2 - Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby

I visited a branch of the public library I've never tried before! I went to the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch on Friday afternoon. I checked out several books which I'll probably be blogging over the next week or so.

I started with Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby. I devoured it in one day! It tells the story of Cleo, a spoiled rich girl whose life is careening out of control, and Alex, a poor boy who is obsessed with horses and happens to be gay. They meet, first at a horse show, and later at Limestone Farm, where they both train with the retired men who live there.

There were several things I loved about this book: the retired men, Fergus and Ivan, who are probably a couple; the way Alex's sisters and aunt just accept him, as does Cleo after an awkward moment; the horses (I was never a horse-crazy girl, but I did read all the Saddle Club books at the library, and I loved them). The characters are vibrant and true, and the setting (Vancouver Island) is different enough to be interesting.

I would say this books leans more toward the type of LGBT literature where a main character just happens to be gay, but the story is more about that character's life and adventures rather than about his (in this case) sexuality.

I thoroughly enjoyed it!