Twelve-year
old Jo Harper thought 1910 would be another boring year in the Wyoming range
town of Willowby, Wyoming. Then tough-talkin' pistol-shootin' Abby Drake came
to town and made Jo a deputy law and order woman... Collecting four exciting Jo
Harper novellas, Finding the Sky pits Jo and her friends against cattle
rustlers, outlaws, a bank robber and a tinhorn gambler. With explosions of
fire, flaming arrows, and a wild ride in a Model-T, Jo's introspective, early
20th Century life will never again be the same.
Finding
The Sky (Juvenile Western Fiction)
By Richard
Prosch
ISBN
#978-1503105164
Price
$9.99
172 Pages
Rating
5-Stars
“Great Fun
at the Start of the 20th Century.”
This book contains the first four novelettes featuring Jo
Harper. WAITING FOR A COMET, RACING A DOG STAR, ROPING A PLANET, and SHOOTING THE
MOON.
WAITING
FOR A COMET: During the long, hot spring of 1910 it seemed all 12-year-old Jo
Harper could do was wait. Wait for her father, wait for her friends, wait for
the comet that might appear in the sky and wipe out the whole town of Willowby,
Wyoming once and for all. But when wild west legend Abby Drake arrives in town
lugging an orphaned baby calf, an old-fashioned revolver, and a mystery
shrouded with superstition, it’s up to Jo to take action. Why is Abby in town?
Who is she after? And what secrets can Jo coax out of her own archenemy, Emily
Bly?
Action, humor, and real life history combine for an exciting
mystery about one girl’s summertime quest for family, friendship, and justice
on the wind-burnt Wyoming range at the dawn of a new century.
RACING A DOG STAR: Title is a bit misleading, but the story
continues the Jo Harper series just fine. It’s the first day of school, and a
new schoolmaster is in town. However, Jo’s pal, 10-year-old Frog Carpenter
tells her about a new-fangled automobile in town, she follows him into trouble.
Taking Mr. Beemer’s Model-T for a ride, they end up locked in a barn for
snooping. Escaping, they run into Constable Abby Drake who is investigating a
crime.
Everything works out fine, but for a while we wonder if Jo and
Frog haven’t gotten in too deep this time.
ROPING A PLANET: Jupiter, the giant show horse is in danger. It
appears someone is trying to kill the horse. The owners want to put him in
movies, and display him around the country, but with his life in danger they
must first discover the culprit and make sure the horse is safe. That’s where
Abby and Jo come in. But they must dodge bullets and flaming arrows if they are
to succeed.
SHOOTING THE MOON: The final story finds Willowby preparing to
celebrate Fall Festival, when the bank is robbed. Abby, Jo and Frog capture the
bandit, but it turns out the outlaw is an old friend of Abby’s from the Wild
West show. She resigns her position as constable, but Jo decides to keep her
Deputy Constable status, and deputizes Frog to assist her. They see Abby and
the bank robber escaping from an alley where their friend must have broke him
out of jail. Then discover another crook in their midst. Now they need Abby
back to help stop this one.
The author has fun creating neat little mysteries for Jo Harper
and her friends to solve in these novelettes. Well written, and highly
entertaining, they are a throwback to the old juvenile series of a previous
time, and well worth reading. Highly recommended.
Tom Johnson
Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH
