Lean on Pete
Willy Vlautin
2010
277 pages
Published by Harper Perennial
Fifteen year old Charley Thompson has just moved to Portland with his dad, who seems a bit irresponsible, although Charley never says that. Left to mostly fend for himself, Charley spends his summer running, shoplifting the odd loaf of bread and can of soup, and exploring his new neighborhood. On one of his runs, he comes across Portland Meadows, the local racetrack. Soon thereafter he meets Del, a washed-up horse trainer with washed-up horses.
Charley starts working for Del, and he befriends Lean on Pete. Even though Pete is a horse, he’s pretty much the only friend Charley has. After Charley winds up homeless and Pete loses most of his races (meaning he’s headed for Mexico, where bad things might happen to horses (I’m trying to spare Billy’s feeling here)), Charley decides to liberate Pete and hit the road.
Charley’s goal is to make it to Montana, where he hopes to find his aunt. Along the way he will encounter some helpful people and some mean people. Good things happen, and devastating things happen.
And if this all sounds a bit far-fetched, it is. At times, anyway…other times, it’s disturbingly realistic. And Vlautin has a pretty spare, direct writing style (the book is told from Charley’s point of view, and Charley can be both incredibly self-reliant and also somewhat naïve at times) that I normally don’t go for. There’s a blurb on the back cover from The Independentthat states the book is “Huck Finn for the crystal-meth generation.” Which makes sense in an odd sort of way. But if you let yourself relax and go along for the ride, it turns out to be a pretty good book. Not my usual fare (do I say that a lot? I feel like I do), but I was rooting for Charley.
So how did I come across this book? Well, I’ve mentioned numerous times how much I love Powell’s, and this book has been all over their website lately. It somehow made its way from their website into my shopping cart and then to my home. Funny how that seems to happen. A lot. But Powell’s generally has good recommendations, and once again, they came through for me.
I should also mention that if you love horses and are disturbed when people do bad things to horses (such as doping and setting hooves afire and other things I can’t mention because it would ruin the story) than you probably shouldn’t read this book. Let’s just say that Billy has a friend…his name is Trigger. And Trigger was mighty upset by this book.
Eek! I’m a little afraid of the people-doing-bad-things-to-horses aspect. Still, though, it sounds really intriguing, so I’m excited to get to it soon.
.-= Jen – Devourer of Books´s last blog ..The Whole World by Emily Winslow – Book Review =-.
It’s not overwhelming, but sad in the sense of desparate horse trainers who’ll do anything to win.
Yay! (but sorry about Billy’s reaction — he’s such a sensitive soul) I’ve been wanting to read this very badly.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Review: The Turning: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis =-.
Poor Billy…I tend to traumatize him with my reading choices. But I think you’ll like this one!
Yea, just what IS your ‘usual fare’? Can we see a picture of Trigger? Have you read Seabiscuit? I loved that book…
.-= Care´s last blog ..The Inaugural Meeting of Care’s Online Book Club =-.
Yeah, if I ever figure it out I’ll let you know.
Trigger’s a little shy, but I’ll ask.
And yes to the movie, no to the book
Powell’s staff do have good taste in books, I’ll give you that. As for Lean on Pete, this sounds like a sad story. I’m rooting for Charley and I haven’t even read it yet.
.-= Literary Feline´s last blog ..(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday: Play Time =-.
My favorite Powell’s recommendation is Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
The cruelty to horses would probably bother me, but if it fit the story, I could probably deal with it.
It does fit into the story…it’s not gratuitous at all.
Stories about horses and how they can help children deal with difficult situations have always entertained me; although I’m a bit concerned about the abuse… I’ll have to give it a try though.
.-= Trisha´s last blog ..Book Review: Trickster =-.
Pete actually doesn’t have that big of a role, but he is pretty important to the story.
This book sounds really interesting. It doesn’t sound like something that I would normally read, and the bits about being mean to the horses might be a bit too much for me, but I do admit to being very curious about it. Great review, I will have to investigate this one a bit further! Thanks!
.-= zibilee´s last blog ..Based Upon Availability: A Novel by Alix Strauss – 352 pgs =-.
I think I need to visit Powell’s and their mysterious self-purchasing book app. It sounds amazing.
.-= Jenners´s last blog ..Review: "The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors" by Michele Young-Stone =-.
OH MY, I was just thinking I might love this book, but after reading about the abuse to horses…not so sure…:(