One Step Over the Border: A Novel

Stephen Bly
Center Street (2007)
ISBN 9781599956893
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (7/07)


Laramie Majors and Hap Bowman are rodeo cowboys.  The two become a roping team, and friends, right out of college.  Together they have a quest to find the long lost Juanita.  At the old age of twelve, Hap met a girl named Juanita; he fell in love with her.  From Wyoming to the Mexican Border, the two men search for the long lost Juniata, with the horse-shaped birthmark on her neck.  Their search takes them from town to town always thinking the Juanita in the next town will be the right one.  Their search brings adventure and sometimes calamity. Along the way, Laramie and Hap meet some very interesting characters and land in some astonishing adventures.  They find a hidden farm where the major crop is weed.  They save the day by rounding up rodeo bulls on the rampage.  Laramie finds romance with Annamarie. 

“One Step Over the Border,” by Stephen Bly, is a truly great read!  The story flows smoothly taking the reader from one adventure to another.  The characters are well developed and believable.  Laramie and Hap are two reluctant heroes.  The supporting characters they meet along the way are real.  I was drawn into the story and felt as if I were living it.  As in real life, I found some characters more likeable than I did others.  Sara was a wonderful addition to the storyline; I loved the way Hap talked to her as if she were human.  Stephen Bly is an extremely talented author.  He successfully blends humor, adventure, and suspense in the same tale.  I highly recommend “One Step Over the Border” by Stephen Bly, to fans of westerns.  This is a great summer read.

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