Published in 2007, Paint the Wind is a middle-grade adventure and coming-of-age novel by acclaimed author Pam Muñoz Ryan. The story follows 11-year-old Maya, who has spent six years living a life of rigid confinement with her paternal grandmother in Pasadena, California, following the death of her parents. After her grandmother dies from a stroke, Maya is sent to the vast Wyoming wilderness to live with her mother’s estranged family, where she must confront a past shrouded in lies and forge a connection with a wild mustang named Artemisia. The novel explores themes of Escaping Psychological and Physical Confinement, The Inherited Burdens of Grief and Memory, and Reconciling Human Connection With the Natural World.

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the author of numerous books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor–winning Esperanza Rising. To research Paint the Wind, Ryan learned to ride horses as an adult and took part in multi-day trail rides in the Sierra Nevada mountains and southwestern Wyoming, mirroring the experiences of her protagonist. Inspired by classic horse stories that often featured male protagonists, Ryan wanted to create a narrative centered on a young girl’s journey toward self-discovery in the American West. The novel is based on the ongoing, real-world controversy surrounding the management of wild mustangs by the US Bureau of Land Management, and the government-led roundups, or “gathers,” are a central plot point.

This guide is based on the 2009 Scholastic Inc. paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of emotional abuse, animal death, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

In the Wyoming wilderness, a wild Paint mare named Artemisia gives birth to a foal. The birth is successful, and her new brown-and-white tobiano colt is named Klee. Miles away in Pasadena, California, 11-year-old Maya is living a constrained life with her grandmother, Agnes Menetti, six years after her parents’ deaths. Her only connection to her mother, Ellie, is a box of old toy horses that she plays with in secret. When a new housekeeper, Morgana, discovers the toys, Maya lies to protect them, claiming that her parents died in a boating accident and that her grandmother has a phobia of horses.

During a tense dinner, Morgana betrays Maya, presenting the box of toys to her grandmother. Grandmother Menetti angrily refutes Maya’s story, revealing that Maya’s parents died in a car accident in Wyoming, a trip that she blames on Ellie’s “obsession with horses.” She orders Morgana to throw the toys in the trash, along with the only photo of Ellie. Determined to retrieve her toy horses, Maya sabotages Morgana by altering a paint order for the patio furniture from white to pink. In the ensuing chaos, her grandmother fires Morgana, and Maya takes advantage of the confusion to retrieve her cherished toys from the trash. Meanwhile, in the Wyoming wilderness, Artemisia and Klee rejoin their band, and Klee is accepted by Sargent, the stallion who sired him.

A few days later, after the arrival of a new housekeeper, Valentina, Grandmother Menetti becomes confused and agitated at the breakfast table, throws a plate against the wall, and collapses from a massive stroke. She is taken to the hospital, and her lawyer, Mr. Benedetto, informs Maya that she will not recover. He reveals a long-hidden truth from her parents’ will: Maya was supposed to spend summers with her mother’s family, the Limners, in Wyoming. For six years, Grandmother Menetti had lied to the Limners, preventing any contact. Now, Maya is to be sent to Wyoming to live with them permanently.

Maya arrives in Salt Lake City and is met by her maternal grandfather, Walter “Moose” Limner, a large, emotional man who weeps at her resemblance to Ellie. During the drive to the family ranch, Maya learns that she also has a great-uncle, Frederick “Fig” Limner, and a great-aunt, Violet “Vi” Limner. The ranch is a warm, welcoming place filled with photos of her mother on horseback and a painting of a black stallion by her father. Moose and Fig explain that Maya will spend the summer at a camp on the Sweetwater River with her Aunt Vi and her 10-year-old cousin, Payton. Maya attempts to lie about having altitude sickness in order to avoid going on the trip, but her subterfuge fails, as her family is determined to honor her parents’ wishes.

