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4.0 out of 5 stars
Another great read from Rodman Philbrick, December 9, 2001
Rodman Philbrick has built a reputation as a children's author who writes Young Adult novels that both touch and amuse the reader. With the two novels, Freak the Mighty and the sequel, Max the Mighty, Philbrick introduced us to Max, the awkward, shy giant with an enormous heart. Now in The Fire Pony, the author brings in a new cast of characters, but retains the same themes - acceptance of an outsider, the love of family and friends, and the inner torment that comes with the loss of family members.
Roy and his older brother Joe Dilly are on the run. After their parents died, Roy was sent to live in an orphanage. But the relationship between the two brothers cannot be severed, and Joe helps Roy break out of the home and the two go on the lam. But Joe is not a saintly older brother, because he has a shady past that includes setting fires. "All I can think about is this: What does Joe see inside the fire? Can he hear that fire wind singing to him? Can he see the river inside the flames, or the fluttering wings? Can he feel the way it has to keep moving or die (p. 162)?"
The two finally end up at the Bar None ranch, which is owned by the kindly Nick Jessup who takes in the two outlaws in exchange for their work around the ranch. During the course of their stay, Roy sees just how destructive Joe's temper and penchant for arson can be. With the inclusion at the Bar None, Roy finds a father in Nick, something that despite his good intentions, Joe could never be.
But Roy really finds a home at the ranch when he falls in love with a wild horse named Lady Luck that Nick lets Roy have as his very own. Roy discovers an immediate connection with the horse and devotes all of his time to Lady Luck's care and to riding her around the ranch. She becomes his whole world and Joe feels the sting of being replaced. One time when the two of them take a drive to the edge of town, Roy notices something isn't quite right with Joe. "Joe has downed a couple of beers before you know it, and he's getting that look on his face that means he's changing inside. When he lights a cigarette and cups his hand around the match, the fire is in his eyes again, like it was when he watched me from the barn. It's a scary look. I'm not afraid of Joe - he'd never hurt me, ever - but I'm scared of what he might do (p. 49)." Roy knows that something dangerous is going to happen.
However, Joe would give his life for Roy's and Roy realizes that. Joe is the only family that Roy knows and he is reluctant to give that up, even though he know that Joe is dangerous. "I'm thinking they don't get any better than Joe Dilly, even if he does have the fire in his eyes sometimes (p. 133)."
Throughout the novel this theme of fire is used over and over again to signify danger as well as the fire of life. It is used to describe the two most important things in Roy's life - Joe Dilly and his horse, Lady Luck. The first time Roy sees Lady Luck he notices this spark. "She's also the most beautiful creature you ever saw, so pretty she sort of glows from inside (p.40)." And later, when she goes a bit crazy this glow is much more intense graduating to a fire. "I can smell how crazy she is. It smells like she's burning up inside (p.168)."
In the end, Roy is able to break in Lady Luck. It is not so easy for him to do the same to Joe Dilly.
There is the inevitable climax where Joe's past is not so easily shaken off and Roy knows that he might not be able to help Joe get beyond it. Looking back on the event that changes their lives forever, Roy reflects that "I'll never ever forget all the things that happened, the good and the bad and the in-between and how Joe Dilly tried so hard to fight the fire that burned inside him and kept making him do the wrong thing. And how he always came back to save me, for as long as he lived, and how he loved me like a brother and a father and a friend (p.175)."
While Philbrick has created a novel with sympathetic characters and dramatic scenes, it is a predictable plot and because it is told in the first person voice with Roy's point of view, the reader is limited in understanding of the psyche of other characters, especially of Joe. Overall, this is an enjoyable book, appropriate for middle school aged kids and teens.
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