Blind Your Ponies

by Stanley Gordon West

Book Overview

Hope is hard to come by in the hard-luck town of Willow Creek. Sam Pickett and five young men are about to change that.

Sam Pickett never expected to settle in this dried-up shell of a town on the western edge of the world. He's come here to hide from the violence and madness that have shattered his life, but what he finds is what he least expects. There's a spirit that endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It seems that every inhabitant of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565129849
• ISBN13: 9781565129849
• Release Date: January 2011
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

My New Neighborhood

As a native Montanan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have lived in class C towns, and West nailed the attitude and "ownership" of the townspeople for their teams. You couldn't help but root for the team, and celebrate with them on their quest. I personally did not find the metaphors detracting, but looked at them as an additional picture for my interior movie screen. I felt a close kinship with the characters as the book progressed, and found myself getting into the games as if I were in the stands myself. The book was a compelling read, and one I recommend to everyone I talk to. I am on my 4th book by this author, but so far this one is by far my favorite. You don't have to be a basketball fan as much as a fan of the complexities of human nature, to enjoy this book.

A Great Read

I throughly enjoyed Blind Your Ponies. The characters are like each of us - multifacited, wounded, and yet we keep going with hope and courage. Great story of faith, courage, and continuing on in the face of almost certain defeat. I don't like basketball and I loved this book. It is one I will remember for a long time.

Blind Your Ponies

If anyone said I'd like a book about a basketball team I'd say they were nuts. But Stanley Gordon West has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Blind Your Ponies is the fourth book I have read by West and it is now my favorite. Blind Your Ponies is about so much more than basketball.It's about overcoming adversity, false perceptions and personal fear. It's about courage. West peoples his books with wonderful characters. He totally engages his reader with wit and humor in some of the most challenging situations. By the end of the book the reader is very involved with and invested in a large cast of colorful characters intent upon a winning season for the local high school basketball team. West makes you laugh, cry and turn each page with amazement as crazy events unfold in this forlorn little town in Montana. Broken and flawed characters bond to accomplish the unthinkable. West demonstrates so poignantly that given a chance the human spirit will triumph. This book is appropriate for readers 14 years old through adults. Male and Female.

NO LIMITS ON PERSEVERENCE

Montana is one of my favorite places to visit. As a filmmaker, I produced a documentary there last year. Earlier this year, I visited an old friend who maintains a second home in SW Montana, where Blind Your Ponies is set. We spent a day driving throughnumerous little towns, many of which are settings for Blind YourPonies. He then suggested I read the book. Having been there made the scenes in the book come alive for me, but having been to Montana or being a sports fan is NOT a prerequisite for enjoying this tale of overcoming against all odds, and marveling at the diversity and experiences of characters which come to life on the page. I would agree with other reviewers about the author's overuse of similies, but that's a minor point against an overallgreat read! Read it...it'll be time well spent!

About the underdog struggles

This book, while centered around a small basketball team in a small town in Montana, is really about people overcoming all odds. I dislike sports, but that did not keep me from reading this book in two short days. It simply is the best story I have read in a long time. The characters are very interesting, most with some type of baggage in the background of their life. I laughed many times while reading this and read parts out loud.