Lucky Lady [Hardcover]

Susan Saunders (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Jamie Cooper is less than thrilled to be spending the summer on her estranged grandfather's Texas ranch. The place is deadly quiet, the refrigerator is empty, and the heat is almost unbearable. Impulsively, she spends her entire summer budget on a beautiful but dangerous horse that's otherwise destined to be destroyed. Her grandad is angry at her for buying an outlaw filly and refuses to help tame Lucky Lady. Then a frightening turn of events shows Jamie that there is more to her grandfather--and Lucky Lady--than she ever imagined. This heroic horse story pulses with realistic detail and page-turning power.Jamie Cooper is less than thrilled to be shipped off to Texas while her mother takes a writing assignment in southeast Asia.At least she will enjoy riding horses on her grandfather's ranch. She arrives in Wilcox only to discover that her grandad has sold off his cattle and leased his land to another rancher. The only horse left on the property is tired old Samson. To top it all off, Jamie's grandfather has little to say---to Jamie or anyone else.

It seems like it is going to be a very quiet summer, until Jamie and her new friend, Arnoldo, attend Wilcox's weekly cattle and horse auction. In an instant, Jamie has paid out her entire summer's spending money to save a beautiful---and very wild---pony that no one else wants. Jamie's grandad is furious at her for bringing home a bucking bronco. Jamie vows to train her new Lucky Lady before summer's end. But can she do it without her grandfather's help? And will her grandfather give his help if Jamie dares to ask for it?

Dynamic writer and life-long horse-woman, Susan Saunders delivers a powerful story about love, loss, determination, and the wild streak in us all.Jamie Cooper is less than thrilled to be shipped off to Texas while her mother takes a writing assignment in southeast Asia. At least she will enjoy riding horses on her grandfather's ranch. She arrives in Wilcox only to discover that her grandad has sold off his cattle and leased his land to another rancher. The only horse left on the property is tired old Samson. To top it all off, Jamie's grandfather has little to say---to Jamie or anyone else.

It seems like it is going to be a very quiet summer, until Jamie and her new friend, Arnoldo, attend Wilcox's weekly cattle and horse auction. In an instant, Jamie has paid out her entire summer's spending money to save a beautiful---and very wild---pony that no one else wants. Jamie's grandad is furious at her for bringing home a bucking bronco. Jamie vows to train her new Lucky Lady before summer's end. But can she do it without her grandfather's help? And will her grandfather give his help if Jamie dares to ask for it?

Dynamic writer and life-long horse-woman, Susan Saunders delivers a powerful story about love, loss, determination, and the wild streak in us all.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Jamie, 12, is sent to spend the summer at her grandfather's ranch in Texas while her mother is off on a writing assignment in Southeast Asia. The girl has not seen her grandfather in four years and is shocked to see how frail and depressed he seems to be and how run down the ranch has become. It appears that the summer is not going to be much fun. Then, Arnoldo, a young neighbor, takes her to a local auction and that fateful trip changes everything after Jamie bids all of her summer money on and ends up owning a young horse with a bad reputation. Although she is determined to save the mare, she has very little experience training horses. Fortunately, she discovers that her grandfather has a horse whisperer's way, and Lucky Lady brings the two of them closer together. There is added excitement when a dangerous range fire almost traps Jamie, her friend, and their horses. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, this is an upbeat, fast read with appealing characters that fans of contemporary girl/horse stories will enjoy.
Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When 12-year-old Jamie arrives from her East Coast home to spend the summer with her grandfather, she finds his ranch in a desolate state: the house shows neglect, there is no food, the corrals are empty, and Grandpa has resigned himself to an old age of uselessness. But with one impetuous bid at a horse auction, Jamie changes everything: she buys a beautiful but dangerously wild buckskin filly. Dubbed Lucky Lady, the horse fulfills the promise of its name by saving Jamie from a rattlesnake, drawing her away from her self-centered concerns, and rekindling her grandfather's interest in life. Moving quickly from one dramatic episode to another, the adventure builds to a crisis that finds Jamie and Lucky Lady trapped in a brush fire. Saunders has drawn from her childhood on a Texas ranch to create an authentic backdrop for this tale, which is not only entertaining and exciting but also speaks of responsibility, intergenerational communication, and caring for others--be they human or animal. Ellen Mandel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380977842
• ISBN-13: 978-0380977840
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,350,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lucky Lady, March 18, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Lucky Lady (Hardcover)

Lucky Lady is a great book. I realy enjoyed it! This is a great book for anyone that likes stories about horses and who likes an interesting book. A young girl named Jamie gets more than she expected for the summer. First she has to stay with her grandad which she hasn't seen in over four years and she has to live with him the whole summer. Her mother gives her two hudred dollars and she ends up spending it on a wild horse she got from an auction. Now her grandad and herself have to take care of the horse and they try to make it tame. This is a great book! I really enjoyed the book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than one lucky lady, July 22, 2000

By 

Marie Summers (Alta Loma, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lucky Lady (Hardcover)

While her widowed mother works abroad, twelve-year-old Jamie must leave her Maine home to spend the summer at her grandfather's ranch. She impulsively buys a unbroken horse at an auction. Jamie copes with change and adversity as this exciting adventure unfolds.

Two weeks may not seem like a very long time, but the lives of three generations are changed in this satisfying tale.

This is written by the author of the popular "Sleepover Friends" series and would be enjoyable for fans in upper elementary grades and junior high. Readers interested in Texas, ranching, grandfathers or horses should like it as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucky Lady, February 14, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Lucky Lady (Paperback)

In Lucky Lady a girl named Jamie who lives in the city goes to her grandfather's ranch in Texas for the summer. While there she makes a friend, and gets a tour of the small town close to her grandfather's ranch. On the tour her friend takes her to an action. At the action she sees this beautiful horse that gets spooked and goes wild. When nobody bids she gets worried and buys the horse with all of her summer money. When she gets back to her grandfather's ranch her grandfather gets really made at her. You will have to read the book to find out what happens to Jamie, the horse, and her grandfather.
I enjoyed in Lucky Lady because Jamie never gives up on her horse Lucky Lady. Although her grandfather and people in town tell her to take the horse back and auction and try to make some money off of it. I liked the book a lot and do not think that there was a confusing part in it. The book affected me personally because I can't imagine living without my dad and having my mom travel to another country because of her job. It also affected me personally because I go to my grandfather's a lot during the summer and help him a lot inside and outside of the house.
I would recommend this book to people who like horses to read this book. I would also say that it is for children ages 9 - 12.