Samphire Song by Jill Hucklesby

Title: Samphire Song

Author: Jill Hucklesby

Publish Date: July 1, 2011

Publisher: Egmont Books

Pages: 304

Buy the Book: The Book Depository | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: ★★★★★

When fourteen-year-old Jodie buys a wild horse at auction, she has no idea what she is taking on. Something has drawn her to Samphire--there's an instant bond between them. She recognizes he's a damaged horse who needs time to mend. Jodie understands all about pain, having lost her dad two years before. 

Slowly, she gains Samphire's trust, and Jodie begins to blossom with a new confidence. But when her younger brother Ed becomes very ill and needs an operation, Jodie is faced with the biggest decision of her life. 

In order to help her mother and brother, she must let Samphire go. She makes him a promise--as soon as she can, she will find him and bring him home. It's a promise that leads her into danger. But somewhere, Samphire is calling to her. She senses his life is at risk and there's not much time. She must rescue him, whatever the cost.

This is the story of a family, stricken by lost and struggling with the unknown future of one member's illness. They fight to not only stay close but also not lose touch of who they are or what they used to be. It is about the acceptance of the present and the undeniable love of the past. Together they can survive everything. And a love of a horse could change everything. I love the story and how focused it is on family. It's hard to find a story that not only accepts that family has a huge role but that the family can be a good influence on the main character. The writing was beautiful and the opening certainly created a hook that captured my attention and my love from the start. Jill Hucklesby managed to bring to life everything I think is real life. 

Jodie is the type of girl that I see a lot of myself in. Her family truly comes first in her mind and yet they encourage her to continue her passion. They never want her to lose herself to all of the sadness that rules their lives now. She is a huge support for her brother as he struggles with health issues. She is the type of sister that lets him clamor into her bed after a sleepless night and she never questions the fact that he needs her. Her connection to her family is what I see a lot of myself in.

Her younger brother, Ed, is so cute. I can't even tell you how much I loved his little personality and all of his little moments throughout the story. He is the type of boy that would rather make jokes than dwell on the seriousness of the situation and I admire that a lot. Whenever I have had to face the idea of health issues for myself and my family, I can't not think about it constantly. I wish I could be Ed during those moments because he not only keeps his spirits up but also manages to help his family look at things with more hope and happiness.

I cannot imagine being their mom as they go through the course of the story. She has faced the loss of her husband, the sickness of her son, and the idea of somehow moving beyond that. I admire how much her kids accept the idea that she might move on from their dad and that they don't expect her to live alone for the rest of her life. She brings to life the type of mom that should be more common in this genre because more often than not, the evil mom is too common.

I was going to talk about the horses because I love horses but there are so many different ways to tackle this particular topic. Just know that these horses come to life with their own personalities and brings to life the happiness that everyone in this family needs.

I love this story, it is beautiful in its own way and I haven't experienced one quite like this before. Have you ever read a book that brings to life everything you love?

**This book was received from the publisher via NetGalley. None of the review was influenced by the author or the publisher. This is a completely original review. The thoughts and feelings of the reviewer are entirely her own and have no ties to the publisher.**