A simple, sweet, and safely sad story about a boy who loves horses but, because of his family's extreme poverty, must leave school and his trips to the horse paddocks to work in the mines. Nothing earth-shattering here, but nothing too sappy or poorly-written, either. ( )

In the early years of the last century, a wild horse and a small boy are forced to work underground in the Cape Breton coal mines. Willie should have been in school; Gem should have been galloping free over the sand dunes of remote Sable Island. In the dark scary world of the coal mine, as the two worked at their dangerous jobs, they developed a special bond. Then there is an explosion. Both Willie and Gem are heroes.