O'Hara deals with a harsh world, where both humans and animals must be tough enough to survive on their own—or be defeated. Death and pain consume many of the animals; financial hardship afflicts many of the people. In My Friend Flicka, the painful process of gelding nine two-year-old horses leaves Ken weeping; one of these later dies, and another becomes dangerously ill. A horse is shot after an injury, and Rocket, Flicka's mother, smashes her skull on an overhead sign. A mountain lion kills Rocket's new colt and is eventually shot by Rob as it stalks Flicka. In Thunderhead, two stallions fight to the death, and an aged mare dies giving birth in a driving storm. Yet O'Hara never sensationalizes these events, and neither book contains gratuitous violence. Furthermore, humans are not responsible for most of the violence; mountain lions kill, stallions fight, and...