From Publishers Weekly
Mighty flavorsome language just about disguises a predictable plot in this cowboy tale about the youngest son of a domineering Florida rancher who reaches manhood during an arduous cattle drive. Titus, 16, makes an energetic narrator, speaking in a 1920s ranchhand slang that is sometimes punctuated with off-color humor: "[Riding drag], I soon appreciated, is the absolute worst position to work at while pushing beef. The rear end of misery. Ranching's rectum." Unable to relate to his bitter, hyper-masculine widower father, Titus idolizes his ill-fated older brother, Micah. He also hears occasional words of wisdom from the ghost of the title, an undeveloped guardian angel figure who appears for the first time as some strange noises in the barn late at night, but within two or three days becomes "my old Cowboy Ghost." The characters are stock: a right feisty, devoted housekeeper "who sometimes had a temper that could spit upwind and bust a window"; a Chinese cook named Pan Tin (but called Tin Pan by the cowpokes), who "cooked tasty and smiled frequent"; a foreman who reminds ignorant newcomers that "it ain't a fault or a weakness to git born a yeller Chinaman. Or be a black." Not in the same league as Peck's A Day No Pigs Would Die or his Soup books, this novel nonetheless capably tours readers through a favorite fictional venue. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-This is the story of 16-year-old Titus MacRobertson's growth into manhood during a cattle drive in early 20th-century Florida. Along the way, the boy and his cow-puncher mates struggle against attacks by Seminole Indians and cattle thieves, horrendous weather, and the difficult conditions and hard work required to drive 500 steer several hundred miles through the wilderness. Readers will be entertained by the way Peck portrays the cowboy lifestyle, including his liberal use of folksy, country jargon. There is plenty of action, but the novel also has its sensitive side as when Titus deals with his older brother's death and learns of the darker side of his family and its lasting effects. The teen's transformation from cook's helper to leader of the cattle drive might be a little too abrupt, but it does not significantly detract from a good story.
William C. Schadt, Glacier Park Middle School, Maple Valley, WACopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