At the camp, Maya is captivated by the family’s group of horses, the remuda, and learns that she will ride a blue roan named Seltzer. She meets the energetic Aunt Vi and her cousin, Payton, who immediately plays a prank on her with firecrackers. To assert herself, Maya tells Payton elaborate lies about being an experienced rider and camper. That evening, Aunt Vi plays Ellie’s favorite song, “Down in the Valley,” on her guitar. The conflict between the cousins escalates when Payton, jealous of the attention that Maya is receiving, steals her toy horses and throws her most prized one into a thicket of willows. Seeking revenge, Maya unlatches the gate to the pen holding Wilson, Payton’s horse, hoping that Payton will be blamed for carelessness.

The next morning, Wilson is found with a severely injured leg; he had gotten caught in a badger hole. Payton is devastated. Maya confesses but frames her actions as an accident. Aunt Vi, disbelieving her, punishes both children by forcing them to do all their chores together in silence.

During a riding lesson, Aunt Vi pushes Maya to learn to lope. Maya resists with more lies, but suddenly, Seltzer is spooked by a rabbit and rears, causing Maya to fall. Aunt Vi confronts Maya, exposing her lies and revealing the truth about her parents’ deaths: Their car skidded in a rainstorm and hit a mountain. She forces Maya back on the horse.

Encouraged by Payton, Maya successfully lopes and feels a new sense of freedom. Afterward, Aunt Vi takes both children to the river for a “camp baptism,” where she reconciles with Maya. She tells her the story of Artemisia, the horse from her mother’s photo, who was trained by Vi but later lured back into the wild. Maya confesses that she unlatched the gate to free Wilson on purpose, and Aunt Vi forgives her.

Aunt Vi takes Maya and Payton to see the wild horses. Through binoculars, Maya sees the real Artemisia and Klee, but their viewing is cut short by a government helicopter conducting a roundup, and they watch in horror as Sargent’s band is captured. Artemisia and Klee are not among the captured horses, but Aunt Vi is deeply concerned for their safety without the band’s protection. After a major rainstorm, the family spends several weeks searching for the two horses but finds no trace. During the rainy days, Maya discovers old family photos and learns about the “Comanche Coil,” a rope that her mother used to ride Artemisia bareback.

One day, Aunt Vi takes Payton to a dentist, leaving Maya alone at camp. Maya finds her lost toy horse on her pillow, a gift from Payton. From a high ridge, she spots Artemisia alone across a gorge. Disobeying orders to stay put, Maya takes Seltzer and rides out to lure the mare back. She finds Artemisia in an aspen grove but discovers that Klee has been killed by a mountain lion. As she tries to lead Artemisia away, a massive earthquake strikes. When a landslide dams the river, Seltzer bolts, and Maya is thrown to the ground. She frees the trapped Artemisia just as the rising water reaches them. An aftershock sends Maya tumbling into a rock face, breaking her ankle, gashing her arm, and knocking her unconscious.

Maya awakens to find herself severely injured, but Artemisia has stayed with her. For a week, Maya survives on apples and horse feed; she manages to make a fire with a binocular lens and also catches a fish. However, her arm becomes badly infected. One night, the mountain lion returns, and Artemisia fights it off, protecting Maya and solidifying their bond. Realizing that she must get help, Maya fashions a Comanche Coil from her jacket and rope, manages to get onto Artemisia’s back, and begins the grueling journey home. They cross the swollen river and climb the unstable gorge, only to find the campsite destroyed by the flood. Despondent, Maya collapses in an empty corral. Hearing faint guitar music, she realizes that her family has relocated to an old campsite nearby and makes her way there to reunite with them. Relieved to be among her family, she calls Moose “Grandpa” for the first time.

After a hospital stay, Maya recovers at the ranch, and she is now very close with Payton. Artemisia is brought to the relocated camp, but every evening a wild stallion appears on a ridge, calling to her. Aunt Vi gives Artemisia to Maya but leaves the decision about the horse’s future to her. During a final ride, Maya experiences a moment of pure freedom while galloping. Understanding that Artemisia belongs in the wild, Maya removes her bridle and sets her free. Artemisia joins the stallion, and the two horses race away across the ridge, “painting the wind.”