The School of Life with Horses

 

I was familiar with Aryn Kyle as she was featured in “The Best Of American Short Stories 2007” I sometimes pick up those “Best of Books” as there can be some really good stuff in them. She wrote a short story called "Foaling Season" – which she used as a springboard for this book.

When I read "Foaling Season" I remember thinking that it was good – she was good. A little rough, but good. I thought that it was a tad over dramatic and fairly dark as the foaling season is usually an exciting and beautiful time at almost any farm. But I remember liking the story and thinking with some more practice she'd have it down and would out there with a bestseller.

Imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw that “bestseller” sitting on the book table at Costco a year and half later. But alas, my book budget is now about non-existent so I left Costco without the book. So a little while later when I won the book drawing it was one of the first books that sprang to my mind.

I have to say that it is as good of a read as I had hoped. The story is great, it just ropes you in and doesn’t let you go. The horse details, while good, were still a little over dramatic and erred on the dark side of things – but it went along with the main characters mood at that time so you have to take it all in context with the whole book.

She involved horses a great deal in the book and yet the book is not “about horses” it’s about a girl and her family who happen to be in the horse business. You do not have to be a “horse person” to enjoy this book at all. But I believe it is a true treat if you are a horse person doubly so if you have any experience in the show world.

It was nice and refreshing to read a book that actually had “horse showing” in it and did not give it the Disney or Saddle Club treatment. That did not treat horse showing as a thing for the rich only or as a tool to mend a broken heart, or save a horse, or whatever some starry-eyed authors have dreamed up in the past.

I grew to really like the characters in the book – they are portrayed not as good or bad, but as human. Capable of both good and evil. If you are looking for that good horse read for the summer, this is it right here, go online and pick it up if you haven’t already read it.


Just as I finished “The God of Animals” I was equally surprised to find another amazon box in the mail – but I tore it open before I took any pictures of it…. And found another book from Oregon Sunshine – called “Nights of Rain and Stars” which I have only just started to read… but I am sure I will enjoy it. It was a bonus book! THANK YOU! As I have mentioned, my meager book budget isn't allowing for new book purchases so a bonus book means I will have something to read this summer.



These two books are great reads for a younger audience (I'd say from 8 - 15 or so). As an adult I was impressed with her scene descriptions in both books – painting a living picture in your mind of the character’s setting.

The first one (Wild Horses) is the beginning of the Half Moon Ranch series so there is some explanation of the main character’s family in there that is missing the other one – so if you want to know more you can go back and read the first one. It centers around two friends who are leading a trail ride but one becomes stuck in a canyon with some wild horses – one of the horses is injured. Of course he is a stallion and of course the girl helps him gaining his trust in the process. It’s like the Black Stallion for girls. The book is a good read and although some things in the book are unrealistic such the dealings with the Wild Stallion – they are things we all wished we could do when we were younger and that’s what makes it a good book. You know if it took her years to tame a Wild Stallion it wouldn't be nearly as exciting.

The second book “Rodeo Rocky” is slightly different but again deals with a Wild Stallion – this book touches more on ranch life through the main character again the girl Kristie Scott. The details are great and the read moves along quickly, and there are no moments where you are bored. Again there is some questionable horse training – but again I think it’s what we’d all like to be able to do when we were younger so, and it is a fictional book after all, so it didn’t bother me that bad. And like I said before if it took years instead of weeks to tame and train a Wild Stallion - the may not be as interesting.

It’s about the lead character, Kristie Scott, who attends a local Rodeo and basically rescues a Wild Stallion by buying it and bringing it back to the ranch to train up to use in their “Dude String” and the adventures she has in the process.

I really enjoyed both of these books and am sending them to my friend Cheyenne (14) for a review. I will let you know what she thought about them too. I know several of my horsey friends who have a hard time finding “good horse books” for their kids to read and I have no problem recommending these. There is no underlying political message that is trying to be conveyed here – it just good stories about kids and horses. The kind they can go reenact outside while they play “horses” – the kind that makes them actually like reading.


I would also like to add a good note for this book "Some Horses by Thomas McGuane". Although it centers around Cutting and Reining and Cow Horses a lot – it was a good read. It is a collection of essays about Tom’s journey through the equine world, the different horses he’s had and what they mean to him and what horses mean to humans in general.

There is no mystery – but in a way it is a love story. Again Great Summer reading take it to the beach or lake with you. Tom has a way with words that make his writing seem almost like poetry at times – for all of you out there in Blogger world who are writers – I highly recommend reading this little book. I found myself highlighting whole sections of his writing.