The Black Stallion

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, 1941 Random House

     Alec Ramsey is traveling home from a visit to his uncle in Arabia when his steamer is caught in a storm and sinks. The only living beings to survive are Alec and the powerful Arabian black stallion who wasn't happy to be on the boat to begin with. The boy and the horse survive when Alec manages to get the Black free from his stall, then catches hold of the halter-rope when he plunges into the sea. Alec clings to that rope when the stallion swims to a desert island where the two are stranded for some time.
     They are rescued and Alec brings the Black home with him. He befriends the retired horse trainer, Henry Dailey, who lives nearby and together Henry and Alec begin to train the Black for racing. The Black, however doesn't have proper documentation and cannot race other than as a mystery mount in a race between champions.

     Alec and Henry train and train the Black. They enter him into the champions’ race with Alec as jockey. Until the end it is a close race, but Alec’s love for the beautiful horse helps him to beat the favored champions.

     The relationship between Alec and the Black is the cornerstone of The Black Stallion. The two begin as distant companions, survivors of a similar trauma. In the end they are inseparable and their connection is unheard of in racing circles.

     The Black Stallion is a classic, read by generations of young readers internationally. It is the first in a prolific series continued after Walter Farley’s death by his son. 

The Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty by Jacqueline Navin, 2001 Harlequin

     When Mr. Adam Mannion, Esquire, hears about a mysterious lady hidden in the wilds of Northumberland he goes north is search of her fortune and her pedigree. The woman is purported to be beautiful, charming, rich, and a recluse.

     Lady Helena Rathford has hidden in her father’s home since an accident crumpled her confidence and gave her vindictive servant the ammunition to keep Helena under her thumb. When Adam arrives and convinces Lord Rathford to marry them, his invasion into her private sanctuary is unbearable.

     At first the mysteries around Helena and the Rathford home are a fence between Adam and making the Northumberland estate his home. However, as time goes on and he begins to know the people and the property, he falls in love with not only his new properties, but also his wife.

     However, things are not as they seem in Northumberland. Something is working to place the blame for mysterious events on Helena. And while she and Mannion think they are becoming closer and closer their world is falling apart.

     When Helena’s history takes over their future, Mannion discovers how far he will go for the woman he loves.

     For a romance novel The Sleeping Beauty is mild, yet it does have some explicit scenes making it suited for high schoolers and older readers. The plot itself is somewhat of a mystery mixed with the sleeping beauty fairytale. 

Beastly

Beastly by Alex Flinn, 2007 HarperTeen

     Kyle Kingston is your typical spoiled brat. He enjoys coveted good looks—blonde hair, blue eyes, chiseled body, and above average height—his father’s money, and the arrogance that goes along with his elevated social status. Kyle takes pleasure in tormenting his less popular classmates. When he pushes the new girl too far, she turns him into a beast.

     But not an animal like a lion or bear, or even some combination of animals; Kendra turns Kyle into a sasquatch-esque creature with hair all over his body, claws, and the roar of a wild animal. He is given two years to find a girl who can love him despite his appearance, and to seal the deal with a kiss.

     Kyle is stuck in his beauty-dependent mindset and unsure of how he could possibly beat this curse. But when his father abandons him with the maid, Kyle negotiates for a tutor and everything he could want to live his isolated life.

     After a year Kyle begins to change.

     He finds a passion for gardening, and—when a man breaks into his greenhouse—a new friend who might break the curse. Lindy hates Kyle at first—he kidnapped her from her home and her father and the school she fought so hard to get into—but after a while she begins to enjoy her new home.

     Like most “Beauty and the Beast” tales Kyle and Lindy find their happily ever after, though in a non-traditional way. Their story isn’t Disney’s version but neither is it the darker Grimm horror story: Kyle and Lindy are teens in the modern world, complete with an online support group and pressures they must fight daily in their relationship.

     Beastly focuses on building a relationship based on caring for another person despite appearances or ability, and showing that caring through actions and behaviors. Readers as young as middle school may enjoy the story. 

Balthazar

Balthazar by Claudia Gray, 2012 HarperTeen

     After rescuing Bianca from Evernight Academy, Skye Tierney starts to have visions of death. Each time she encounters the scene of a violent death, whether it was a murder, suicide, or something as painful as a heart attack, Skye witnesses the event through the eyes of the victim. She reaches out to friends from Evernight with the hopes that her problems will be solved. However, the vampire sent to help her discovers there is more going on with Skye than anyone realized.

