Polo Cowboy
Polo Cowboy
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Candlewick Press
Annotation: While working as a stable hand for the polo team at George Washington Military Academy, Cole, a Black kid from North Philly, must find the courage to stand up and be seen in a world determined to keep him out.
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #300283
Format: Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 10/12/21
Illustrator: Watson, Jesse Joshua,
Pages: 278 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 1-536-20711-X Perma-Bound: 0-8000-0190-7
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-1-536-20711-8 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-0190-2
Dewey: Fic
Dimensions: 22 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In this sequel to Ghetto Cowboy (2011), Cole is entering high school and wants to continue living with his dad, who operates a horse rescue operation in Philadelphia. Cole takes a job as groom to the horses at a nearby military academy, where he meets the members of their polo team, including Ruthie, a day student and the only Black team member. Cole learns that there are stark differences between Black urban "cowboys" and white, prep-school equestrians, but despite being harassed by the white players, he finds himself drawn to the sport. Written in vernacular and inspired by an actual Black polo team from Philadelphia, Neri's story features characters who illustrate varied responses to inequality and racism: Ruthie's wealthy family exerts legal pressure to get her into a "good" school; cousin Smush deals drugs but dreams of moving into real estate; and Cole's dad provides local teens with an alternative to gangs and drugs. With black-and-white sketches and plenty of polo play-by-play, this is both thoughtful and entertaining.

Kirkus Reviews

In this follow-up to Ghetto Cowboy (2011), 14-year-old Cole convinces his mother to let him stay in Philadelphia with his father and beloved horse, Boo, instead of returning to Detroit.Cole and his dad, Harper, are still learning to navigate their father-son relationship after years of being estranged. As they figure out their new arrangement, Harper says Cole has to get a job to help earn his keep as well as Boo's. Working as a stable hand at a nearby military academy, Cole meets young cadets who are strikingly different from him in socio-economic class and attitudes-and who seem to have it out for him from the start. Fortunately, Cole also meets and befriends Ruthie, a Black girl on the polo team who shares his love for horses. She is in a minority at the school due to her race and sex; the friendship offers mutual support. While working there, Cole develops a growing attraction to Ruthie as well as an interest in possibly attending the academy someday. But is this world just too different from his own for him to even get a foot in the door? And is he ready to leave everything he's known behind? In this entry, Neri gives readers a look into another type of equestrian life while maintaining the tone and style readers appreciated in Cole's cowboy journey, including an evocative voice and situational code-switching. Final illustrations not seen.A skillful sequel that adds new layers to a coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 10-14)

