Reaching for the Reins (Paperback) Lou Dean

Fifteen-year-old Connie Jean McGee's best friend, Jacob, has murdered ten people at their Oklahoma high school then turned the gun on himself. No one knows that CJ was friends with Jacob, her parents are too caught up in their 'divorce war' to care, and CJ is invisible to the snobs at Fremont High.

In the midst of the trauma, while CJ is in denial over what Jacob has done, her parents announce another custody battle. CJ takes Jacob's dog, Prophet, buys a pony that Jacob dreamed of owning, and runs away along the Arkansas River.

CJ's journey is violently interrupted with search and rescue teams, dogs and helicopters, when she is linked to the shooter.

Even today's police technology can be challenged by a gutsy fifteen-year-old, riding a big-hearted-horse. When the chase gains national media attention and the authorities close in, CJ turns to Jacob's Native American spirit guide for direction.

Only after CJ is apprehended, jailed and tried, does she get hold of the reins and embrace the pain of Jacob's actions.

June 2023