HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE

A 13-year-old bull rider unpacks masculinity, self-inflicted expectations, and finding one’s purpose.

Canyon Cress wants to win the Junior Bull Riding World Championship to impress his longtime rodeo friends, Dakota and Tate, garner a life-changing $10,000, and (he believes) return his alcoholic father to the great man he was before Canyon’s mother died in an accident. In the meantime, Canyon watches over little sister Josie and resents the trappings of their low-income life, including a torn-up couch, mac and cheese dinners, and free school lunches. He finds much-needed adult support from Grandma, Uncle Ty, and bullfighter Ray, all of whom worry each time Canyon climbs onto a bull. Canyon wrestles with living up to his father’s legacy as an accomplished bull rider and with the “cowboy up” mindset that means never quitting. Canyon’s mother was a gifted fiddler, and his own regular playing brings him the healing, calming power of music—and, perhaps, a concussion-free alternative to his favorite sport. The story cites real-world fiddle songs and rodeo champions, lending credibility and immersive authenticity to Canyon’s interests. Early emotional beats pay off in big, earned tearjerker moments by the end, and secondary characters’ backstories develop in a satisfying way over the course of this story, which will hold appeal for fans of Gary D. Schmidt’s Orbiting Jupiter and Jupiter Rising. Most characters are coded white, and Ray is Black.

An empowering story about boys and men learning to reinvent themselves in the wake of pain and tragedy.