Customer Reviews

Keeping Secrets (Timber Ridge Riders)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is what my 13-year-old daughter said about the first in this equine series by Maggie Dana: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I really loved the characters; you can imagine them in a real-life situation. The plot was really original and I have not read any book like this. Even though this book is all about horse riding and ponies, someone `non pony loving' will still not want to put this book down. This is the first book I've read by Maggie Dana, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Keeping Secrets is a quick, fun and engaging read that pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. The story could hold its own without the "horsey" aspect but it was refreshing that the equine side of things was accurate and believable, which is not always the case with books of this type. I'm looking forward to reading the next installation of the Timber Ridge Riders series.
-Amber Heintzberger
Award-winning co-author with Anna Ford of "Beyond the Track: From Racehorse to Riding Horse" (2008, Trafalgar Square Publishing)
Beyond the Track: Retraining the Thoroughbred from Racecourse to Riding Horse

"Keeping Secrets" is an engaging read for the young horse enthusiast. The story is compelling, face paced and has the requisite set of characters that younger readers love to root for and against. The main character is a girl with a secret, a girl who discovers through friendship that sharing a secret far more healing than hiding it. The realistic setting and descriptions of horse care and showing are welcome in a genre where authors often skimp on detail. For the horse loving young reader, this book will deliver both a terrific story and a good dose of "horse."

As a former "horse show mom", I can relate to the characters in this wonderful middle-grade/young adult book! The adolescent tendencies to out-do a competitor by hook or by crook shine through every page, compelling the reader to cheer for Kate and Holly as they maneuver through the landmines of jealousy and deceit at Timber Ridge. The author has a wonderful way with narrative and dialogue, one can almost "overhear" these girls whispering and plotting.

I strongly recommend this book, the first in the series of Timber Ridge Riders. I look forward to reading Maggie Dana's next adventure!

I was originally attracted to this book by the great cover, and the inside did not disappoint. Maggie Dana's engaging story-telling skills pull you immediately into the action, and introduce us to two very distinct but likeable characters: Kate - who is hiding a dark secret that keeps her from her one true passion - horses, and Holly, a fiesty new friend who has lost the use of her legs and is wheelchair bound, but whose spirit knows no boundaries.

Add a bit of mystery about a valuable dead horse, a barn filled with jumping and dressage mounts, a team mate who'll stop at nothing to win, and the thrill of competition and you get a story that horse-loving girls are going to be crazy about.

"Magician picked up speed. Kate tried to hold him back, but it was too late. The sun blinded her and she couldn't see the jump any more. How many more strides? Two? Three? Magician tucked in an extra one and took off too close.

They were going to knock it down.

Or crash into it.

Magician leaped straight up in the air and Kate had a mental picture of the poster in Holly's room, the one with the Lipizzaner doing a levade, its rider without stirrups.

Like her.

Magician's neck collided with Kate's nose. She closed her eyes.

We're not gonna make it!"

With heart-in-your-throat action, situations so real you can almost smell the alfalfa, and characters you really care about, this horse story is Highly Recommended!

Some of us might find this book familiar, because Timber Ridge Riders was once a series called Best Friends. This is the updated, rewritten version.

Kate is a roving teen looking for a job. Her mom is gone, and her dad has abandoned her for bugs, leaving her with an aunt who would rather not have this responsibility. Consequently, Kate goes forth and, with the courage and tenacity most of us lack in this economy, lands herself a job as companion for a wheelchair-bound teen named Holly. Kate moves in for the summer and thinks she has it made, right up until she realizes that horse stable they all live on? Yeah, that's going to be a big part of her life, and Kate would rather it not be.

Holly lives and breathes horses, which is not so great for Kate because it turns out Kate is traumatized from having accidentally killed her old barn's favorite horse: Black Magic. In order to get out of being near the horses Holly insists she be around every waking moment, Kate feigns horse phobia and is immediately mocked by the reigning antagonist, Angela. Angela has problems of her own, of course. Her mother is a show mom on steroids, and it's all she can do to get a couple of nice words out of the woman. Therefore, all will know Angela's wrath, and Kate is right in her path of fury.

Kate's internal struggle to come to terms with her past and her potential future at Timber Ridge is one that will keep readers glued to the book. She's likeable and realistic, while Holly is plucky and enthusiastic. Angela, of course, takes the cake in terms of antagonists. The horse scenes are knowledgeable without going overboard, and the book certainly tones down the sentiment that seems to run rampant in horse books to great benefit.

