Horse Power
(Orca Book, 2007)
A sequel to Flower Power (Orca Currents, 2005) this novel takes a reluctant 12 year old Callie, her mother, grandmother, assorted Singing Grannies, weekend bikers and members of a First Nations Drumming circle to protest the closing of a small rural school. When the media, the chairman of the school board and the police arrive, the situation becomes confrontational. Fast paced, funny and geared to middle-grade reluctant readers, this novel deals with a problem that today is being faced by more and more rural communities.
ABOUT WRITING HORSE POWER
In my area of British Columbia, schools are closing. These are usually small rural schools, places that form the heart of tiny communties scattered across our rural areas. But small schools are expensive to operate, enrollment is dropping and the cost of heating oil has skyrocketed. This book is based on the closure of such a school about 75 km. from my home. The community protested and, although the school was initially closed in spite of the protest, it has recently reopened as a K-4 school.
In Horse Power, as in real life, people working together towards a common goal, made a difference.
