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Lean on Pete

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( 5,050 ratings, 699 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin follows the story of Charley Thompson, a teenager searching for stability and belonging after a turbulent life with his single father. Finding a bond with a rundown racehorse named Lean on Pete, Charley embarks on a desperate journey through the American Northwest. The novel is a poignant exploration of survival, friendship, and the search for home in the face of adversity.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you're drawn to heartfelt coming-of-age stories that explore themes of friendship, survival, and resilience, you might appreciate this novel. The book paints a vivid picture of the American West, combining a tender narrative with a gritty backdrop that may resonate if you enjoy emotionally rich and character-driven tales.

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Film tie-in edition of Willy Vlautin's unforgettable story of a friendship and hope in dark times.

Willy Vlautin's unforgettable story of friendship and hope in dark times, now a major motion picture.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Film to screen nationally in Australia on 29 November 2018.

Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson wants a home; food on the table; a high school he can attend for more than part of a year; and some structure to his life. But as the son of a single father working at warehouses across the Pacific Northwest, he's been pretty much on his own for some time.

Lean on Pete opens as he and his father arrive in Portland, Oregon, and Charley takes a stables job, illegally, at the local race track. Once part of a vibrant racing network, Portland Meadows is now seemingly the last haven for washed-up jockeys and knackered horses, but it's there that Charley meets Pete, an old horse who becomes his companion as he's forced to try to make his own way in the world.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin has been praised for its poignant storytelling and rich character development. Reviewers often highlight the book's exploration of themes such as survival and hope through the eyes of the protagonist, a young boy. Vlautin's depiction of the American landscape and the harsh realities faced by the disenfranchised is noted for its authenticity and emotional depth.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571339471

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 May 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main - Film Tie-In

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 229g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music. It was a Paul Kelly song, based on Raymond Carver's Too Much Water So Close to Home that inspired him to start writing stories. Vlautin has published three novels, The Motel Life (2006) and Northline (2008) and Lean on Pete (2010), which was shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His fourth novel, The Free was published in 2014.

Vlautin founded the band Richmond Fontaine in 1994. The band has produced nine studio albums to date, plus a handful of live recordings and EPs. Driven by Vlautin's dark, story-like songwriting, the band has achieved critical acclaim at home and across Europe. 2014 will see the debut album from Vlautin's new band, The Delines, featuring vocalist Amy Boone (The Damnations).

Vlautin currently resides in Scappoose, Oregon.

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