Bull Rider - A Review

Bull Rider - Suzanne Morgan Williams


Synopsis from Barnes & Noble Website:

All it takes is eight seconds....

Cam O'Mara, grandson and younger brother of bull-riding champions, is not interested in partaking in the family sport. Cam is a skateboarder, and perfecting his tricks — frontside flips, 360s — means everything until his older brother, Ben, comes home from Iraq, paralyzed from a brain injury.

What would make a skateboarder take a different kind of ride? And what would get him on a monstrosity of a bull named Ugly? If Cam can stay on for the requisite eight seconds, will the $15,000 prize bring hope and a future for his big brother?


My Thoughts:

I picked this up at my local library because I'm a fan of the sport. I found this story to be moving and full of character. It was a quick and easy evening read for me. It was about a ranching family's struggles after their oldest son is injured severely in Iraq. He was a bull rider before he went to Iraq and his younger brother falls into the sport after his brother is injured for various reasons. The book follows the family's struggles as their son heals both physically and mentally from his injuries and you watch the family struggle with their own issues during this lengthy process.

I felt a sense of realism with Suzanne's writing that made me not want to put the book down until the end. Most importantly I felt this was a book of healing for all characters involved and that leaves the reader full of hope. There's something to be said when a book leaves you feeling hopeful and good.