Bull Rider (Orca Soundings)
Brand: Orca Book Publishers
Categories: Books, Children's Books, Growing Up & Facts of Life



Grade level: 8 - 12
Dimensions: 4.25 x 0.3 x 7 inches
Reading age: 12 - 18 years
ISBN-13: 978-1551432335
ISBN-10: 9781551432335
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Print length: 128 pages
Publication date: January 1, 2003
Lexile measure: HL520L
Language: English
subtitle: Paperback – January 1, 2003
author: Visit Amazon's Marilyn Halvorson Page search results Marilyn Halvorson
review: Editorial Reviews From School Library Journal Grade 9 Up-In spite of his father's death at the National Finals six years earlier, Layne is determined to become an award-winning bull rider. His mother is adamant that he not ride, so the 16-year-old must practice in secret at a friend's family arena. When a rogue bull, Rhino, nearly finishes him off, Jana's grandfather agrees to train Layne. A convenient wedding gets his mom out of the way so that the teen can ride in the local rodeo, predictably, on Rhino. He survives, his mom loves him anyway, and he gets a nice kiss from Jana. Halvorson portrays her protagonist as an everyteen hero with fair success: he gets angry, gets hurt, takes responsibility for his actions, and shows brotherly affection for his younger sister on several occasions. The author also highlights the often-overlooked sport of rodeo riding without dramatizing the very real dangers or flooding readers with unwanted details. Linda Bindner, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review “Has potential for many different levels of readers...The strength of the book lies in the conflict that Halvorson describes, one familiar to members of the rodeo culture who know that the very thing they love can harm or kill the people they love even more.” ― VOYA "Halvorson is talented at seamlessly weaving in the settings and character descriptions with the rising action of the story." ― Resource Links "Highly Recommended." ― CM Magazine Book Description Layne must face his greatest fear. From the Inside Flap death, bull riding, family From the Back Cover "I don't care" she said. "I watched a bull kill your dad. There's no way I'll watch one kill my son."Layne wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and to be a bull rider. His dad was one ride away from a National championship when he got trampled to death. Layne wants to be able to give his dad that championship-by winning it for him. What he doesn't want, though, is to end up like his father and die in a rodeo arena. When the chance comes, Layne realizes he must face up to his greatest fear. About the Author When Marilyn Halvorson is not caring for cattle on her ranch, she spends her time writing. Bull Rider was an ALA Quick Pick nominee. Her follow-up book in the Orca Soundings series, Blue Moon , was a CCBC "Our Choice" pick. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. "No, Layne," Mom said in a tight voice. Her eyes met mine again. "Not the bull riding. You know how I feel about that." I knew all right. We'd been through this scene so many times it was like living in an instant replay. But this time I fought back. "Yeah, and you know how I feel about it too." "I don't care how you feel," Mom shot back. "All I know is that I watched a bull kill my husband and there's no way I'll risk watching one kill my son." Read more