     It appears that Skye’s psychic abilities have given her blood unique properties: she can allow vampires to experience life again. When Lorenzo, one of Balthazar’s former companions, has a taste he brings Balthazar’s sire to the scene. Redgrave will stop at nothing to get Skye’s agreement, and if it hurts Balthazar in the process, so much the better.

     Balthazar finds a position at Skye’s school to be a nearby bodyguard. But when the drama in her life rises to the surface, vampires are not the only thing Balthazar wants to protect her from. When their relationship heats up, Skye’s so-called friend spreads a rumor that Skye is sleeping with her History teacher (a technically true rumor). In that unguarded moment Redgrave kidnaps Skye and Balthazar is forced to rely on some unlikely allies to save her.

     In the end, Skye faces the prospect of her hometown becoming the battleground for vampires fighting over her blood. With little left to chose from, Skye manages to embrace her new psychic abilities and hope for a future with the only man she’s truly loved.

     Balthazar has beaten himself raw over the centuries with guilt for his sister’s death, and the death of his first love. When Skye captures his attention and heart, he doesn’t know how to deal with the imbalance between his desires and what he should do. It takes her near-death to make him see that there is more to his undead life than the guilt at his death.

     Unlike the Evernight books, Balthazar deals with Skye and Balthazar’s journey, their relationship, and the aftermath of Lucas and Bianca’s happily-ever-after. Skye has been changed by her experience and Balthazar is learning to live again. Each has emotional trauma they work together to get through, while facing incredible odds. Their story is about overcoming fear, fighting for what you believe in, and survival even when you want to give up. The book is meant for high schoolers, with some intense sexual tension and implied amorous activities.

Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth, 2012 Katherine Tegen Books

     After the Erudite-controlled simulation destroyed half of Abnegation Tris Prior watched as her father was gunned down in an effort to allow her to escape. She and Tobias Eaton, Four as he was known to the Dauntless, and her brother Caleb escape the city to the Amity compound. Amity has restrictions on the refugees--Tris and her group are not the only survivors--restrictions Tris and some of the other refugees have trouble with.
     War is brewing and the peace-loving Amity do not want to get involved. Johanna Reyes, elected spokesperson of the Amity explains their stance to Tris, Tobias, and Tobias' father Marcus, the only remaining member of the former government.
     After a particularly painful fight between Tris and Peter, the refugees decide to leave, only to expedite their plan when the Erudite come for them. Tris and Four escape but are met by the Factionless where Tris learns Tobias's name is a powerful tool.
     They are taken to the Factionless headquarters where Tobias's mother (long assumed dead) is alive and leading the scattered groups. The Factionless are waiting to rise against the system which has kept them isolated and starving for several years. Tobias's mother wants him to join her in the fight, but he is hesitant.
     Meanwhile, a wedge forms between Tris and Tobias as he refuses to see what she points out and his refusal begins to tear at her confidence. As their individual emotional burdens grow, they each begin to keep secrets which drive them further and further apart. Marcus claims Jeanine, leader of the Erudite, knows information the Abnegation was responsible for and she attacked her fellow factions to keep hidden. Tobias doesn't believe his father's claims and dissent grows even greater between father and son.
     The Dauntless faction splits into two groups, half allied with Erudite and half with the Factionless for their final showdown. The Factionless-Dauntless alliance is simply concerned with destroying all power that Erudite holds over society and the knowledge that allows their dominance. Tris goes to Amity when it appears no one wants to consider that the attack plan may be flawed or even wrong. Her goal is to save the innocent lives and to retrieve the information that allows their world to continue, as well as what Marcus is sure Jeanine is hiding.
     With a small group, Tris manages to get to the one computer terminal housing the mysterious information but must confront something much more dangerous and painful: the chance she has lost Tobias forever.
     Insurgent deals with the continued conflict between Dauntless and Erudite as they vie for power. The darkness of humanity is illustrated throughout the story, but so is the power of conviction. Despite the titles and perceived traits of the individual, Insurgent shows how each person has a variety of skills and abilities, and how isolation not only breeds contempt but also distrust. Isolation becomes the barrier to success before an attempt is even made. Readers as young as middle school will enjoy the story, though there are moments of intense violence and light intimacy. This is the story of rebellion and how relationships are how we survive conflict.