Williams, Susan. Wind rider.

WILLIAMS, Susan. Wind rider. HarperCollins. 309p. c2006. 0-06-087236-5. $16.99. JSA*

How were horses first tamed? Williams says this novel telling of a prehistoric girl capturing and taming a wild horse could be considered science fiction, since looking back into prehistory is about the same as looking forward into the future we don't know. She has used what facts she could determine from anthropologists, archaeologists and other scientists to create a story set about 6,000 years ago in what is now Kazakhstan.

The family group Fern lives in knows about horses: they are hunted and eaten; no one has thought to tame them. Fern is a person close to animals, and when she encounters a young horse trapped in a bog, she intuitively finds ways to gentle her by providing food and water until she frees her from the bog and finds a shelter for her, away from other people. Slowly she figures out how to get on the horse's back to ride. Eventually, she reveals this to her people, who are afraid and must be persuaded not to kill Thunder for food--she must show them how a horse can make their lives easier by hauling possessions as they move from place to place. Then, they discover how riding Thunder gives them an advantage in hunting fast-moving game. These details are marvelously developed, and all animal lovers (never mind horse lovers!) will hang on every part of this process.

The story is more than this, however. Fern and her twin brother have a complicated relationship that adds greatly to the plot. Also, a young man in their clan wants to marry Fern, mostly because he wants her horse: when she and her family resist him, he becomes dangerous. Fern and Thunder are eventually captured by another group of people with different gods. The contrast of cultures is fascinating, as is the suspense of reading about Fern's fate. Williams has made her characters, so unlike modern people, into wholly realized human beings we care about. She has succeeded in telling a riveting story about a basic relationship between human and animal--humans domesticating wild creatures. Claire Rosser, KLIATT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.

*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.