Starlight's Courage (Starlight Books, 2) [Paperback]

Janet Muirhead Hill (Author), Pat Lehmkuhl (Illustrator)

Book Description

The second title in the award-winning Starlight Series is a gripping adventure that will hold your attention from beginning to end. You will know and love, or hate, the characters in the book and thrill along with them in their many adventures. Miranda is an earnest, spunky girl, in love with a horse. Her best friend Laurie is loyal and honest. Burly and big-hearted Christopher is the only one of the three to own a horse, which he shares with his friends as they vie against classmates in the stiff competition of a horse show.

Faced with the challenge of nursing a badly injured black stallion, Starlight, back to health, Miranda further shapes her own values, capabilities, loyalty, and courage. Living on a Montana dairy farm with her grandparents while her mother seeks her fortune in L.A., Miranda has found that the students in the small rural school have little tolerance for newcomers. In this fast-paced volume, she must deal with mean-spirited classmates, adults who don't understand her, and a psychotic villian who seeks revenge by attacking the horse she loves.

An exciting shift to the big screen will take place in the coming few years,in that an independant feature film is currently being developed, based upon parts of "Miranda and Starlight" and "Starlight's Courage."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Miranda returns...in this second adventure...the plot revolves around issues pertinent to horse-lovers of all ages..." -- Lauren Gianninni, In and Around Horse Country Magazine, October 2002 Edition

"...a rare novel...the plotting exerts sure grip...creates an exquisitely complete picture of a girl's coming of age." -- The Book Reader, America's Most Independent Review of New Titles, October 2002 issue

"...successfully invites the reader to become a part of the story. It's as if you are really there..." -- Carolyn A. Garber, President, Carroll County (Maryland) Equestrian Council

"Great contemporary horse stories are hard to find...Outstanding for it's forceful plot and characters whom you will love!" -- Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.com reviewer

"My 12 year old granddaughter loved Miranda and Starlight. Please send Starlight's Courage!" -- Mrs. Charles Jack

"Pre-teen girls with equine leanings will certainly enjoy this, Hill's rousing sequel...great standalone read, suitable for group discussion..." -- Thebooxreview.com/featuredchildrensreviews.htm, December 2002

"Rare novel of upheavals in a young girl's life, capturing essence of American knowhow. Plotting exerts a sure grip." -- The Book Reader

Janet Hill writes a rare novel of the upheavals in a young girl's life, capturing the essence of American knowhow. -- The Book Reader, Fall/Winter 2002-2003

This book successfully invites the reader to become part of the experiences described throughout the book. A real page turner." -- Carolyn A. Garber, President, Carroll County, Maryland Equestrian Council, September 27, 2002

This book successfully invites the reader to witness the variety of experiences described throughout the book. A real page turner." -- Carolyn A. Garber, President, Carroll County, Maryland Equestrian Council

From the Publisher

Best Books 2004 Awarded to the Starlight Series ~Author captures hearts of America’s youth, relating to today’s real-life moral dilemmas: heartache, triumph, losses and joy combine to illustrate that through perseverance one can make dreams come true.

Growing up in America today is not easy. Children face life-changing issues and are required to adjust to constant changes. Single and displaced parenting. New marriages. New families. Adoption. Peer-pressure. Teenage angst. Racism. Heartache. Triumph. Loss. Joy. Love. Suspense for what life will bring them. The desire to persevere to see their own dreams come true. Weaving it’s story into this fabric of daily life comes the highly acclaimed Starlight Series that young teens and those that care about them directly relate to and identify with. Proclaimed by readers of all ages as stories they cannot put down, these books have a positive impact, cultivating a love for reading and instilling important ideals.

Although set in the world of horse lore, Miranda and Starlight, the first of the series, was touted by Writer’s Notes Awards panelists as "more than a mere horse story. It is a journey of courage and consequences." The reviewer added, "My own children will read this story." Starlight Shines for Miranda, which is book five of the series, was honoured with Best Books 2004 for Young Adults award, by USA Book News, to the delight of our young readers.

Miranda Stevens, age ten in the first book, encounters a number of adventures, quandaries and conflicts, most brought on by her impulsive and compassionate nature. As a teenager in book six, Miranda faces many of the conflicts that confront adolescents today. She forms lasting friendships, endures pain and sorrow, experiences triumph and joy, learns valuable life lessons, and faces a promising future, illustrating that through perseverance one can make dreams come true.

Raven Publishing, Inc. is graced by Janet Muirhead Hill's heartfelt dedication to children's literature. To echo the sentiments of distinguished review source, Children's Bookwatch, we are fortunate to have "one of the truly skilled storytellers writing for young readers today."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Raven Pub (October 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971416117
• ISBN-13: 978-0971416116
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In 1994, Riding the ski lift at Bridger Bowl, just north of Bozeman, MT, "Miranda and Starlight" was conceived. My then eight-year-old granddaughter, Jayme insisted she ride up the mountain with me and that I tell her a story on the way.

