BOOK REVIEW
by
Larry Paul Meese
R. G. YOHO’s
DESTINED TO RIDE ALONE
A poignant Coming-Of-Age YA Western
As I began reading Robert’s book, I could tell right off that he put his heart and soul into this manuscript. I could feel the words coming off the page, making me wonder how something that had begun as a righteous effort could become something so heinous.
Robert’s writing immediately takes the reader to that time and place when the Children’s Aid Society of New York and its often questionable efforts in the mid-1800s placed orphaned and abandoned children with new parents in the American West. There were those who lived good lives with good people. They were the lucky ones.
Many, like Jimmy Yeager, were not so fortunate. These children’s experiences were of unimaginable suffering that too often never ended. Their lives came to be, or ended, in slavery, murder, or being forced into other nefarious purposes at the hands of their so-called new adoptive “parents”.
The story follows a young boy named Jimmy Yeager. His story is reflective of so many of the unfortunates aboard the Orphan Train. Jimmy is a kind boy who was placed on the Orphan Train after his parents passed away and he found himself thrust into an unkind world by those claiming to be helping him find a new home. He struggled to survive rage, violence, and conspiracies that were forced upon him, and those in which he became a victim. Escape is foremost in his mind as he bolts for freedom from one after another of his heinous masters and manipulators. He scours throughout each day in a persistent search for safety and a quiet shelter. Jimmy wonders through his short life if he will ever find peace or if he will continue to be endlessly destined to ride alone.
Congratulations to Robert. This book is a full-blown YA Western true to its genre. This is a read that is an exciting all-nighter through to the end. One that will leave a lump in your throat all too often, with triumphant feelings for those small victories when Jimmy rides away from evil. Yoho’s book holds good messages for those younger in life, and certainly should not be missed by adults.
