The kid was booted off a freight train in Coalton, Colorado, where he was forced to beg for food. Then the sheriff convinces the ramrod at the Circle L Ranch to take the kid on as a chore boy. Soon the kid is doing all the jobs on the Circle L no one else wants, from cleaning out the barn to saddling the cowboys' horses in the predawn hours. He never provides his name so the rest of the hands refer to him as Night Hawk. It isn't a term of affection because the kid is as ornery as a wounded possum. He picks fights he can't win and has the appetite of a post-hibernation bear, with table manners to match. But the ramrod senses something in him and decides to see if the kid has what it takes to become a man. Overholser never ceases to amaze with his memorable characterizations and his unerring depiction of the hardships and rewards of western ranch life. An excellent novel that one hopes would snag a readership beyond genre fans. --Wes Lukowsky Copyright 2006 Booklist