Book Review 44: Margret and Flynn by Kathleen Duey

This is part of the Hoofbeats series, which I think we had one of as a possibility for last year's Mark Twain, but didn't make it. It takes place in 1875. The main character is of course Margret, and she and her sister Libby are orphans. They are living with Mrs. Frederickson, an elderly widow who lives in a sod house in Littleton, Colorado. Margret and her sister don't stay in one place long. As soon as Libby sees things changing for the worse, or else if she sees Margret getting too attached to the family, she'll pack them up and leave in the middle of the night with no word to the people they've been with. Margret likes this latest place though. She gets to take care of the horses, and Mrs. Frederickson is really nice. A tornado comes and all of a sudden there's an extra horse, a very fancy looking horse. Margret names it Flynn, and after riding it, falls in love, and even gets to meet some neighbors when she goes to share their milk with neighbors who have chickens for them to take.

The story is about Margret finally wanting to settle, not sure how to convince her sister, and also wanting to keep Flynn, who she knows must belong to someone else. It all culminates in a race, that Margret wants to win to get the money to buy Flynn.

This story goes back to the stereotypical girl loves horses, horses are wonderful creatures. Not a bad thing, but still kind of nothing out of the order.

Next up is another Mike Lupica book. I know from the one I read for the Truman list that he is a good writer, but also very technical in his "baseball speak". So we'll see how it goes!

Book Review 43: The Truth About Horses, Friends, & My Life as a Coward by Sarah P. Gibson

Long title on this book. Cute book. I was wondering why in the world there would be two "horse" stories on the list. Yeah, I know girls love horses and most dream of having their own pony as they grow up, I did. But what I loved about this book is that it didn't make horses out to be wonderful, perfect creatures. The mom decides to get a horse for her daughters, and it's name is Really. They soon figure out that is short for Really Mean. It bites. Then they get another horse, this one is perfect to ride in the ring. But the minute they take it out, it ends up running and knocking the girls off by running under trees. They finally get a really huge horse, which ends up as not the smartest of the bunch, but the gentlest. Our main character is Sophie, so not only is she dealing with this crazy bunch of horses, but she also has 2 friends she likes, but at first the 2 don't get along with each other. And, Sophie is afraid to do anything with the horses unless she has to, or her friend kind of wants her to do it, so she doesn't want to seem like a chicken.

The whole story is just so funny, I think it is a good choice for the next year's nominee list.

Next on the list is Margret and Flynn by Kathleen Duey, another horse story.