Billy the Kid
A Novel
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
This YA Western adventure imagines an alternate fate for the famous outlaw: "Readers will hang on anxiously and eagerly as the plot gallops [forward]" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
William H. Bonney Jr., better known as Billy the Kid, isn't afraid to take risks. But when a train passenger recognizes him in the middle of a heist near his hometown, it seems like the odds have finally caught up with him.
Fed up with Billy's bad ways, The Law sends its best man to bring him in: Sheriff Willis Monroe, Billy's own cousin and former best friend. But Willis isn't the only one on Billy's tail. The Kid's back-stabbing partners are hunting him, too—and a conniving posse wants Billy (and the sheriff!) dead. This fictional tale of real-life legend Billy the Kid imagines William Bonney's fate had his life of crime taken a very different turn.
This edition includes an author's note about the real Billy the Kid.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Taylor's (The Cay) sure-footed tale casts the legendary outlaw in a positive light, presenting him as a likable, gutsy gunslinger. In Arizona Territory in 1881, 19-year-old Billy Bonney is down on his luck and down to his last dollars. A cagey fellow arrives in town with his two sons, identifying himself as Art Smith. After seeing Billy's accurate and quick shot, Smith offers him a job helping them rob a train. The kid accepts, viewing it as the only way for him "to make his own grab at a future." Billy contrasts his life to that of his cousin and best friend, Willie, who is married to the smart and sassy yet "refined" Kate (on whom Billy himself was and still is sweet) and owns a sprawling ranch. The Smiths and Billy pull off the heist and escape with a bundle of loot. But one of the passengers recognizes Billy and reports him to the recently elected sheriff Willie. This sets the scene for ample psychological and physical drama, which Taylor builds smoothly as Willie sets out to track down Billy. Adding further tension to the hunt is Art Smith's resolve to find Billy (who doublecrossed Smith), and Willie's nemesis, who's angling for the sheriff's job. Readers will hang on anxiously and eagerly as the plot gallops to a satisfying if sad showdown. Taylor smoothly fuses solid storytelling with the stuff of legend. Ages 12-up.
