Taking the Reins (Thoroughbred #60) [Library Binding]

Jennifer Chu (Author), Joanna Campbell (Creator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Now that high school is behind them, will Christina and Melanie be able to make the right choices about their futures and still remain friends?

They're out of school and Christina and Melanie are taking a year off to make some big decisions. Christina is torn between the exciting life of a jockey and working as a vet, helping the horses she loves. And then there is her horse, Wonder's Star. After all their hard work, can Christina really leave the track – and Star – behind?

Melanie's future as a jockey seems clear. But her relationships with the people she loves – especially Christina – are less certain. Christina accuses her cousin of putting her career above everything – and everybody. How can Melanie prove that the people she loves comes first?

Ages 9+

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joanna Campbell appears here with her six-year-old Thoroughbred, Meyersville Magic, known around the barn as CC. He's a son of Horatius out of Northwich by Timothy's Champ and is owned by Cathy Day. Formerly trained for racing, he is now being trained for eventing. Last Year he was the Maine Entry Level Champion in Combined Training. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: San Val (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613883594
• ISBN-13: 978-0613883597
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,820,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truely Fantastic!!, August 30, 2003

By 

rachel (ventura, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking the Reins (Thoroughbred #60) (Paperback)

This is a great book. It is extremely sad that Callie died, but it wasn't Christina's fault or the trainer's fault. It was an accident. I cant wait until Thoroughbred #61 Parker's Passion comes out. I have a felling it will be amazing just like this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS!, September 29, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Taking the Reins (Thoroughbred #60) (Paperback)

Would u peoples stop whining? This book was great, I mean, the authors aren't perfect and can't make everything realistic. Afterall, the Heartland series is very realistic, but boring. Anyway, Chris is not a brat. She didn't get everything she wanted, like her mom's support when she loved eventing or her "dream horse" (Sterling) to behave or Star to stay at Whitebrook for a while... Whatever. The list goes on. By the way, Chris dumped Sterling for a good reason. It wouldn't be fair to Sterling to keep her but not event her properly because she didn't have the time. So quit whining. This series rules!!!

3.0 out of 5 stars Review For Taking the Reins, January 7, 2006

By 

daqu (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking the Reins (Thoroughbred) (Turtleback)

Being a die-hard Thoroughbred fan, I couldn't possibly not like one of the books. However, this one was definitely not one of the best. The basic idea of the story is that when Chris is riding Callie in a race, Callie stumbles and gets injured, eventually having to be put down. Christina spends most of the book wallowing in self-pity, which is where I think the book's downfall is. Her reaction is very similar to Melanie's when Image broke down after the Derby, but Image was actually Melanie's horse. Callie was just a horse that Christina rode. Some people may think I'm being a little unfair, but in my opinion Chris (and Mel) needs to grow up. We don't need to read 120 pages of Christina being convinced that it's her fault that Callie had to be put down, despite the fact that she loves being a jockey and everyone constantly convinced her it wasn't, and the stewerds even blamed Callie's owners! The book was kind of overly-dramatic and I can't help but feel that as the Thoroughbred series goes on the focous is being shifted from it's origanal theme of horses to teenage issues. Think back to the early books, when Joanna Campbell was still writing. Did we ever have love triangles? No; Ashleigh and Sammy both ended up marrying their first boyfriends. I bet if Joanna Campbell had kept writing then Cindy would've ended up married to Max, too. Did Ashleigh even consider completely give up her jockeying career after Wonder was injured in that workout and have to be retired? No, she and Mr. Townsend bred Wonder and Ashleigh went out and bought Fleet Goddess. Did Ashleigh continually try to convince herself that it was her fault that Wonder was so high-strung at Belmont and Saratoga? No, she just accepted that things happen and rose to the challenge of riding Wonder herself. I know that the Thoroughbred series is over, but I think the stories just kept going downhill after Joanna Campbell stopped writing.