Chasing Blue (Canterwood Crest #2) [Paperback]

Jessica Burkhart (Author)

Book Description

In Chasing Blue, Sasha and her horse, Charm, have proven that they’re worthy competitors for the elite Canterwood Crest equestrian team. Things are definitely looking up . . . until Sasha finds out who her riding partner for the semester is: her archnemesis, Queen Bee Heather. Not. Good. And when Heather starts spending a little too much QT with Sasha’s almost-boyfriend, Jacob, the partnership is put to the ultimate test. The tension builds in Behind the Bit when Sasha and her team are accepted to a prestigious horse clinic. Can Sasha and Callie work together when it counts?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Twenty-two year old Jessica Burkhart is a former equestrian turned author. When she’s not writing books, she freelances for magazines such as Girls’ Life and The Writer. She loves volunteering with Shriners Hospital for Children where she had her own spinal fusion. Visit her website at jessicaburkhart.com for blog entries, “Diary of a Debut Author” vlogs, and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin; Original edition (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141695841X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416958413
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Horses > Fiction

More About the Author

Hi! I'm Jessica Burkhart (Jess) and I write from Brooklyn, NY. I love that I can walk next door and get writer fuel aka Diet Coke and Oreos. :) I was born in 1987 in Nashville, TN and graduated from Florida State University in 2009.

I wrote my first middle-grade novel, TAKE THE REINS, in college and sold it just before graduation at nineteen as part of a four-book deal to Simon & Schuster.

I heart: anything sparkly, unicorns, my bestie and Canterwood editor, Kate Angelella, pink, my friends, pens, horses, lip gloss and books!

I used to be an equestrian before I became a writer. I had to stop due to scoliosis. I had a spinal fusion at Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis in 2000.

My BFF and I co-own Violet & Ruby Productions--a company that will soon be producing e-books and e-novellas. We can't wait to release our first e-novella soon! Visit us at http://www.violetandrubyproductions.com.

I also pen (no projects pubbed yet) YA under my real name, Jess Ashley. Currently, I'm working on KEPT, a YA verse novel. http://www.authorjessashley.com.

I blog a lot, so you'll find the most up to date info there: http://jessicaburkhart.blogspot.com. I also Tweet @jessicaburkhart.

For all things Canterwood related, check out http://www.canterwoodcrest.com.

Oh, yeah! I can autograph Kindle versions of Canterwood books via the Internet here: http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/JessicaBurkhart. It's free and really easy! :)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than Take the Reins!!, March 22, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chasing Blue (Canterwood Crest #2) (Paperback)

I read Chasing Blue in a couple of hours. I couldn't stop reading! There is MAJOR drama from the first page and the entire pace of the book is super fast. There's a great balance of horse scenes and boy/girl stuff. I loved the addition of new characters and just loved this book so much.

The ending...OMG. I need Behind the Bit right now, LOL. At least there was a chapter of Behind the Bit in the back of Chasing Blue. That was cool.

Definitely better than The Saddle Club. And I've read all of those.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chasing Blue - A Whitebrook Farm Blog Review, March 22, 2009

By 

Mara E. (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Blue (Canterwood Crest #2) (Paperback)

I have really high hopes for this series, even more so now that I've read the second installment, because it has definitely delivered. Heather and Sasha are teammates at Canterwood Crest, but they're also social rivals. Mainly, they just don't get along. So when it's announced that Canterwood is going to compete in this regional show, and Heather and Sasha are forced to partner up for practice, they're forced to face honesty. This shouldn't be that big of a deal, but we're talking about a horse book here. Honesty in most horse books is horrible. So when the girls in the advanced team at Canterwood Crest are told to grade each other on a jumping exercise, and Heather is the one person who is brutally honest, and Sasha is forced to agree with her even about her own (not a perfect ten, I'll say that right now) riding...I didn't know what to do except blink at the page.

This portion of the book I loved, to be honest. Now let's talk about the boys. A big secondary plotline of this book is a Valentine's Day dance that inevitably becomes the scene for the book's climax. Sasha is still in pre-teen love with Jacob, but Jacob keeps hanging out with Heather for seemingly no reason, rocking Sasha's tween love life to the core. Then there's this other guy, Eric, who likes Sasha and is creating tension between Sasha and her friend, Callie, who also likes Eric. It is definitely a seventh grade soap opera. Granted, it's been a long time since I was twelve, so I can't begin to judge what is going on here, but know that things don't exactly come out in Sasha's favor by the end of the book.

Chasing Blue ends by giving Sasha some things to fix in the next book. Relationships will be tested, friendships have to be mended, and basically I always respect any middle grade horse book that doesn't try to tack on a happy ending in the last chapter of an angst-filled drama fest. Chasing Blue refreshes the old nice girl vs. mean girl routine and gives you more to look forward to in the series. Wonderful horse book -- definitely not to be missed by any equine obsessed girl.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!, June 21, 2009

By 

R. Wozniak "ridingirl4" (Austin, Tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing Blue (Canterwood Crest #2) (Paperback)

These are the best horse-girl-drama series in the world! I promise you will love them! I highly recommend them to any horse-lover or not! These are the best!