Yester's Ride

by C.K. Crigger

Ketta Noonan, her mother's child by rape, has been kidnapped by the twelve-year-old's father. Big Joe Noonan, her mother's husband, is glad she's gone. He's always detested the child as evidence of her mother's violation, and kept her hidden away. But Yester Noonan, four years older than Ketta, is fond of his half-sister, even if she is part Chinese, and when his mother begs him to rescue her, he rides out on this quest. Accompanied by his Metis friend, Nat Fontaine, the two sixteen-year-olds take on a man's role. As for Ketta? She's not too shabby either, when it comes to tough.

Genres: Westerns

251 pages, Library Binding

Published March 20, 2019

About the author

C.K.Crigger, a native of the Inland Northwest, lives in Spokane, Washington with her husband, dog, and reclusive cat. She is the author of eight published novels, some of which cross genres. Her short fiction story, Aldy Neals Ghost, was a 2007 Spur Award finalist, presented by Western Writers of America. BLACK CROSSING,a novel of the American West published by Amber Quill Press, is her newest work. It is the recipient of the 2008 Eppie Award in the Historical/Western category."

Reviews

[Donadee's Corner]

CK Crigger – Yester’s Ride – Reviewed 7/1/20 – Read 6/30/20
Mother badly hurt, ranch on fire, sister kidnapped, promises to rescue her, Yester is on his way!

Ketta Noonan stood rooted watching the men attack her mother, as she finally turned to run as her mother had told her to do, she found that large hands held her in place. Her mother was fighting and yelling for Ketta to run… she just could not do it! As the man held her when they were riding away, Ketta looked back seeing the house on fire. OMG, mama, please be ok!!! PLEASE!! Finding out that the man who had grabbed her was her father, was shocking. She knew that Big Joe, was not, but he was Yester’s. Her half-brother was her salvation, he was the only one that she could count on to take care of her. Big Joe did not even act like she was there except when he hit her for anything that she did. As they continued to ride away from the only home that she had ever known, all that she could think of was what was going to happen to her. Yester will come for her, he would rescue her, she knew he would.

Yester and Big Joe had been in town, Big Joe had imbibed a little too much, so he was not feeling too good. His father was a hard man and would even hit them if they did something that crossed him. The closer that they came to home, he knew something was wrong, oh no, there was smoke coming from the ranch! Arriving at the house, he saw his mother lying in the doorway and knew that she was hurt badly. All the horses were gone, it looked like everything had been destroyed. Not only that, but Ketta was gone, his mother told him that Ketta’s father had taken her. She begged him to go and fetch her back... He promised her that he would.

Big Joe told Yester to ride to the neighbor’s house and bring back his friend, Nat Fontaine’s father. He would pay him to track down all the horses knowing that the Metis could track better than he could. Yester told Big Joe that he had promised his mother that he was going to go after Ketta and bring her home. Big Joe exploded!!! Do not bother coming back with that heathen! and the story begins….

What did I like? This is the first book that I have read of this author, but I am sure that it will not be the last. The storyline was a very emotional one, that unfortunately happened many times in western history. It tells of a young man’s life and how he loved his mother and half-sister. He would do anything to save either one of them. It seems that no matter how they grew up, young men of those days had those values that was ingrained as part of their character. It really did my heart good to see it in print, the humor, the tests of value, the learning curve of exploring new places, and sharing all those lessons with your best friend.

What will you like? Intriguing characters, humor, emotional learning, thought-provoking mystery, fascinating faith in love, and a remarkable plot. Beautifully written, with excellent editing throughout. Interesting historical research that shows on every page, exciting characters that are so believable. This is an excellent book to be added to your Western Library. An awesome read that I really enjoyed.

• File Size: 3504 KB
• Print Length: 254 pages
• Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing (July 1, 2020)
• Publication Date: July 1, 2020
• ASIN: B08BG5HKPF
• Genre: Teen & Young Adult Westerns, Teen & Young Adult Westerns Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Classic

[Arthur]

TW: rape, gun violence, threatened pedophilia, racist terms, domestic violence

Based on the mention of telephones, the novel is set in the early 1900s. The life depicted here seems a little wilder than I would normally associate with that time period, but I am no expert.

I enjoy Crigger's writing style, but I would have enjoyed the book much better without the rape or threatened human trafficking/pedophilia. The storyline didn't require those elements for it to work.

As much as Crigger tries to have a redemption arc for Kuo, it doesn't quite work. I didn't forget that none of this would have happened if Kuo had left her alone. Maybe Kuo had thought he was rescuing Ketta from an abusive man. Crigger never tells Kuo's motivations--rescue, asserting parental rights, trafficking, housekeeper

[Giselle Smith]

I would recommend this read to just about anyone even if they are not a reader of Westerns. This story takes place in what is now Idaho. The principal characters are twelve and two sixteen year olds so it would appeal to a young adult audience too. There is no cussing or descriptive brothel scenes.....but you are very aware of what life was like then for many people on the frontier including how women and children were treated and if you were mixed blood.....

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and setting and will be looking for more of C K's titles. You may end up cheering for a "bad guy"! In the end you see growth and character built by each of the young individuals.

[Nadina]

For not being a fan of Westerns this was actually pretty good. I liked that each chapter alternated between Ketta and Yester. The characters changed and grew over the course of the novel. The word choices/language could be considered questionable if this weren't clearly set at a time where this language was the norm and using other terms would have clashed with the setting and feel of the book.
The book was well paced, and honestly, I ended up not really being able to put this book down.
The ending was fitting and I felt like it was essentially satisfactory. It was interesting and it would be a book I would recommend if someone asked for a western.

[kate]

Hated the beginning. Hated the end. The middle had to many inconsistencies to be either entertaining or enjoyable.

[John Mitchell]

Another good 'un by Crigger!

Two teenage boys set out to find and release the young sister of one from a gang of murders and thieves. Well told tale.

[Rob Osler]

What a wonderful book. A great hero, a noble mission, a true friend, a pack of outlaws, and terrific pacing and story development. This book deserves more attention. Well done, Ms. Crigger!

[Bill]

Love and survival; a very good read.

[Frank]

While this story starts slow, it gets more interesting as you get into it. Another title could be unlikely hero. Ms Crigger is a good writer, she takes a story about 2 boys pursuing a kidnapper to rescue one's sister and makes them heros.

[Robert C. smith]

Not a typical western, "Yester's Ride" is a more full-blown story with three-dimensional characters in realistic scenes. Trigger will tug at all of a reader's feelings as Tester journeys through lifr.