Diane Lee Wilson

Well-written and engaging, this book was rich in sharing about another culture. It feels like we enter into the daily life patterns of a nomadic culture on the steppes of Mongolia. This is definitely a book to share with my grandkids, & feel it would be a great gift for any young girl thrilled about horses.
The cultural expectations of the early 1300s are presented as the norm (early marriage, gender roles, mistrust of physical differences, rule by a Khan dynasty, interpreting unexpected show more events as resulting from luck), but the story is about a young girl who challenges the norm. While this challenge fits in well with our current social value of supporting gender equality, I am uncertain if any such situation would ever have occurred back in that time.
There is a glossary for the non-English words used.
I particularly liked the detail of how different foods and cultural goods were made, tho there was much that was left out (where did the silk come from for their dels?). show less

Riding the Pony Express seems to be the only way 12-year-old Colton Wescott can earn the money to pay for his Ma's doctor. He's more than willing and his soul seems to want to gallop across the deserts and mountains... but it's not as easy as all that. Colton's Pa is white and his Ma is a free black woman. Although Colton's light enough to "pass" for white, he knows he could be hanged if he's caught. And the route they need him to ride is extremely treacherous, over the Sierra Nevada show more mountains. But Colton's got more than money at stake. His Ma is trusting him to deliver freedom papers to her sister in Sacramento. And there's no time to lose. With a country on the brink of war, every second counts.

This wild west adventure story has a very interesting perspective and there's a lot going on. Not only is Colton considering issues of race, but he's also testing himself. Can he "keep it together" and stick to his route? Can he keep his family together? And might he even play a part in keeping the Union together? At this time, the Pony Express was responsible for bringing news of the developing war to the prosperous state of California. I found it to be a really interesting and gripping book (and one I wouldn't have picked up if it hadn't been nominated for a Caudill... hurrah for the Caudills!). show less

An exciting historical adventure, with no war or rape, about a 12 year-old girl with more courage and heart than any warrior on a quest.

I, personally, was a bit frustrated by all the reliance on superstition?/ faith?. But the theme that we can make our own luck is foreshadowed throughout and revealed directly at the end, so that's good.

I think back on my childhood, and I would absolutely have loved this when I was 12. And I recommend it to anyone who looks for strong female characters, even show more adults, even if they don't think they're interested in the horse story or the Mongolian historical setting. show less

"Black Storm Comin'" by Diane Lee Wilson is an excellent historical fiction book. In this exciting adventure story, readers will not only learn about the history of the Pony Express, but also discover what life may have been like for a mixed race family traveling to California in 1860. Fellow wagon train travelers have scorned, ridiculed, and ignored the Westcott family because the father is white and the mother is black. When the father accidentally shoots main character 12 year-old Colton show more Westcott, he has a mental breakdown and runs away, almost certainly to die in the desert. Colton is left alone to take care of his three younger siblings and his mother who is suffering from "childbirth fever". Although tricked and abandoned on the trail by the other travelers, Colton and his sisters heroically managed to reach the next town and even found a doctor for the dying mother. However, the family is completely broke. When Colton saw a large poster at the telegraph office with the words "Wiry fellows not over eighteen... Must be expert riders... Willing to risk death daily...Orphans preferred", Colton applied to be a Pony Express rider. Told in the first person, "Black Storm Comin'" is classified as a "young adult" book. However, even though Wilson's details are graphic at times, fourth grade readers should be able to handle the material...a gripping story! show less