Book Review - A Riverdale Christmas by Amanda Wills

SUMMARY OF STORY:

This is the latest in a pony series featuring Poppy, her Connemara pony Cloud, friend Scarlett and younger brother. In this instalment, Christmas is on the horizon. Poppy is eager to become part of the school showjumping team and is horrified when her nemesis Mrs. Jackson, takes over the job of picking the team. How will she ever achieve her ambition now? But when she becomes involved in a charity to help sick children run by a local celebrity she begins to realise that there are more important things in life than her own concerns.

REVIEW

First of all before I start the review I have to say that I am not really a 'Christmassy' person, in fact some may say I should change my middle name to The Grinch! So it takes a lot to make me feel the Christmas spirit. This book, however, I'm pleased to say actually managed it! This story is full of the real message of Christmas, which seems nowadays to be almost lost in all the commercialism and surface glitz: that of spreading love and joy to others. Young readers will absorb this message through the eyes of our heroine Poppy. But it's not by any means done in a preachy or unsubtle way. At the beginning of the story Poppy's main concerns, as befits a young pony-obsessed girl, involve being chosen for a show jumping team and the annoying fact that one of her teachers seems to be picking on her. It's only when she reluctantly takes part in a charity event to help disadvantaged children that she starts to question her priorities and the way she sees the world. This plot-line could have turned the book into a rather downbeat and dreary read but on the contrary the author also celebrates the fact that Christmas can still be fun and full of sparkle. The character of Gaz with his ridiculously over-the-top Christmas decorations, demonstrates that you can be both caring and have fun at the same time. The Christmassy feel of the book is further heightened by the snowfall and the traditional wintry activities such as sledging - and there's even an extra touch of festive magic with the inclusion of a real live unicorn!

As well as the Christmas vibe, there is plenty more for readers to enjoy in this fast-paced story, with lots of horsy action, excitement and some nice scenes between the family members, especially the flashbacks to a family holiday in which we find out a little more about Poppy's character. I also like the way that the author has managed to blend the modern with the more traditional pony story, so it will appeal to both youngsters and older readers. Instagram and media celebrities rub shoulders with a more old-fashioned pony-story atmosphere.

Our heroine Poppy is a very likeable character. She is a really caring and genuine girl but at the same time has her faults and moments of weakness, just like a real person. There are two types of pony book heroine/hero that really annoy me: the perfect 'has a special way with horses' paragon who sets my teeth on edge and, perhaps worse, the whiny kid who complains about everything and never takes a moment to appreciate anything they have or think of anyone but themselves. Thankfully Poppy is none of these, she's a real normal girl with good and bad points, whom we can all relate to.

The book is part of a fairly long-running series and, unlike many series, this one has not lost its freshness and become formulaic. The author adds something new in every book, this one included. The story will be appreciated to the full if you have read the others beforehand but can be read as a stand-alone. Perhaps a touch more general background information on the characters would have helped new readers of the series jump into the story a little more easily, but it's not a major requirement as most of it can be picked up throughout. So even if you haven't read the others, don't let this put you off this great festive story.

All in all I would recommend this as an excellent Christmas read for all ages!

I have rated the book 4 HORSESHOES (very good)

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Book Review - Midnight Champion Bucking Horse by Sam Savitt

EDITION REVIEWED:
Scholastic paperback edition dated 1972.

SUMMARY OF STORY:

The book is a historical story set in the early 20th century based on a real life horse who was one of the most famous rodeo horses in American history. The story is told in three sections, each by a different narrator including the man who first caught and tamed the horse, his long term owner and the champion rodeo rider who locked horns with Midnight a number of times.

REVIEW:

This was one of a number of books I have had lying around for ages which I'd never got round to reading. Although I'd picked up the book and perused the wonderful illustrations a few times, I'd never really been motivated to read it, partly because I wasn't sure if a story about rodeos would be interesting, partly because I am a little worried about the possible cruelty element in rodeos, which I must admit I didn't really know anything about. But the book happened to be at hand when I was waiting impatiently for my laptop to install some software and I began to read in order to fill the time. After a few pages I'd almost forgotten about the computer. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I was enjoying the book. First of all, Sam Savitt is not just a fabulous artist, he's also a pretty good writer. His first person narrative is written in an easy to read, colloquial style which is friendly and down-to-earth, but at the same time also quite polished and accomplished. He really makes you see into the world of the different characters, and feel their emotions. There is quite a lot of humour in the book too, with various amusing rodeo escapades and larger than life characters such as the gambler Twenty One Johnson who, in the words of Jim McNab, "had himself calluses...from patting his own back." (Page 20). I was also quite surprised at the emotional depth and moments of tenderness in the book, which I didn't expect at all in such a story.

