A Horse to Remember (Perfect Paperback)

~ (Author) "Hilary Thompson gazed out the car's window, strain-ing to see through the pouring rain..." (more)
Key Phrases: east barn, south barn, jumping lesson, Hilary Thompson, Millbrooke Stables, Round Three (more...)

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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• 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 (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,730 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I'm telling you now, that horse is C-R-A-Z-Y.", April 28, 2007

By	Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When Hilary Thompson's father announces that the family is moving to Tennessee, the thirteen-year-old is shocked. She has been expecting to attend high school with her friends in the city, but now she might as well be moving to a shack in Alaska. Instead, her parents are excited about horse country and never falling asleep to city noises again! Before she knows it, the family arrives in Tennessee and Hilary has a job working for Susan Collins at Millbrooke Stables. Although Hilary doesn't realize it at the time, what happens to her at these stables will change her life.

Susan's son, Jeremy, has an out-of-control horse, Satan, and no matter how he tries, Jeremy cannot subdue the feisty animal. Fearful that this beautiful horse will end up in a slaughterhouse, Hilary decides to tame Satan in secret, with little knowledge about horses or how to train them. When Hilary comes eye to eye with the stubborn mustang, sparks fly and she is challenged in unexpected ways. While attempting to hide her efforts from the others at the stables, Hilary learns about the special bonds that are formed between a girl and a wild animal, the level of trust they develop and the meaning of loyalty.

Written by the author at the age of fourteen, experienced rider and instructor Hutchings has beautifully captured the essence of adolescent angst, the emotional turmoil of change and the courage of commitment. As Hilary begins a completely different life than what she expected, she rises to the challenge, bonding with the mustang, training him for competition. In the process, she learns a painful lesson about love and loss; more importantly, Hilary experiences the value of friendship and the enduring memories forged with Satan as they begin to trust one another unconditionally. Written in the appealing prose of young teens, this endearing story is a beautiful reflection on coming of age. Luan Gaines/2007.

2 of 2 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

1 of 1 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 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.