"And what would you like the story to be about?"

"A horse."

"Of, course. A horse and a girl?"

"Yes, a girl like me."

"What shall we name this girl?"

"Ummm, how about Miranda?"

"Okay. Miranda, a girl who wants a horse more than anything in the world?"

"Yes! Just like me."

The story unfolded out of my imagination, lift ride after lift ride and while warming our toes in the lodge until by the end of the day, I decided it was worth writing down. Five more books followed about Miranda's adventures with Starlight, the young, black stallion she loves.

I write stories based on situations I see in life, and the people who encounter them. The result is, though wholly made up, the books are honest -- honest because I ask my characters how they think, what they would say, and how they feel in the dilemmas presented to them. I write what they show me.

Jayme's situation, and thus Miranda's, involved living with her grandparents away from her mother, attending a small rural school in which she felt left out, and believing that having a horse would solve all of her problems...or at least make them matter less. Miranda is impulsive, quick-tempered, and sometimes disobedient. She is also loving, loyal, and learns from her mistakes.

I wrote Danny's Dragon based on the experiences of kids I heard about in the news and our neighborhood; kids whose parent or parents went off to fight a war, leaving them behind. I put myself in the child's heart and mind. A bit of homesickness I experienced at age nine helped me understand. The death of my parents gave me an inkling of what a child that age would go through. Research on the stages of grief for a child helped me better understand the impact and the stages of grief he would suffer. So I made up Danny and his horse Dragon and put them on a cattle ranch in Montana. Danny's dad goes to war and is killed. Dragon, the horse his dad bought for him, becomes the object of Danny's anger, guilt, denial, and escape. For a time he loses Dragon, too. His relationships with his mother and his teenage sister fall apart as each cope with their grief in their own ways. Life changes make Danny's life even harder, but gradually open his mind to new ideas and realities. End the end, relationships mend, Danny and Dragon are reunited, and Danny has grown from a lost little boy to a stronger, wiser, youth.

Kyleah's Tree is based loosely on my own run-away-from-home fantasies as a preteen. It's also a twin story. I see the closeness of twins and ask, :"what would it be like if they were tragically separated?" Kyleah ends up in a foster home in Kansas after her mother dies. She was torn from the arms of her twin brother when her parents divorced years earlier. The biggest dilemma for Kyleah is a lack of self-esteem. She doesn't believe she's loveable so she doesn't let anyone close. "If only I were pretty," she thinks, "then people could love me." This lack of belief in herself contributes to her decision to run away with an older boy from the same foster home. They travel across Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and into Saskatchewan with high adventure, narrow escapes, hardships, and loneliness along the way. Kyleah doesn't find her father and brother as she hopes, but she finds herself and what "home" really means.

Kendall's Storm explores the parallel life of Kyleah's twin as he flees one place after another with his errant father. He remembers his sister and wonders if she and his mother are alive, and if they ever think of him. A bedraggled puppy that he rescues from a storm becomes his friend and solace. Kendall is meek and fearful, wanting his father's love and acceptance, but often falling short of the mark. He must make decisions about his own life. Will he follow his father's footsteps? Will he conquer his fears? There is a foster home in his story, too, but a very different one from the one Kyleah fled and then returned to.

Not yet finished is the story of how the twins eventually unite. Several more stories are either written or in process. Homelessness, peer pressure, a two book series ritual abuse and escape to a fantasy world that turns out to be just as frightening, are a few of the subjects addressed.

I'm a grandmother, a wife, and a mother. Family is of primary importance to me. So is writing stories that reflect life and give readers heroic, yet human characters to relate to and learn from; books that not only engage the reader, but encourage and comfort them in the knowledge that they are neither bad nor alone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starlight's Courage, April 28, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Starlight's Courage (Starlight Books, 2) (Paperback)

Starlight's Courage is the second book in the Starlight series and is just as good or even BETTER than the first one! If yo liked Starlight and Miranda you will DEFINATLY like this one too!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An involving and highly recommended novel, December 14, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starlight's Courage (Starlight Books, 2) (Paperback)

The sequel to "Miranda and Starlight", Starlight's Courage by Janet Muirhead Hill is the story of a young girl and an injured two-year-old stallion named Starlight that she has befriended. When she and her friends arrange to ride in a competition against their classmates, they are all unaware that a disturbed individual is seeking revenge. An involving and highly recommended novel for young readers which is nicely enhanced with Pat Lehmkuhl's black-and-white sketches.