A young adult book at the younger end of the spectrum, THE
ISLAND HORSE deals with themes of love and loss, of
friendship and loyalty.
Ellie is not quite ten when her mother dies and she lives
quietly in Nova Scotia with her father who had given up his
dock work when his wife became ill. In no position to turn
down work, Ellie's father still thinks long and hard about
accepting the first offer he gets in months. This offer
means uprooting his daughter from their village and
friends, her school and home. To encourage Ellie to regard
it positively, he tells her that there are wild horses on
Sable Island. Ellie is fascinated by the idea of wild
horses and draws them in her sketchbook. Next day her
father explains the rest of the matter. He has been offered
a job with the rescue crew on Sable Island, a crescent of
sand 25 miles long and a mile across, which is known as the
Graveyard of the Atlantic. A tiny community of rescue
workers lives there, saving lives and salvaging ships'
cargoes and timbers from the frequent wrecks on the
shifting sands and storm-tossed sea.
Ellie does not want to leave, but there is no choice. They
journey to Halifax and sail across to Sable Island, a
regular stop for sealers who hunt seals for lamp oil.
Ellie sees nothing but dunes, salt grass and sky. There
are no trees on the island, but there are berry bushes and
certain garden vegetables can be grown. The islanders have
to be as self-sufficient as possible but items like flour
and beans have to be carried over from the mainland. Ellie
meets a girl her own age called Sarah but, miserable and
dejected, she doesn't want to make friends. The hut where
she will live with her father is small and isolated.
Walking among the dunes, Ellie sees a wild stallion with a
small herd. He returns each day and she manages to befriend
him to the point of giving him an apple. Then Ellie hears
that a roundup of horses is about to take place. The best
will be sold off to raise money for the lifesaving work.
She has witnessed this work herself, when her father and a
team of the other men waited out the worst of a storm
before rowing across the waves to rescue seven sailors from
a stricken ship. Ellie is terrified that her stallion,
which she has named Orchid, will be caught up, but her
father has to keep his job and she has rejected the offer
of friendship from the one girl who might have helped
her.
This delightful tale by Susan Hughes evokes a hard life,
the bravery and simplicity of the rescue station as well as
the dangers faced by sailors. The spirited bay stallion,
shaggy-coated and long-tailed with his natural caution
tempered by curiosity, remains in the mind when THE ISLAND HORSE
has been closed.
It's the early half of the 19th century in coastal Nova
Scotia, and almost-ten-year-old Ellie is adjusting to the
recent death of her mother. But just when she finally begins
to feel happy again, Ellie and her father move to remote
Sable Island, a tiny, windblown crescent of grass and sand
in the Atlantic. While her father works, Ellie explores the
island, feeling alone and furious with her pa for making
them leave their beloved home. Even meeting a spirited
island girl named Sarah does little to dispel her anger and
grief. Then one afternoon, Ellie encounters a wild stallion
grazing on the dunes, and slowly forges a secret connection
with the beautiful horse she names Orchid. But Ellie soon
learns that Orchid and his family are threatened, and it may
be up to her to save them. Based on historical fact, this
early chapter book is a touching exploration of loss and
loneliness and the redemptive power of love and friendship.
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