The book is similar in structure to Diana Pullein-Thompson's A Pony for Sale, with three sections following the different eras of Midnight's life, each 'written' by a different character. I found the first section, 'Jim McNab's Story,' the most enjoyable. It tells of how Jim breaks in the horse, whom he originally wants for a cow horse, and forms an attachment to him. Although Jim tries to break the horse the old fashioned rough and ready cowboy way, this doesn't work and Midnight demonstrates his early bucking prowess in quickly depositing his erstwhile wrangler! Jim then gentles the horse in a more modern, almost Monty Roberts-like approach, and this in turn leads to a strong bond forming between the two. However Midnight's talents as a buckeroo tempt Jim into entering the horse for rodeos, which slowly severs their bond, and eventually he decides to sell him. Jim's growing depression as his equine friend grows away from him and his sadness at their parting make for very emotional reading, and we see that even a crusty old cowboy can be as broken-hearted at losing his horse as any pony mad teenager.

The second and third sections dealing with Midnight's career are interesting, especially the last, in which the top rodeo rider battles his wills against the top rodeo horse. However they don't quite have the emotional depth of the first part. If like me, you know next to nothing about rodeos, you will learn a lot about what goes on. The author seems to stress that, far from being cruel, the sport gives the top rodeo horses a great life in which the horse is very well cared for and only works a few seconds a week, as opposed to six or seven hours as a cow horse. I do suspect that the lower class of rodeo horse may not fare so well and there is probably some cruelty in the sport, as there is in almost all horse sports. But we don't see much of the unsavoury aspect of the rodeo world, except for one incident of doping. I think a moral exploration of the sport is perhaps best set aside whilst reading the book, with any concerns explored afterwards. Certainly there is no horrifying cruelty or distressing death scenes in the book. (I've read far worse in many pony books aimed at pre-teen girls!)

Midnight (or Middy for short) is no cardboard cut out horse either. His character is drawn as well as those of the humans. We soon find that he is far from being the cliched man-eating outlaw horse. Although he soon dispenses of his riders, he does so with rather more cleverness and cunning than an explosion of rage, with even a touch of humour at times, such as when he looks back at one of his defeated riders sitting in the dirt and "seems to be saying 'no hard feelings. chum, it's all in a day's riding.'" (Page 48). He can also be gentle and affectionate, as he is with Jim and Mrs Elliot, the wife of his second owner. When one day a rider falls to the ground and become unconscious the horse does not attack the prostrate man but instead nuzzles him gently.

The penultimate part of the book pits the wits of Midnight and the great rodeo rider Pete Knight. The last few pages chronicle the very few seconds the battle takes in an unusual but highly effective way, with one-sentence pages paired with full page illustrations. This makes for an exciting, countdown-like episode. I'll not give away who wins, you'll have to read the book for yourself!

The end of the book is again quite emotional as we see, after Midnight's death, that a monument has been erected to him with a poetic epitaph which finishes "if there is a hoss heaven, please God, rest his soul." (Page 95). It's obvious that Midnight touched the hearts of many people and he will defintely touch the reader's too.

I can't finish up without mentioning the absolutely stunning illustrations by the author. Not only are they full of energy, life and at times humour, we can also see the characters of the horses in their eyes and expressions, something which is surprisingly rare in many pony book illustrations. (Caney and Geoffrey Whittam are also masters of this, but not so many an equine illustrator who seems to forget that the horses should have as much character as the riders). There are also far more illustrations here than in the average horse story, even many full page and almost double page spreads.

In some ways the book is an oddity, it is written to appeal mostly to adults, but the lavish and numerous illustrations and the brevity of the text, make it almost like a young reader's picture book. But really this just mirrors the fact the book is quite different to the 'normal' horse story in a number of ways, from subject matter, to structure, to unexpected emotions stirred by its pages. I feel it is quite a unique book and I'd certainly recommend it to older children and adults.

In rating the book I have to give it a whole horseshoe just for the illustrations so all in all I will rate the book as 5 HORSESHOES (excellent).

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