Keeping Secrets

Author: Maggie Dana

Genre: Tween

My rating on a 1 – 10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Time Period: Modern

Main Characters: Kate, Holly, Angela

My Review:  Kate Macgregor feels responsible for the death of a beautiful sports horse.  When her new job includes horses, she panics.  She doesn’t want anyone to know her secret but she confides to her best friend, Holly, who was disabled in a driving accident.  When Angela finds out, what will Kate do?  

My Overall Opinion:  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It has twists and turns and surprises throughout.  I would highly recommend this to horse crazy girls, or anyone who likes a fast paced story with a good plot.

 

Black Cloud

Author:  Patricia Hermes

Genre:  Tween fiction

My rating on a 1-10 scale:  10

Type:  Fiction

Time Period:  1950′s

Main Characters:  Black Cloud (horse), Annie

My Review:  Told first person from the horse’s point of view, this book chronicles the life of a mustang, Black Cloud, from his birth and growth.  Frolicking with other colts and fillies his age, facing the herd bully, and becoming as tough as possible are only some of the activities he enjoys.  But when a strange, silvery bird (an airplane) from the sky chases them into a box canyon, trapping them, will Black Cloud find a good home?  Or will he be killed?

My overall opinion:  This book clearly details the terrible things that were done to mustangs in the mid-1900′s.  We are introduced to Wild-Horse Annie, as a child.  I think this book is a very good read.  Includes an appendix about the mustang breed and Wild-Horse Annie at the back.

Race to the Rescue

Race to the Rescue is the exciting last book in the Saddle Island Trilogy.  When Kelsie is given a beautiful Thoroughbred rescue, she becomes suspicious.  The people who gave Diamond to her didn’t seem right.  When Kelsie and her friend Jen discover a smuggling ring, will they be able to save themselves and Diamond in time?

Great News!

Today I ordered the three Horse Diaries I didn’t have – Golden Sun, Risky Chance, and Black Cloud.  I also threw in an extra copy of Elska for my cousin.  Black Cloud isn’t even printed though, so I’ll have to wait ’til Jan. 10, ’12 to get it.  For sure I’ll write reviews of them when they come!  Have a great day!

While you’re at it, check out the illustrator’s blog – Horse Diaries.

Two New Horse Diaries!!!!!

And

Yes!  I got two more from Chapters.  Number 1 and 4.  Now I have 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.  I would really like to get number 5 too.  We’ll see.  I’ve read both of them already, and I’ll give you a mini review of each.

Elska is about an Icelandic horse growing up in A.D. 1000.  She spends her time romping in the fields or carrying her favourite human, Amma, on her back.  When a powerful Viking chieftain notices her good looks and swift pace, he asks Amma’s father to give her to him.  Not daring to refuse, he complies.  Amma is heartbroken.  Will Elska ever make it back to her true home?  Read this 5 star book to find out.

Maestoso Petra is one of the famed Lippizaner horses.  He perfects his ‘airs above the ground’ while making friends with Liesel, a girl who loves horses.  When World War II breaks out, he must fight to survive, while taking care of Leisel.  Will Petra ever perform again at the Spanish Riding School? You’ve GOT to read this book.

So there you are.  I went searching and found the illustrator’s blog.  You should check it out.  GTG!

Horse Diaries #2 Bell’s Star

In this book, Star (also known as Bell’s Star) is a trusty Morgan horse with a friendly personality.  As Star pulls plows and clears on land on the farm in Vermont, he wonders what it would be like to be free.  When he and his human friend, Katie, find a runaway slave girl, Eliza, he wonders even more what freedom means.  With slave hunters and the sherif searching for Eliza, Katie becomes nervous and is forced to make a choice between the horse she loves and helping Eliza.  Will Star ever find true freedom?  Will Eliza make it to safety?

Check out Yatimah’s story here.

The Horse Diaries

I went to Chapters today and bought two books.  They are both in the same series – The Horse Diaries.  I haven’t had time to read them yet, but they promise to be an interesting read!  They are stories about different breeds of horses told from their viewpoint, first person.  Watch for a post about these two books:

The Hoofbeats Series

Book 1 is about a young girl named Katie.  She is an orphan and was taken in by a woman and her husband, the Stevenses.  One day Mr. Stevens brings home a wild, honey-colored mustang.  Katie gradually makes friends with the wild stallion.  When a man comes to the farm bringing news of land in Oregon, Mr. Stevens in very interested but his wife hates the idea.  He decides they will go, but he will send Katie to an orphanage and sell the Mustang.  Learning of this plan, Katie and the Mustang run away with the hired man intent on reaching Oregon.

In book two, Katie and Hiram (the hired man) buy a pair of oxen and a wagon.  Traveling on they meet up with a wagon train and decide to stay with them.  As always, Katie and the Mustang are inseparable.  They seem to have realized their dreams about Oregon when Annie, the girl Hiram loves, is injured in a storm.  Hiram chooses to stay with her, and Katie makes the hard decision of travelling on with the wagon train.

Book 3 starts off as Katie and the family she has chosen to stay with press toward Oregon.  Large rivers, dry deserts, and broken wagons are only some of the dangers they must face on the way.  Then the wagon train meets up with some travelling actors.  They have some horses incorporated in their act, and Katie is curious.  The only woman in the group starts teaching Katie to do riding tricks.  Later, when Katie is threatened by a rattlesnake, the Mustang saves her life by killing the rattlesnake with his hooves.  Oregon is almost in sight!

The last book in the series tells how they finally reach Oregon.  I don’t want to say too much because it will spoil the ending, but just let me tell you that you will be surprised.