Will's Race for Home

Will’s Race for Home: A Western (2025) is a work of historical fiction for young readers by Jewell Parker Rhodes, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author known for books that explore African American history and social justice. The novel follows 12-year-old Will Samuels and his father, George, who leave their harsh life as sharecroppers in Texas to participate in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. On their perilous journey north, they confront dangerous outlaws, treacherous terrain, and the lingering prejudices of the post–Civil War era in their quest for land and freedom. The book explores themes including The Journey From Boyhood to Manhood, The Pursuit of True Freedom Through Land Ownership, and The Psychological Cost of Violence. Will’s Race for Home reclaims the traditionally white-centric American Western genre by centering a Black family’s experience during the real historical migration of thousands of African Americans who journeyed west after Reconstruction to escape racial violence and establish all-Black towns. By engaging with Western tropes while focusing on a Black perspective, Rhodes offers a narrative of resilience, family, and hope.

This guide is based on the 2025 Little, Brown and Company first edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include discussion of racism, graphic violence, animal death, and illness or death.

Plot Summary

In 1888 Texas, 12-year-old Will Samuels lives the difficult life of a sharecropper’s son. His father, George, is a distant and perpetually dissatisfied man, haunted by the past. Will’s family includes his kind mother, Anna, his grandfather, Ezekiel, and his closest companion, a gray mule named Belle. The family lives in poverty, and George argues that sharecropping is little better than slavery.

In December, George brings home a flyer for the Oklahoma Land Rush of April 22, 1889. The family is stunned to discover that Anna has secretly taught Will to read, as he reads the announcement aloud. They decide that George and Will will make the journey of over 400 miles to claim a 160-acre homestead. The family forgoes Christmas to prepare, and George buys a large quantity of bullets, telling Will to keep it a secret from his mother.

George and Will set out in the new year. The journey is initially lonely for Will, but his father begins to open up and talk more as they travel further. When Will kills a rattlesnake to save Belle, George is terrified, embracing his son, who is surprised by the depth of his father’s love. Afterward, George opens up further, telling Will about the hardships of leaving the plantation and losing his best friend to cholera.

In a chaotic boomtown filled with land rushers, Will is attacked by three thieves who try to rob their wagon while George buys supplies. A mysterious Black gunman named Caesar, riding a horse called Midnight, intervenes and forces the men to return the stolen goods. A tense, silent confrontation follows between Caesar and an ex-Confederate soldier called John. Caesar, a former Union sergeant, agrees to travel with George and Will.

Caesar and George form a strong bond, and Caesar becomes a mentor to Will. He decides to join them in the land rush and gives Will a harmonica. As they near the Red River, Caesar senses they are being followed. In the last town before the crossing, the same thieves from the boomtown attack Caesar. George and a poor white veteran help fight them off. The town’s ex-Confederate sheriff sides with the attackers, and Will sees him colluding with John. The sheriff orders George’s party to leave town.

Believing he is a danger to the family, Caesar leaves camp before dawn to confront John alone. Will follows him into town and witnesses an ambush. He screams a warning, but Caesar is shot. Will shields Caesar’s body with his own, preventing John from finishing him off. The town doctor helps Will get the unconscious Caesar onto Midnight and back to camp, where George performs a crude surgery to remove the bullet. Afterward, George reveals his and Ezekiel’s secret: Years ago, they were attacked by an overseer who accidentally shot himself. Though they tried to save him, the man died, leaving them with a heavy burden.

After four days, with Caesar recovering in the wagon, the trio reaches the Red River, a scene of carnage from other failed crossings. During their own attempt, Belle and the wagon get stuck in quicksand. Will dives into the treacherous water and places a wooden plank beneath Belle’s hooves, giving her the footing needed to pull the wagon free.

Now in Oklahoma Territory, they are behind schedule. Belle is too exhausted to reach the land rush starting line by noon on April 22. Will volunteers to ride Midnight the rest of the way alone. George and Caesar reluctantly agree it is their only chance and give Will Caesar’s revolver for protection. Will rides through the night, pushing through exhaustion, and arrives at the starting line just in time. When the race begins, he guides Midnight through the dangerous crush of wagons and riders, breaking free from the pack.

Will finds an ideal 160-acre plot and spends hours staking the boundaries. The next day, three men, led by a gunslinger named Bill posing as a farmer, arrive and try to intimidate Will into abandoning the claim with a fake document. Because he can read, Will knows they are lying. He grabs Caesar’s gun and confronts them. In a tense standoff, Will channels Caesar’s confidence, threatening to kill them to defend his family’s land. Impressed by his resolve, Bill leaves.

George and Caesar arrive, and George is overjoyed with the land. Caesar, however, notices a change in Will. While George is away arranging for Anna and Ezekiel to join them, Will confronts Caesar, knowing he intends to leave. Will confesses what happened with the gunslinger, admitting he was prepared to kill. They discuss the burdens of violence and freedom, and Caesar leaves, continuing west to find peace. By Christmas, the family is established in a cabin after a successful harvest. George is happy but misses Caesar. During dinner, Will asserts his own dream: to raise horses. Recognizing Will’s newfound maturity, George agrees. Will reflects on his journey, his friendship with Belle, and his transformation into a “far-thinking man” (190) with his own adventures ahead.