Talley English

Teagan is about ready to enter high school when her parents separate suddenly. She and her mother are horsewomen. She has one good friend, Grace. After her parents separate, Teagan has a really hard time so her mother sends her off to Hunting Hill, a private school for girls where she can continue her riding. Her original horse dies that summer also so her mother sends Obsidian (Ian) to her at school. Obsidian is a large, headstrong horse who is good at fox hunting in the open field. Teagan must learn to control him so that she can compete. While away at school Teagan becomes angry with her father and depressed. She is not interested in anything but her horse. The time frame for this novel is problematic. The chapters switch back and forth from what appears to be the present in only a few chapters to what happened during the summer before her freshman year of high school and her freshman year at Hunting Hill. At one point her brother Charlie is in high school, next he is returning to college, and then he is applying to colleges.… (meer)

Many stories have been written about grief, the impact of divorce/loss on children, the bond between a child and an animal, and the healing power of animals. Horse by Talley English brings all these elements together, promising a powerful and emotional story. However, for me, the emotional impact of the story does not come. I think that is primarily for two reasons - one about the plot and the other about the structure and language. The overall impact is unfortunately of a melancholy but vague story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/11/horse.html

Reviewed for Penguin First to Read program.… (meer)

This is a lovely coming-of-age novel where the narrator is a privileged white teen who nonetheless evokes great sympathy for the ordeal of her parents' divorce and the destruction of her former life. It's also a love story between Teagan and her horse Obsidian, who was owned by her father and bought by him because the horse bit him at their first encounter (both of them are jerks, especially the father). Teagan goes to a fancy, horsey boarding school for her freshman year in high school, and Obsidian also boards at the school. When that year ends, they return home. There's a bit of time-shifting, with the grown-up Teagan looking back in alternate chapters, and some tragedy. The communication between girl and horse are paramount, and for a horse lover, very hard to resist.… (meer)