Starred Review Says a grateful admirer to Joseph and his unlikely traveling companion, "You boys. You got some kind of courage." In the Wild West of 1890 Washington State, Joseph, not yet 13, has lost his mother and sister to typhoid and his father to a tragic accident. When his beloved horse is underhandedly sold by the greedy man to whom Joseph was entrusted as his father's dying wish, Joseph will stop at nothing to reclaim his four-legged soul mate. Guided by memories of his late parents' caring wisdom and befriended by an abandoned Chinese boy named Ah-Kee, who happens to be both bear- and baby-whisperer, Joseph's odyssey toward reunion features Indians and bandits, a sturdy canoe, a speeding train, cold racism, and the kindness of many strangers. Gemeinhart's follow-up to his lauded debut, The Honest Truth (2015), makes for a wonderful addition to the man-and-beast tales of devotion that include Michael Morpurgo's War Horse (2007) and Cynthia Kadohata's Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (2007). Exhilarating and enthralling, this promises even the most reluctant readers a breakneck adventure that will keep them turning the pages with utter devotion.