Tackle Twelve - Spotlight on Read a Western

As part of BPL’s Tackle Twelve promotion, 16 reading challenges have been issued. This week’s blog takes a closer look at ‘Read a Western' and offers up recommendations.

Shadow of a Hang Rope: A Western Story by Lauran Paine

John Hawk steals a herd of horses and sells them for a sizable profit. All the while knowing that he could be in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out his secret.

When I Die: The Legend of Joe Mundy by Monty McCord

After surviving a shooting in Taylorsville, and the 1876 influenza outbreak, Marshal Joe Mundy is enjoying the summer courting Sarah, the abandoned wife of the town’s first marshal, George Welby. Until the killings begin.

The Devil’s Waltz by Ethan J. Wolfe

Yuma, Arizona, in the early 1880s. When U.S. Marshal Dale Posey needs help bringing notorious outlaw Tom Spooner to justice, he turns to the one man he knows who can deliver: the former leader of Spooner’s gang, a man now serving a lengthy sentence at Yuma Prison, Jack Posey, Dale’s younger brother.

The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook

Early one morning in the remote country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter’s life.

Men of Violence: A John Henry Cole Story by Bill Brooks

A former detective from Cheyenne, Wyoming risks the dangers of a life spent bringing criminals to justice by establishing his own agency at the sides of other ex-lawmen.

The Stacked Deck by J.D. March

After former gunfighter Johnny Fierro is arrested for murder, he is determined to guard secrets about his past, but his brother Gus realizes he must learn the truth about Johnny if he is going to help him.

Escape to Fort Abercrombie by Candace Simar

Mama and little Elsa are kidnapped by Indians. As his father lies dying, fourteen-year-old Ryker Landstad promises to take the nine-year-old twins to safety and rescue them. It takes all Ryker's gumption to reach the fort, only to discover that Fort Abercrombie is besieged by 500 warriors.

The Carroll Farm Fight by Greg Hunt

Living at a frontier crossroads can have unexpected perils, especially when war is afoot. Mel Carroll wants only to plow and harvest, tend to his stock, marry his sweetheart, and live a quiet life in the rugged Ozark country. But within a day of the arrival of a northbound Confederate army, his farm is hurriedly transformed into a fortified military camp.

The Grub Rider by James C. Work

Mysterious forces drive Gabe Allen to leave home in search of the Keystone Ranch. Job by job, handout by handout, he finally makes it. However, his next journey will be far more dangerous and demanding.

Shane by Jack Schaefer

In the summer of 1889, a mysterious and charismatic man rides into a small Wyoming valley, where he joins homesteaders who take a stand against a bullying cattle rancher.

This readers advisory brought to you by YA Librarian, Chris