This Wild West sto­ry is a bit dif­fer­ent than the run-of-the-mill fare for mid­dle grade and slight­ly old­er read­ers, and the unusu­al set­ting pro­vides for a fun read­ing experience.

Thir­teen-year-old Rose, from a tra­di­tion­al and obser­vant Jew­ish fam­i­ly in El Paso Texas, is shocked to dis­cov­er that her old­er broth­er, unbe­knownst to the rest of the fam­i­ly, has joined Pan­cho Vil­la’s army. She decides she has to res­cue him from this dan­ger­ous under­tak­ing and off she goes on a fright­en­ing but excit­ing desert adven­ture which includes being kid­napped by rev­o­lu­tion­ar­ies and meet­ing a cast of char­ac­ters unlike any­one she has ever imag­ined she might encounter. In the process, Rose learns much about the world and much about her­self and emerges as a more round­ed and more insight­ful individual.

High­ly rec­om­mend­ed for read­ers ages 9 to 12 who are look­ing for an excit­ing sto­ry with a Jew­ish twist set in an unex­pect­ed locale. A lit­tle les­son in Mex­i­can and U.S. his­to­ry is an added bonus. An author’s note, a Span­ish glos­sary, and a Yid­dish glos­sary are included.

Inter­view

Read our inter­view with Susan Krawitz here.