Book review: Lean On Pete

Published on Saturday 6 February 2010 11:12

Lean On Pete by Willy Vlautin is published by Faber & Faber, priced £12.99.

When hope is all but lost the refreshing optimism of youth can work wonders.

Lean On Pete, by author and musician Willy Vlautin, plumbs the depths of despair but finally rewards you with redemption.

The story of a young boy and his friend, who also happens to be a horse, making an ultimately tragic journey from Oregon to Wyoming, lifts the heart but not before a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Teenage angst, friendship and betrayal all play their part as 15-year-old Charley Thompson comes of age, but making that journey from childhood to manhood lays him bare at his most vulnerable, before he finally finds salvation in the arms of his aunt.

First he must be tested to the full by those he holds closest – his father, his employer and even the friends he makes during his journey – as he winds his weary way from Spokane to Rock Springs.

9/10 Review by Roddy Brooks