War Horse Movie Tie-In Edition Featured

I so enjoyed this book! I had to read it in spurts because I kept getting so emotional and I'm not a crier. I have always had a soft spot for horses and any time there's a story about the connection between human and equine it's as if a switch is flipped in my heart. (I *hearts* horsies!) Add to it the element of war, the threat of harm or death to a horse and I'm rendered a sopping, useless puddle.

Part of what makes this story unique is that it's written from the horse's point of view. In doing so, it gives the reader an interesting take on humans as well as war. We get to see the value that was placed on horses like Joey during the war and how that value translated into their treatment and care. If their value was high in the eyes of their current owners, then they were well fed, cleaned properly and looked after. If not, they were half-starved, left out in the cold and made to endure grueling work often resulting in death for some.

Joey meets many new people along his journey most of whom are kind to him, although a few aren't. He never gives up hope of being reunited with his master and searches the faces of each new group of soldiers he comes upon in the hopes of finding Albert. He also befriends another horse, Topthorn and together they brave the front lines, the treacherous weather conditions and other various hardships of war.

Author Morpurgo writes Joey so convincingly, with all his emotional ups and downs that it's very easy to forget that he's a horse and not a regular, two-legged soldier. War Horse is a moving story that reminds us that even in the midst of all the sadness, despair and death that is "war", you can always find hope.