Keeping Secrets has reminded me that I really should scour Amazon for more independently published horse books. Kids with Kindles and a distinct love of horses will devour Keeping Secrets and search for more.

Like so many YA horse books, Keeping Secrets is about the friendships and rivalries that horsey girls make. Who were your truest friends and your most formidable enemies when you were growing up? Not the kids at school; they were just an annoyance you had to put with for the purpose of getting through lunch and those dreary group homework assignments. Life, and laughter, and all-out war, resided firmly at the barn.

The twists in Keeping Secrets are unique, though. Holly, the riding instructor's daughter, is wheelchair-bound. Kate, looking for a place to stay while her father is off chasing butterflies for science, has already sworn off horses. This isn't going to be The Saddle Club, then. These girls aren't going to bond over trail rides and campfires.

It turns out, you can bond over other things. Sometimes you just meet someone and you're destined to be best friends. Nervous, haunted Kate and witty, tough Holly are the perfect couple.

Fast-paced, clever, and impeccably accurate, "Keeping Secrets" had me glued to my computer. An absolute must-read whether you're thirteen or thirty (and can you guess which one I am?)

Full review at retiredracehorseblog.com!

Keeping Secrets by Maggie Dana is about a 14 year-old named Kate McGregor who is trying to avoid her past and her Aunt Marion by getting a summer job. Unfortunately that job means having to deal with her past instead of ignoring it.

If you know a girl aged 8-12 who is crazy about horses, this book is definitely for her. Kate has to deal with all the typical things girls this age face--bullies, truth and lies, trust, and emotional roller coasters. Even as an adult I found myself laughing and crying.

*Note: there is one language issue toward the end. Anyone sensitive to this may want to preview before handing it off.

From the first page of Keeping Secrets by Maggie Dana, Kate McGregor's dilemma draws the reader into a delicious tale of secrets, challenges, conflicts and mistaken understandings.
Fourteen years old and in need of a summer job, Kate answers an ad for a summer companion for a handicapped teen. Holly Chapman, headstrong and wheel-chair bound, was injured in an accident that killed her father. But she has dreams, and a gritty determination that both troubles and inspires Kate.
Liz Chapman, Holly's mother, is a riding instructor and offers Kate riding lessons as part of the deal but when Kate refuses using her `fear' of horses as an excuse, the first lie is cast and the intrigue behind her eyes begins to build. It is all the more complicated by Angela Dean, a spoiled and jealous rider who happens to overhear Kate's terrible secret when she confides in Holly and tells her what happened at a stable where she used to ride. It all comes to a head as pressure builds when Liz takes her riding team to the Hampshire Classic competition - and where Kate and Angela must face off in the most extraordinary way.
The characters in the story are rich and believable and Maggie Dana's skill weaves a tapestry of conflict and emotion played out against the backdrop of equestrian competition. From Kate's fears and sense of guilt to Holly's convictions of injustice to Angela's misguided judgement and jealousy, the story is driven in a roller-coaster of emotion that bounces off every page.
This is a horse story many teens and young readers will relate to on many levels, whether or not they ride. Keeping Secrets is a must-read book, the first in a series.
Reviewed by Margaret Evans, author of Heart of a Hoofbeat

I loved this book, and I plan to read the rest in the series. It's one of those rare books in which the characters stick with you long after you've finished the book. In fact, it's even inspired me to consider writing my own young adult horse series, an idea I've toyed with in the past.

I fell in love with the two main characters, Kate McGregor and Holly Chapman. Kate believes she is responsible for the death of a beloved horse. As a result, she cannot bear to be around horses. Holly survived a terrible accident in which her father was killed. She's been unable to walk since and is in a wheelchair. When Kate takes a summer job as Holly's companion, she never planned on the job including horses, but it does. Holly's mom is a riding instructor who is readying her team for a big competition. When one of the girls sustains an injury and can't ride, Kate finds herself taking her place. The villain of the story, Angela, pulls out all the stops to keep Kate from winning during the competition.

The ending left me wanting to read more about Holly and Kate. I immediately checked Amazon to see if the next book in the series was available. Sadly, it's not out yet.

This is a book about the healing love of horses and the developing friendship between two girls. If you have a pre-teen girl on your gift-buying list (or a horse lover who enjoys a trip back to her childhood), I strongly recommend Keeping Secrets.