Banjo Hardcover – 8 October 2019

Danny at thirteen is a rising star in Oregon rodeo. His best friend is his dog, Banjo. He and his older brother have been raised by his dad, a trucker, on a ranch in the country in eastern Oregon .Danny’s making a name for himself on the rodeo circuit and his world seems perfect: clear skies ahead.Then one night something happens to Banjo, and a spiraling series of events leaves Danny feeling that his life has become a wild ride on a runaway horse.A wide cast of memorable characters offer both trouble and consolation to Danny as he tries to navigate his own knowledge of right and wrong. He meets Meg, a girl his age from a neighboring town whose calming touch with horses has earned her the title of the “ornery horse whisperer of Sisters.” Animal lover Meg sees Danny’s troubles from a point of view that makes their first meeting a disaster. Will she ever understand what happened? Will she become an enemy, or an ally?The action ranges from spot on rodeo sequences to emotional struggle, from the tenderness of friendship to the height of courage.Banjo takes the reader out into ranch country, where the characters live close to the earth and lessons, although often hard won, are timeless: the value of honesty, courage, and love. As Danny makes his way through trial upon trial, his father reminds him that “You never fail...you win, or you learn.” The reader travels with Danny through it all, never knowing from page to page whether he will find the confidence to climb this steep hillside of trouble, and from page to page the reader keeps finding reasons to cheer him on and in the process, learning with him.

Just finished this marvelous little gem and feeling somewhat distressed to see not a single review up here (yet!). Salisbury is the multi-award-winning writer of UNDER THE BLOOD-RED SUN and many other young-adult novels. This is something of a departure for the popular author, since it focuses on dogs, horses, rodeos and (unlike most of his books) is not set in Hawaii -- where Salisbury grew up -- but rather near Bend, Oregon, where he now lives.BANJO is a real page-turner about 13-year-old Danny Mack and his lovable border collie, Banjo, who is threatened with impounding and possible death after supposedly harassing some local livestock. I guess that doesn't sound like much, but Salisbury winds in themes of young love, lies, sportsmanship, integrity and courage, all the while taking his usual light touch of showing rather than preaching. After about 70 pages here, you simply cannot put this book down, and the author does a superb job of bringing everything together at the end -- an exceptionally satisfying resolution!This is pretty much a perfect book: touching, funny, exciting, true, a little bit romantic and loaded with authentic detail. Fans of books about animals and teens should not miss this one!

A fun and adventurous story. The author brings all the characters to life. A very good read. I bought this book for our 11, 10 and 7 year old grandsons