Blind Your Ponies is an emotional reading experience, yet no horses had to die in this fictional novel. Despite not being much of a basketball fan (Go Zags!), I was moved by the grit and spirit of the ragtag, understaffed Willow Creek High School team as they did the impossible. There are a number of animals in the book, other than ponies: A foul-mouthed parrot, Tripod, a three-legged cat, an elephant’s eye, and a wildebeest calf surrounded by wild dogs.
In addition, there is a dog-training shock collar used to manage an almost seven-foot Norwegian, who has never played basketball before moving to Big Sky Country. Stanley Gordon West helps readers to become emotionally invested in the lives of broken people who inhabit Willow Creek. By the end of the book, you know more about the students on the team, their coaches, and the people around them than they do themselves. They are people who “exchange wounds” and “floor burns on their hearts.” West also spices things up with thoughtful references to characters and themes from Don Quixote throughout the book. Five Stars!