Book Review: Horse Mad Heroes by Kathy Helidoniotis

When Ashleigh Miller’s mum gives birth to baby Jason, the Miller household is thrown into turmoil. With her dad working long hours and her mum over-tired from looking after the baby, Ash finds herself jealous of Jason and the amount of attention he receives from her parents. To comfort herself, Ash throws herself into her new job at Shady Trails Riding Ranch. She loves working there but is not supported by her best friend Becky.

While Shady Trails has been growing in popularity, Shady Creek Riding Club has been declining. Becky, whose father runs the club, confronts Ash and demands her to choose between Shady Trails and their friendship. Caught in this dilemma, Ash says nothing and Becky leaves in a whirlwind of anger.

Although Ash believes she and Becky will never speak again, when Becky arrives at her house with devastating news Ash rushes to her aid. Becky’s older sister Rachael sold her horse Cassata to raise money for a car. Ash and Becky set aside their differences to bring Cassata home. Becky learns to accept that her dad’s riding club will pull through the hard times, and she gets a job working at Shady Trails.

Reviewers have been impressed by how the author Kathy Helidoniotis managed to write from an 11 year old girl’s perspective. She perfectly captured the feelings of jealousy, anger and stubbornness, which have made Ash’s problems seem real. I was a huge horse lover as a kid, and this book broadened my understanding of how to look after a horse. I liked the horsey facts throughout the book and the different personalities of the characters.

Horse Mad Heroes is the fourth book in the Horse Mad series. There are eight books in total so far. The first book in the series, Totally Horse Mad, was launched in 2006.

Thanks to Abbey for this great review! Send us yours.

Book Review: People Might Hear You

Orphaned at a young age, Frances lives with her poor aunt in a tiny apartment. When her aunt marries Mr. Tyrell, a man Frances has never met before, she believes he will turn their lives around. Although Frances has to leave her school to live with the Tyrell’s, she believes Mr. Tyrell’s three daughters will become close friends of hers.

When Frances first arrives at her new home, she is surprised at the cold, silent atmosphere of the house, and by its tight security. Windows are nailed shut and cannot be opened without an alarm being triggered. There is a concrete fence around the entire house. The house is stocked with enough food to last 20 years. No-one answers the door when Mr. Tyrell is out. The raising of a voice results in a scolding of “People might hear you!” No-one is allowed out of the house without Mr. Tyrell’s accompaniment. The daughters have never met anybody outside of the family and the temple group to which they belong. The days are occupied by a mixture of housework and the study of their religion. The family lives for their religion, cut off from the rest of man-kind so they cannot be contaminated by the sins of others.

Frances tries to conform but cannot help wondering why the religion’s members are the only ones worth saving when the war comes. She finds separation from the outside world difficult and wants to be welcomed enough into the religion to be able to recommend her friends to join it.
Firstly, the ending was a huge disappointment for me. I had so many unanswered questions; the author Robin Klein should have written a sequel. The ending really spoiled the book for me.

I first read this book at age eight and had absolutely no idea of the darkness behind it. In fact, until I read a review on it when I was 15, I was clueless to its mentions of religious cults, oppression and animal cruelty. Although many reviewers have decided that the book is not suitable for young people, I disagree. When I was younger, I really thought this book was about an abnormal family with an over-protective dad. The acknowledgements to the chilling themes explored in this book went way over my head. Even now, I do not understand the complexity of the manipulation and intimidation this book was written about. However, now that I have some idea of these black motifs, I am going to read this book from an entirely different perspective. I believe this book is suitable for both children and adults.

Thanks to Abbey for this great review! Send us yours.

Make a book!

Bored of the holidays? Need to catch up with your BFF? We still have space at our Book Binding workshop.

When? Friday 20 January, 2-4pm

What? Tieing up books? NO! Make your own journal / book, write your memoir, give it as a gift to the folks....want to come for free?

Comment below or send me an email with your favourite book these holidays (or ever) and you could score yourself 2 free tix! (To bring that friend....or your sister....or boyfriend....you get the idea).

More info or to book?

SB