A Horse to Remember [Perfect Paperback]

Juliana Hutchings (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

After her family relocates to the small country town of Lewisberg, Tennessee, Hilary Thompson, who has lived and thrived in the city the entire thirteen years of her life, feels as if her world has stopped turning. When she begins working at the local stables owned by Susan Collins, she meets Satan, a wild mustang stallion who belongs to Susan s rebellious son, Jeremy. Satan seems as lonely and out-of-place in his new surroundings as Hilary is in hers. When Jeremy fails to tame Satan, and his mother threatens to sell the horse, Hilary resolves to tame him. But can a girl who knows nothing about horses gain the trust of an aggressive mustang? And will she be able to keep her efforts a secret? Encouraged by a new friendship and suffering the aggravation of a new rival, Hilary spends increasingly more time with the stallion. As her affection for the mustang grows, she learns about horses, people, and the greatest lesson of all, unconditional love.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–Thirteen-year-old Hilary has been uprooted by her parents' move from the city, where she spent her time at the mall and on the phone, to Tennessee. She takes a job at the horse farm next door and meets an intractable mustang. She starts training him, keeping her activities a secret because Satan is not hers. Her foil is the beautiful but stuck-up Elise, who shares her interest in Jeremy, the son of the farm's owner. As Hilary is beginning to gain skill and confidence, Jeremy discovers what she is doing. Since he cannot manage the stallion, he blackmails the teen into helping him. When he is hurt by the horse in a fall, Jeremy admits to his mother that Hilary is the one who's been training the horse all along. She is asked to ride Satan in a championship, which she wins, besting her nemesis. This book was written when its equestrienne author was just 14, which might account for the almost complete disregard for reality and safety issues shown throughout. The characters also engage in blackmail, lying, and other unethical behaviors that are never questioned. Although the author shows promise, Lauren Brooke's Heartland series (Scholastic) and Joanna Campbell's Thoroughbred books (HarperCollins) are better choices.–Ann Robinson, Moultonborough Academy Library, NH
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Review

After the first chapter, I couldn not put it down. I was changed by this book. The final moments reminded me of how precious our pets are, and that we should cherish every moment with them. --Claire Hill, riding student, age 12

An amazing heartwarming book, A horse to Remember tells of the bond between horse and rider that few imagine, let alone describe in such a real, vivid way. --Djeane Peters, age 14, Grassrange, Montana

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Perfect Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Raven Publishing of Montana (February 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977252515
• ISBN-13: 978-0977252510
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Juliana Hutchings has had horses all her life and her wonderful experiences as a rider, trainer, and instructor, inspired her to write her first novel, A Horse to Remember, at age fourteen. Raised in Landenberg, Pa., Hutchings fell in love with horses at a young age and has competed through two star level in eventing. She is currently studying at the University of South Carolina where she hopes to graduate with a BA in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications in May 2012. Please visit Juli's sites:

http://www.wix.com/julihutchings/Juliana-Hutchings-Author-Site

http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Horse-to-Remember-by-Juliana-Hutchings/125134940865674

http://www.ravenpublishing.net

My horse to remember: http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=7f0642c67274e93088a8ed&skin_id=601&utm_source=PostFacebook&utm_medium=Share&utm_content=PostFacebook&utm_campaign=PostFacebook&origin=facebook

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite Unrealistic, February 22, 2009

By 

writer/rider - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Horse to Remember (Perfect Paperback)

This book certainly had the potential to be great.But in the end it was very unrealistic, quite possibly a simple case of a writer just being too young.
Just a small thing I want to point out is the part in the book where Jeremy and Elise go off riding and the very moment they mount they start cantering, these are supposed to be experienced and knowledgeable riders, they should know that you never start cantering immediatly.
Also, Satan, since he is a mustang from the BLM, would have been gelded for safety reasons. All male horses captured by the BLM are gelded unless they are planning to have them re-released in the wild.
Then there was Jeremy's horse Splash. Jeremy said he couldn't jump for his life because he was a 16 year old Quarter Horse. I for one know quite a few horses with Quarter Horse blood who are good or even excellent jumpers. I also know plenty of horses 16 and older who jump just as well as younger horses.
For Hilary's first show, Susan had told her that she was ready to do a walk-trot-canter class, which I found very unrealistic. She'd only been riding a few months, it was foolish of Susan to advise her to enter a class that she obviously was not ready for. More unrealistic still, at the end of the summer, Hilary was jumping 3 foot 6 plus on Satan none the less and going to this huge competition. Impossible for many reasons. For example, most riding instructors do not allow their students to jump at all until they have been riding at least a year. Hilary just wouldn't have the skills and know-how to jump even a couple feet when she hadn't even been riding 6 months.
This book had its flaws, but was overall decent and could have been great. Even though it was a bit disappointing, I think Juliana Hutchings has a bright future as a writer. Hope to see more from her in the future.
P.S. I didn't like Jeremy at all, he acted like a jerk.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Determination, Persistence and a Dream, April 13, 2007

By 

Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Horse to Remember (Perfect Paperback)

After a recent move to rural Tennessee, Hilary Thompson took a summer job at the Millbrooke Stables, adjacent to her new family home. A wild mustang stallion, Satan, had just arrived at the stables for training. Recognizing his loneliness and need for friendship, Hilary established a trust with Satan and worked to tame and train him for competition in jumping events.

This is a story of a bonding between animal and human. It is a heartwarming story of earning trust and finding friendship. Juliana Hutchings writes with maturity and insight. She has an amazing ability to use dialog to draw the reader into identifying with the emotions and feelings of her characters.

Photo silhouettes created by Isabelle Hutchings convey a feeling of warmth, trust, and devotion and bring the narrative to life.

This is a book that every young reader and rider will enjoy. Juliana communicates her own lifetime of experience and love for horses as she carefully takes the reader through the various steps of training, for both rider and horse. She includes a very helpful glossary of horse terms.

"A Horse to Remember" gives promise of more to come from this young gifted author. This is an amazingly well written first novel. I highly recommend it for pre-teens, teens, and the young adult reader.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!, January 27, 2011

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Horse to Remember (Kindle Edition)

this is a great book! its something that all horse lovers can really relate to, that first love and what it feels like when you gain their trust! by far the best horse book i have ever read and trust me, i've read a lot!