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Victoria Eveleigh

Auteur van Katy's Champion Pony

15 Werken 78 Leden 5 Besprekingen

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Werken van Victoria Eveleigh

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This book was kindly sent to me by the publisher. It was published on 4 July so is only just out.

Second in the Joe trilogy, we find our hero established in his life in the countryside, looking after the family’s two ponies and also getting to grips with the charges at their new horse rehabilitation centre (a great plot idea, as it allows new characters to be introduced easily and plausibly). Joe’s sister Emily starts to get more keen on horses again after her scary experience in the last book, and there’s a bit of well-observed jealousy as she takes to it really well, gets in with the Pony Club crowd and generally slots in to the Girls And Ponies stereotype, right down to her pink wellies. Will Joe be able to maintain his position as The Horsey One out of the two of them, or should he be more open to these changes? In the main plot, when Joe starts riding Lightning more robustly, he finds she has a skill that she enjoys and could take them on an interesting journey …

The author doesn’t spare our emotions in this one. Heartstrings are tugged, emotional situations are described … but friendships are strengthened and new ones flourish, with the modern use of technology which brings these books up to date (but in a sensible and believable way). Joe is faced with some dilemmas about friendships and ponies, and his relationship with his friend Caroline deepens, too. I cried at one point (probably not the point you’d think – don’t give the plot away if you have read this but you can ask me privately using my contact form!). But there is a theme that might be a little sensitive for some readers, and might need some support for the very youngest or most sensitive readers (I coped, and I’m a sensitive reader).

I was pleased to find that Chris the farrier and Sensei Radford the aikido tutor both appearing again, alongside the wise and down-to-earth Nellie. This range of characters gives the series a depth and an anchor that make it really special. It’s also good to find out about the workings behind horse passports, the Pony Club and mounted games competitions, so you learn as well as enjoying.

Highly recommended yet again for pony-book-loving boys, girls and adults. I can’t wait for the third one in the series (although why do there have to be only three – maybe the author could do a Jill type series …?).
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
LyzzyBee | Aug 3, 2013 |
What happens when you want to set your wild pony free again for a run around Exmoor … but she takes one look at being free and runs back home again? This is just one theme in another charming instalment in the Katy story. Katy’s doing well enough with Trifle to go to a residential Pony Club camp (with all the shades of Jill that conjours up: and even though everyone fancies one of the instructors, there is still the cross instructor who will meet her match and plenty of fun detail about the Camp). She’s also negotiating her long-standing crush on a local lad who moves away, their only contact being on Facebook, and dealing with the worry of outgrowing Trifle. But there’s still showing to be done, a mystery about a groom to solve, a baby to come, and the surprise of the title, as well as some great, believeable scenes as Katy and her older brother are trusted to keep an eye on the farm while their parents are away. I have to say, I guessed the surprise quite early on, but it didn’t spoil this great read for me at all.

——-

I do love the way that these books constantly take a fond and respectful look back to the pony books that have come before. This makes them readable on different levels: someone young reading them for the first time won’t know about this but will appreciate the modern touches and horsy detail; someone like me, steeped in pony book tradition, will love spotting the themes and nods and the way they are cleverly worked in and slightly subverted. I’m looking forward to (many) more from this lovely author – next up is a new trilogy with that rather rare thing, a boy hero (any nods to Our Ken from Mary O’Hara’s books, I wonder!). My only complaint: couldn’t they be twice as long?
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
LyzzyBee | Oct 2, 2012 |
Again, we’re reminded very sensibly about the hard work needed to get a pony to the standard needed for showing and general obedience. Katy tries to introduce her pony, Trifle, to the showing arena, but disasters ensue (disasters that are all too real and in fact are based on the author’s own experiences!); then again, maybe it’s more useful to teach Trifle how to stand still. The female friendship strand is going strong: Alice is going away to school and Katy’s worried that their friendship will grow apart, so then of course it does start to fray until they have it out. Money is tight at home, and in another nod to traditional pony books, which often have an artist or writer Mum or Dad, Katy’s Dad is torn between farming and painting, unable to make a real living out of either. Things begin to look up, but only after one of those PERIL!!! episodes, again looking back to so many horses stuck in quarries / barbed wire / falling when out hunting scenes, but done charmingly and realistically without being too traumatic. Katy doesn’t feel she quite does the right thing, and will it all come out right in the end? Even the “championship” theme is cleverly twisted, which raises a smile.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
LyzzyBee | Oct 2, 2012 |
Katy’s living on Exmoor on her Mum and Dad’s farm, but her Granfer still runs the herd of Exmoor ponies, as her Dad was never that interested in the horse side of things. There’s a lot to get used to as Katy grows up, not least of which is coping with school: she’s not that popular, and when a new girl, Alice, starts, and accidentally befriends here, there’s some serious working out to do before they can be true friends. So when Katy spots a tiny new foal on the moor, on her birthday, she knows that all she wants to do is be close to the filly. Classic pony book themes like children bidding at auctions, hidden ponies and that useful stable owner down the road are updated into a world where it’s no good having a mobile phone if you can’t get a signal (but you still want on), you have crushes, your sister lives with someone without being married, and Facebook makes quite a few appearances. It could be an uneasy mix, but it works. Will Katy befriend and tame the foal she’s named Trifle? Will she manage to learn to ride? Read this charming book and find out. Lovely illustrations by Victoria’s husband, Chris, too.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
LyzzyBee | Oct 2, 2012 |

Statistieken

Werken
15
Leden
78
Populariteit
#229,022
Waardering
4.8
Besprekingen
5
ISBNs
21
Talen
1

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