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ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Kirkus Reviews
Word Count: 47,654
Reading Level: 4.1
Interest Level: 5-9
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.1 / points: 7.0 / quiz: 514168 / grade: Middle Grades
Guided Reading Level: Y
Fountas & Pinnell: Y
Mama is fuming. "Say that again."
   I swallow and take a deep breath. "I ain't goin' back to Detroit."
   Five minutes ago, we was celebrating. I almost beat Harper in our first horse race--even though I'm pretty sure he let me get that close. Mama's here visiting, and we was being all family-like again, laughing and telling jokes at the Speedway in the middle of the biggest nature park in Philadelphia.
   It was a great day. But then she asked me when I was gonna come back home again.
   Home.
   Ever since I came back to Philly to stay with my dad for the summer, I only felt one thing: This my home now. Where my horse, Boo, is. Where the fellas is. Where our stable, the Ritz-Carlton, is. The Ritz may have been just a run-down garage before, but to us, this barn is like the fanciest hotel in the neighborhood--the place to be and be seen--so that's why we call it that. It's my real home. Not Detroit, where Mama lives.
   I didn't wanna say that out loud, but she kept asking. Now I swear her eyes is gonna drill a hole through my head.
   "You the one who brung me here in the first place," I say to her stare.
   It was only a year or so ago, so I know she remembers. Who forgets ditching their boy on the doorstep of a daddy he's never met?
   She sighs. "I thought we had a deal. Summers here, school year back in Detroit."
 Deal, schmeal. "I wanna go to school with my friends here, in Philly."
   That's not exactly true. Most my friends is cowboys or small kids who come to the stables to learn. So I confess the real reason: "Besides, Boo needs me."
   That don't sit right with her. "Boo's a horse," she say. "I need you."
   "Then move back to Philly," I say. "You gettin' along with Harp now. Why can't we be a family again? In Philly."
   I can tell that knocks her for a loop. "Life don't work that way, Cole. I can't just pick up and leave my life behind. I got a job, responsibilities. I can't just go back to a relationship that's been dead all these years. It's not that easy."
   I don't wanna hurt her feelings. But truth is, I am happier here, and she knows it.
   We stand there for a long time, thinking what to say next. Boo is eating grass behind me. Harper, my dad (even though I don't like to call him that), is on his horse, waiting for us to leave. I don't want Mama to go, but standing here just makes it harder to say goodbye.
   "What about your future?" she asks.
   "What about it?"
   She sighs. "World's a tough place, Cole. Ain't got no room for young black men. You gonna end up like your cousin Smush or make something of yourself?"
   I look over at Smush, who's rolling dice on the basketball court. He's a dropout and sometimes corner boy who always finding trouble, even when he's helping out.
   Then I look at Harp and the other horsemen getting ready to ride back to the neighborhood. "What's wrong with bein' a cowboy?"
   She almost laughs. "Being a cowboy isn't a job. Plus, it'll suck up any money you do manage to make. Just ask your dad. Your only hope is to find a way to college."
 College? "Why I gotta be thinkin' about college? I'm only fourteen. What's that gotta do with stayin' here?"
   She glances over at Harp. "I'm not so sure your dad is thinking about your future. He's not even thinking about his own."
   I stare at the ground for the longest time, trying to find the words. I wanna tell her I love her, that this ain't got nothing to do with the past.
   Instead what comes out is "Maybe, but I still wanna stay in Philly."
   She stares at me like she trying to read my mind, like she trying to see if I really feel that way or if I'm just being a teenager.
   Then she laughs, but not in a funny way. "You just like your daddy. Love that horse more than me."
   She turns to leave, and it feels like she just put a knife in my back. "Wait," I say.
   She stops, shakes her head. I grab her from behind. She sighs and pulls me into a bear hug till I can't breathe. "I love you too," she says.
   Then she walks away before we both lose it.
   I need to get my head together.
   Am I sure about this? Move to Philly for real? I ain't even asked Harp about this yet. I just been playing it out in my head.
   "Looks like you two had words," says Harp, like he's had a word or two with her hisself.
   I nod, but I ain't ready to get into it. "I'm sure you'll hear all about it before she head back tonight." I expect more grilling, but Harp don't say nothing.
   "You mind if I take Boo out?" I ask.
   He sees I don't wanna talk. "See ya back at the Ritz."

Excerpted from Polo Cowboy by G. Neri
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

How does a Black kid from North Philly wind up playing polo? The much-anticipated sequel to Ghetto Cowboy, now a major motion picture starring Idris Elba and Stranger Things’s Caleb McLaughlin.

When Cole moves in with his dad, Harp, he thinks life will be sweet—just him and his horse, Boo, hanging out with Philadelphia’s urban cowboys. But when Harp says he has to get a job, Cole winds up as a stable hand for the polo team at George Washington Military Academy, where the players are rich, white, and stuck-up—all except Ruthie, the team’s first and only girl, who’s determined to show the others she can beat them at their own game. As Cole and Ruthie become friends—and maybe more—he starts imagining his future, maybe even at the academy. But between long workdays, arrogant polo players, and a cousin trying to pull Cole into his dangerous business, that future seems remote. Will Cole find the courage to stand and be seen in a world determined to keep him out? With striking illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson, celebrated author G. Neri’s novel weaves themes of tenacity and community into a rousing sports story inspired by Philadelphia’s real-life urban cowboys and polo players.


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