Ghost Horses

Tabitha's the daughter of a *very* conservative minister in North Dakota in 1899, when anthropologists are just beginning to show up looking for dinosaur skeletons. Her father's convinced these skeletons have been planted there by the devil, and forbid's Tabitha from even trying to learn more about them, let alone join an excavation team. So Tabitha dresses up as a boy, claiming to be a twin brother called Tom, and sneaks out to be on a team, with the help of an older woman friend, Abby.When I first opened this book, I was a little skeptical, it seemed like it was going to be easy reading, and I was very frightened at the prospect of a romantic element finding it's way in there, which would cause all sorts of problems for Tabbie (since she's dressed up as a guy and all). But while it was kind of an easy read, it was very enjoyable. I could hardly put this book down Christmas morning as it's very engaging and you always want to find out how Tabitha gets herself out of each difficult situation she gets herself into (and, thankfully, they're realistic situations, and they aren't portrayed as being all her fault just because she's a ditzy girl who has no place in science, as she eventually proves she's more capable than many of the men on the expedition).The only thing that keeps this from getting 5 stars is the end. I'm not going to give details, obviously, but several characters make complete turn arounds in the last few pages that aren't explained.