Blazes & Brimstone
By Linda Gruenberg
By Linda Gruenberg
Lyle and his siblings are living on the cusp of the future in the New World. Their step-mom is American and their dad is Dutch, like almost everyone else in the city of Holland where the Dutch immigrants have settled. Now, in the fall of 1871, smoke has been blowing through the town for days. Contained forest fires are not so much contained anymore. Worst of all, their step-mom, Winny, is about to have a baby, their horses are separated because the filly is being weaned, and the hell-and-brimstone the preacher always preached is surrounding their city. When the fire breaks, they almost make their escape. Lyle, Aggie and Rudy are on the back of the surrey and headed safely out of town when they hear a whinny—the desperate cry of a horse from inside the livery stable. Lyle jumps from the back of the surrey. He hears Aggie and Rudy land behind him, and their adventure of rescuing horses and escaping the fire begins.
The horses will not be their only rescue. And it could be that the children need rescuing themselves.
Review
Has ever there been a book so compelling? This novel was brilliant from start to end. The historical detailing really made the era come to life and the characters came across as very real in the telling.
There was nothing about this book that I did not enjoy. In one word, this book was simply - BRILLIANT.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It really has to be read to be appreciate. It would make a great present for a history and horse mad young adult as well.
Children’s book author and artist Linda Gruenberg is a horse lover at heart. She has done every possible thing you can do with horses, including having them mow the lawn, drive single and double, rake the hayfield with a horse-drawn rake, swim, jump logs and ditches, vault, stand in the saddle to pick apples—you get the point.
It’s only fitting that her lifelong passion led her to write “Hummer,” a heartwarming middle-grade novel about a forlorn girl whose life is changed by an Arabian horse and its owner.
As Linda conveys, if you have horses, neighbor kids eventually show up, and she loves getting a child up on a horse and seeing their eyes light up. She even formed a vaulting club in order to teach kids how to safely ride her horses. Linda enjoys sharing her love of horses with children.
Linda likes starting out a book concept by asking, “What if…?” and churning that question in her mind until it turns into a story. She believes that strong and memorable characters are so integral to a great story, and she can hear her characters’ voices sometimes, propelling her into deep characterization. It’s during these times that she even enjoys the company of her characters. She hopes that her story’s characters allow her readers to step into someone else’s shoes for a while and help them see the world from a different perspective and build empathy.
When Linda isn’t writing uplifting stories of self-discovery for middle-graders, she enjoys painting watercolors of horses, carving, restoring horse-drawn vehicles, building hitching posts, and any other horse-related project. She also plays the hammered dulcimer, a percussion stringed instrument dating to 900 A.D.
Linda is an American enjoying life in Lapland, Sweden, after living in Northern Michigan for many years. She and her partner have two horses along with a family of hares and some wild reindeer who sometimes frolic in their yard.
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