BOOK OF THE WEEK: Blood Red Horse by K.M. Grant

This adventurous book is about the journey of two brothers, Gavin and Will de Granville, their father, Sir Thomas de Granville of Hartslove, and a horse, Hosanna. It takes place in the third installment of the Crusades. It starts when Gavin and Will are young, and Will (the younger of the two brothers) is finally able to choose his very own stallion. The young men soon fight in the Holy War led by King Richard the Lionheart. The journey to the Holy Land is tough and harsh; knights and horses lose their lives along the way. After a two year Crusade, the two brothers return home to find that things are not how they left them. Gavin finds that the steward who was left in charge was trying to seize control of the estate, so they release him of his duties. Will is made an earl and Gavin becomes a count and marries Ellie, to whom he was betrothed.

Tweens and adults alike can relate to this book in one way or another because at one time or another everyone has felt like an outcast. Hosanna the horse is the unsung hero of the story. Gavin and other trainers consider Hosanna an outcast because he is smaller than other stallions and seems incapable of carrying out a horse's duties, but Will sees something special in Hosanna. It isn't until a jousting tournament that the people realize exactly what Hosanna is capable of accomplishing. Tween, as well as almost anyone, can relate to being underestimated and then proving people wrong when they come through with flying colors.