Customer Reviews

Moon of Two Dark Horses

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I absolutly loved Sally Keehn's first book, "I am Regina" which is a brutally honest story of a white girl taken captive by Delaware Indians during the French and Indian War. I read "The Moon of Two Dark Horses" simply because I enjoyed "I am Regina" so much.

"The Moon of Two Dark Horses" is a story of a Delaware Indian boy, Coshmoo, who witnesses the effects the Revolutionary War has on his peaceful and neutral village. Will his village side with the British and their Seneca allies or will the Delawares stay at peace with their American neighbors? War also threatens Coshmoo's personal life. An alliance with the British will ensure lead and powder for his beloved musket, but would endanger his lifelong friendship with an American boy, Daniel. It's a great premise, but Keehn is unable to really pull it off. The narrative is choppy with storylines and characters underdeveloped. A decent book, but not nearly as good as "I am Regina."

An Indian named Coshmoo lives in small village on Tioga Point. His white friend Daniel once talked to a trader named Big Nose who sided with General Washington in the Revolutionary War. Big Nose told Daniel a story of a great water creature and gave him a tooth from it so when Daniel finds it, it will show him the way to stop the Revolutionary Way. When Coshmoo is told this from Daniel they go out in search of it on sacred land. The two boys get caught and aren't supposed to speak with each other ever again. Coshmoo learns that his older cousin Flying Wolf might attach Daniel's village. Flying Wolf sides with the Brittish when they come to Tioga Point. Can Daniel and Coshmoo stop their two societies from killing each other?

I think the message of the story was to never give up on your friends. When you think about it, if everybody was there for their friends then no one would ever be left alone. Friends are one of the biggest needs people have. So this is a very good message to spread to young people.

The author made a good point on how the family was really important to Indians. Coshmoo always dreamed to be like his father, hunt with a gun like his father and to free the fighting warriors. It was a great idea to have an Indian and a white settler work together to stop their societies from killing one another.

In conclusion, I really think this book gets two thumbs up because of the link between the Indian and the white settler. Even when they were told to not see each other both did not give up on their friend. Again, Moon of Two Dark Horses is a fabulous book and I strongly recommend it.

Jonathan Geneste

A great book about the Delawares during colonial times. A story about a boy who yourns for a musket and when he gets it goes to drastic measures to get ammunition, while having a friend who's uncle hates him. When winter comes so do hard times when the British King pressures them to join the Britians in the Revolution.

There are books one can read as a child and return to at different ages and stages, each time finding more. "Moon of Two Dark Horses" is such a book. It's timeless, it's all but ageless (the age range assigned by the publisher seems a bit on the young side). Keehn's lyricism,her seamless weaving of local history and legend, Delaware Indian myth, and human fallibility into an all-too-universal tapestry, can best be appreciated by older, even--perhaps especially--adult readers. Friendship, love, courage, conflicting loyalties, and mistaken perceptions combine with Keehn's overarching sensitivity to nature to create a gripping narrative that impels the reader toward a masterfully foreshadowed tragedy as old as its Pennsylvania hills and as current as the headlines from Afghanistan. More than a book--an experience worth revisiting.

As a college student, I found the book to be very well written and quite entertaining. The book was able to convey the message of strong friendship-through thick and thin. Although they had grown apart, Coshmoo and Daniel were able to remain friends until the end. The book was also able to inform the reader on a important time in the nation's history, the American Revolution. The book gave the reader two different perspectives on the Revolutionary War and supported each side with facts and opinions. This book would be a great tool to use when explaining or discussing the American Revolution to a classroom. It gives the students a creative view on historical information, and may also help the student to better understand concepts related to the Revolutionary War.

Crossing Boundaries

The book Moon of Two Dark Horses is about a Delaware Indian boy named Coshmoo, who is living during the Revolutionary war. He is a friend to a white boy named Daniel. His tribe is being torn between the two sides of the war. They do not know whose side to join. While the British have more supplies and can provide Coshmoo with ammunition for his beloved gun, he does not want to go to war.
This war also has an affect on his personal life. He has been friends with Daniel and does not want to loose his friendship with him.
In my opinion, this was a good book and I would probably rate it four stars. Personally, I like to read historical books so I liked this book. I also like to read books about Indians. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this book.

This book, 'Moon of Two Dark Horses', by Sally M. Keehn, was a good book but with a few bad parts. This book was about two boys, Daniel and Coshmoo, who have been good friends since they were young. Daniel is American and Coshmoo is part of an Indian tribe. During the British-American war, Daniel and Coshmoo's villages begin to fight and hate each other on the influence of the British-American war. Will Coshmoo and Daniel still be best friends?
I would recommend this because it is exciting and will make the customer want to read more. This book isn't very slow, it will quickly continue on with the plot without getting 'intercepted' by over describing a small detail. Also, this book has plenty of action and rarely has just speaking or people sitting around. There is always a scene like the race, the search for two skeletons, or when the British invade and so much confusion and horror is happening in the two villages. Another recommendation for reading this book is the way it's written makes everything be clearly explained. It will not jump from plot to plot so quickly that the reader will not understand what's happening.
Some people might not like this book because it can be very predictable in most parts. For instance in the race, anyone could predict what's going to happen and who will win. In the end, there is not much surprise to what happens; it simply ends like any other movie or book without a special snap. Unfortunately, that can greatly affect the surprise in certain parts. But, concluding with all the pros and the cons, this is be an excellent book to read and is well recommended.