You always wanted a nice family, and you get a squabbling bunch of
meanies who don't care about you. You always wanted a cute pony to
love, and you get a big ugly stubborn horse who doesn't trust you.
Your Dad disappears and it's all your fault. You're living in a
tumble-down old farmhouse without a friend in the world, and your Mom
is too busy weeping to notice what the kids at school are doing to
you. Even the weather is horrible.
"Sam (a pastoral)" is a story for teens and/or adults. It's about
learning that life isn't no-way fair, that you can actually love the
unlovable, cherish the unwanted and forgive the unforgivable. Yes,
you can spend lots of time trying to take revenge on life for treating
you so rough, but mostly you mess yourself up doing it. Besides, turn
around and look at what life has given you – that ugly nag stands by
you through thick and thin, your Mom finds her courage, and your
neighbors on the next farm over are quietly teaching you how to work
hard, cook a farmer's dinner and milk cows.
"Sam" can be seen as another my-horsie book, but it's mostly about
people – people really seeing into – not past – each other. We can
hurt, and we can be hurt and maybe, just maybe, we can live beyond the
desire to get even. On the way to this blessed state, it can be
pretty funny, earthy and down-homey and small-towny too! There are
some really scary, non-gorily violent people, and a visiting ghost,
but so sorry, no vampires, no zombies.