Category: Young Adult Fiction (Ages 13-17)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dancing Horse Press, 284 pages
Release date: September 2021
Format available for review: Print softback, ebook (mobi file for Kindle), PDF
Will send print books out: USA
Tour dates: October 4 to October 22, 2021
Content Rating: Rated G - Completely clean
“M.J. Evans does an excellent job of winding the era's history and the lesser-known job of the Sand Pounders into a realistic story of a mature teen's determination to make a difference in her world.” - Diane Donovan for Midwest Book Review
“A gripping YA historical novel packed full of twists, turns and memorable characters. Highly recommended!” - The Wishing Shelf Book Review (UK)
Fearing an invasion by German and Japanese forces during World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard enlisted horsemen to patrol the beaches along the east and west coasts. The unit was called "The Sand Pounders" and they rode their horses up and down the beaches from 1942 to 1944.
In Tillamook, Oregon, a young equestrian decided to join them. There was only one problem...they were only accepting men. That didn't slow her down.
"The Sand Pounder" is a Young Adult historical fiction set during World War II.
Award-Winning, Best-Selling author, M.J. Evans grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and graduated from Oregon State University. She spent five years teaching junior high and high school students before retiring to raise her five children. She is a life-long equestrian and enjoys competing in Dressage and riding in the beautiful Colorado Mountains.
connect with the author: website ~ instagram ~ facebook ~ goodreads ~ pinterest
Why I Wrote About the Sand Pounders
I love learning new things! I especially love learning about anything relating to horses and history, and when the two arecombined, I’m in heaven!
One day, I stumbled across an old picture of the Sand Pounders and it piqued my curiosity. I started searching on the internet. I learned that the Sand Pounders were an arm of the U.S. Coast Guard duringWorld War 2. Their job was to patrol the east and west coasts and in Texas to watch for and report an enemy invasion. Very few people have ever heard of them as they only existed for two years…from mid- 1942 to mid-1944. But, during that time, they patrolled 3,700 miles of coastline and employed 24,000 men on horseback.
However, very few people have ever heard of “The Sand Pounders!” That made me even more curious and, like my award-winning book, “PINTO!” I wanted to make information about this little-known event available to other horse and history lovers.
One element about the Sand Pounders that interested me, besides that fact that it is a horse story, is that it was something that happened along the Oregon Coast. I grew up in Oregon and went to the beach countless times. I remember my father taking us to Fort Stevens when I was a child. This was the only place in the continental U.S. that was shelled during World War 2. We also spent lots of time in Tillamook and at the beaches that I mentionedin the book.
As a child, I didn’t know that one day I would grow up to write a book about an event that the sands of time erased from the memories of so many people. I hope you enjoy the book. Oh…and please post a review on Amazon and Goodreads and tell yourfriends about it!
The Sand Pounder - Love and Drama on Horseback in WWII is written by M. J. Evans. This book is geared toward ages 13-17. I read this with my 10 year old son who reads at an advanced level. He also loves reading and learning about World War II. I have a master’s in Military History. I had no idea about the sand pounders.
The sand pounders were the U.S. Coast Guard Mounted Patrol. I read up on them to familiarize myself on them. The author did a great job with her research. In this story we see Jane. Jane sees her American born Japanese neighbors taken off to interment camps. Jane is frustrated since girls and women are limited to what they can do to help the war effort. So Jane becomes John. She becomes a sand pounder who is patrolling on her horse, Juniper Star.
My son and I had a great discussion on why her neighbors were taken away. He’s very interested in WWII. So he was intrigued to know. He knows that in history there have been other instances where girls/women have disguised themselves to help more closely with the war effort.
My son and I enjoyed this book. He took it in to talk about it with his teacher. He said Jane was a great character. He said she knew something wasn’t right and wanted to do the right thing to help.
We received a copy of this book through IRead book tours. All thoughts are our own.
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