Horse Power.

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher and librarian in Winnipeg.

Arriving home after visiting her dad in Ottawa, Callie Power discovers her activist mother packed and ready to head out on another protest, this time to save a school. Callie reluctantly joins her mother to protest the closing of Shady Glen School that serves her Aunt Gerry’s community and numbers her horse-mad cousin, Del, among its students. Del earned Callie’s enmity the year before when Radish, her horse, threw Callie and damaged her head, her jeans, and her dignity. With Mom busily making signs and organizing the protest, Callie is further mortified when “six large motorcycles” arrive with Grandmother Rose riding as Leon’s passenger.

Before long the media, the cops, a women’s drumming circle, the Singing Grannies (Rose’s group), a stranger named Janie, and the school board chairman arrive. Wealthy B.J. Hyde has purchased the school and land planning to turn it into a dude ranch. The school board chairman insists the school is too small, needs too many expensive repairs, and costs too much to run.

In the midst of the uproar that ensues, Callie accepts Del’s dare that she ride Radish again. The ride goes well until the drums spook Radish and he bolts. Fortunately, Janie (B.J. Hyde) rescues Callie, reveals her involvement in the Shady Glen affair, and resolves the impasse.

A sequel to 2005’s Flower Power, this entry in the Orca Currents hi-lo series for middle school readers tells a fast-paced, humorous, and witty story that reluctant readers can enjoy. Highly recommended.