice and Raina's heartbreaking journal entries ("Maybe heaven's like that, a big quiet room where you sleep beside the people you love. You can't see them or feel them, but you can hear them breathing, and there's blankets, and everybody's warm"), this book will open both teen and adult eyes to the unique set of issues that each may face. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert