The Longest Ride

VOYA

This sequel to The Adventures of Midnight Son (Henry Holt, 1997) follows the fourteenyearold runaway slaveturnedcowboy on a quest to reunite his scattered family. With the Civil War just ended, Midnight Son and his friend Lou Boy head east to Midnight's former plantation. Midnight befriends a band of Arapaho Indians that is decimated after a clash with the U.S. Army. Midnight promises to accompany Eagle Eye and Winter Mary, the teenage children of a dying escaped slave who married into the tribe, to their mother's family. The four friends evade unfriendly Native Americans, U.S. Army patrols, and hostile weather as they travel from Colorado to Texas to Louisiana. Paving the way for a third book, Patrick leaves the fate of Midnight's father, his sister Queenie, and the Arapaho siblings in doubt. The author does a marvelous job of counteracting stereotypes of slaves, slave owners, Native Americans, and the U.S. Cavalry as Midnight receives unexpected assistance from some quarters and equally unexpected trouble from others. Authentic cowboy lingo, slave dialect, and period language are sprinkled liberally throughout the text. The only flaw in this wellplotted work with fully realized characters is the surprising ease with which Midnight succeeds in whatever he doesstates are crossed in paragraphs and rivers in scant sentences. A more detailed portrayal of Midnight's struggles would have made for a more gripping book. Midnight's unusual position as escaped slave and cowboy makes him a particularly appealing hero and gives young readers an unusual perspective on the postCivil War era in a genre dominated by books about the war itself. The Longest Ride is a good choice for eitherleisurereading or multicultural and historical fiction assignments. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1999, Henry Holt, Ages 12 to 18, 164p, $15.95. Reviewer: Leah J Sparks

Children's Literature - Christopher Moning

The Civil War might be over, but for a fifteen-year-old young man named Midnight Son, his biggest challenge is yet to come. A runaway slave turned cowpoke, Midnight is determined to reunite his family, however scattered they may have become. Accompanied by his good friend, a white man called Lou Boy, they set out on the long ride across the plains, from Colorado to Texas. The pair don't get very far, though, before they meet and befriend a small band of Arapaho Indians. When the federal "bluecoats" annihilate the Indians, Midnight Son makes a promise to help a young girl of mixed race, Winter Mary, and her brother, Eagle Eye, seek out their black ancestors. Together, and with the timely help of some Buffalo soldiers, the unlikely alliance search for their respective heritage. This adventure tale provides a unique glimpse of the turmoil of the post-Civil War American West.

Library Journal

Gr 5-7-This sequel to The Adventures of Midnight Son (Holt, 1995) opens with the teenaged runaway slave from Texas working as a cowboy in Colorado, but longing to return home and rescue his family. Lost in a springtime blizzard, he is helped by a band of Arapaho Indians. In their small camp, he meets another former slave, Raven Woman, who is married to Big Running Fox, the leader of the group. Midnight Son befriends their daughter, Winter Mary, but is distrusted by Eagle Eye, their son. When their camp is destroyed by soldiers, Raven Woman and Big Running Fox are killed, and Eagle Eye is badly wounded. The siblings decide to travel with Midnight Son to find his family and then search for their mother's relatives. Meanwhile, the Civil War has ended and they find disarray in its wake. Tension builds as they follow the trail and the protagonist is eventually reunited with his mother and sisters. Issues present themselves in a fairly simplistic fashion. Midnight Son, for example, after accepting the prevailing view of Indians and of the U.S. Army, suddenly understands that government policy is designed to eliminate the Indians. The characters, while likable, sometimes seem like tools to teach about slavery and Indian relations. Midnight Son removes a bullet from Eagle Eye's chest, a procedure that is successful but highly unrealistic. Still, there is excitement, adventure, and suspense. The plot is easy to follow and solid historical information is included. The closing chapter hints strongly at another sequel.-Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

This weak sequel to The Adventures of Midnight Son (1997) wanders at first but is not without its strengths. Near the end of the Civil War, Midnight Son, a runaway slave and cowboy, and his best friend, Lou Boy, are traveling to Fort Lyon, Colorado, when they are separated in a sudden blizzard. Midnight is rescued by Arapahos, but when they are massacred by soldiers, he agrees to take Eagle Eye and Winter Mary, offspring of a former slave and an Arapaho, back to their mother's relatives in Missouri. First he intends to return to Texas, to find his own family, scattered by slave sales and the end of war. Throughout are sudden and unexplained changes of mood, and patchy charactizations. The pacing can be reckless, e.g., some "buffalo soldiers" are greeted and dispensed with in 12 hasty pages. The story picks up steam when Midnight begins tracking down his family, and comes sharply into focus when he is on the trail of his mother, with bittersweet reunions along the way. Those who loved the first book will want to see Midnight in action again; his story is flawed but he is still an engrossing character. (map) (Fiction. 9-13)