In Half Broke Horses, Lily Smith faces many dangers, from flash floods in rural Texas, to bankruptcy during the Great Depression, to medical emergencies that didn’t always end well. This convincing, unprettified narration doesn’t glorify “grit” – rather, it shows the unintended consequences that can come with survival. For example: her dad earns money by breaking and selling wild horses, even though he had his head bashed in by a horse when he was only three years old, which resulted in a speech impediment, a limp, and possibly brain damage. This “true-life novel” is based on the author’s grandmother’s life.
Walls, Jeannette. Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel. Scriber: 2009, p. 257.