Reviews

Pony by R.J. Palacio

hfnitca's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It's been a long time since a book has made me cry. Pony did that but in a good way. Silas is a wonderful character with depth and maturity to him. I loved Pony and Mittenwool and how everything gets brought together at the end. My only complaint is that it's very rare and really almost unheard of, for Arabians to have fully bald faces but I guess since he was a magical pony, I'll overlook this 😊. This was a fantastic read. It's billed as middle grade but if a middle grader was sensitive, I wouldn't hand this book to them as there is violence and parental death.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

stephconnor1026's review against another edition

5.0

***4.5 stars rounded up***

I almost gave up on this book in the first fifty pages because the overall premise and historical setting weren’t appealing to me. I am so very thankful that I didn’t because by the end, I was so overcome with emotion and wanted to just hug this book close to me. What a powerful story of family, love, and loss! I deducted half a point because the title and cover are misleading (more a publishing problem than a writing one for sure). While Pony is a force, the real hero of this book is young Silas whose bravery, resilience, empathy, and open-mindedness make him one of my favorite fictional characters of the year.

sirius_bookaddict's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

pony_boy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Police brutality

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, and Alcohol

anniemitch's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Coming-of-age story of a boy with a ghost for a best friend. A pony takes him on an adventure in this western.

stasiareading's review against another edition

4.0

This was a weird, enjoyable but weird. A great middle grade (?) western about a boy a horse and a ghost. I don’t know how to describe it but I had trouble putting it down and I really liked the ending. Gave me
The feels at points but not overly sad.

kbilliu1's review against another edition

5.0

I love this book. Instantly on my reread list. I didn’t think I would love it but had to read because of the cover but there is so much going on and so many underlying lessons/elements/emotions that I know I need to reread to pickup on what I may have missed. I may need to add a little bald faced pony to my herd.

kellywriting's review against another edition

3.0

Sylas Bird sees ghosts. This is not a trait to brag about, he's learned...but when he father is taken by outlaws, it just might come in handy. When one of the men's horses, who he dubs Pony, returns, Sylas takes it as a sign and sets off into the wilderness. From the author of Wonder, which I loved, this book set in the west in the 1800's is not my usual genre, and I didn't expect to like it. But something about the unique voice and wandering prose captured my heart, and I found myself rooting for Sylas as he found his courage, uncovered difficult truths about his father, and went on a wild adventure.

anarchist_al's review against another edition

4.0

A rare book where the author’s note is its own work of art. 

virginiagp's review against another edition

5.0

I was enthralled when I saw that R. J. Palacio had a new book published. This book, Pony isn’t Wonder, but for me it was a wonder! This historical fiction/adventure is the story of a young boy, Silas who lives alone with his dad — a boot maker, inventor, and early photographer —, his dog, and his constant companion, a ghost named Mittenwool. As the story begins, Silas’ father is forcibly taken from their home by men who want his assistance with a counterfeiting ring. When a pony who was with the men returns to the house almost a day later, Silas sees it as a sign that he needs to go after his father. Mittenwool tries to convince Silas he should follow the directions his father had given him and stay safe at home. When Silas cannot be stopped, Mittenwool accompanies him on a mission to find and save his father.

What ensues is a gripping adventure tale including cranky old Marshalls, treacherous passages, encounters with spirits, and a showdown. And while this is riveting, what remained with me after I finished the book was the overwhelming spirit of love and care that the book’s characters share, and a hope for better times, better days, and the chance for people - both in the book and in our life and times - to be better to one another. I very much enjoyed this book.