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Post by Claire on Aug 8, 2008 20:29:34 GMT 1
Okay folks our next book/s are Fly-by-night and The Team by K M Peyton. If you have only got one of the two then just read that one or maybe one of our lovely forum members can supply a spare copy. Re. Free Rein I don''t think many people will have a copy of that one but if you have and want to read and comment on it, then go ahead! Would you rather read each book and comment separately or do comments at the end of both? I will be doing 2 separate polls for each book anyhow. EDIT - WE HAVE DECIDED TO DO THE 2 BOOKS SEPARATE. I WILL BE STARTING A SEPARATE THREAD FOR THE TEAM
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Post by kunuma on Aug 9, 2008 14:00:03 GMT 1
Can we do them separately please - as I only have Fly by Night - unless anyone has the flat, round shiny version going spare ?
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Post by Claire on Aug 10, 2008 20:14:45 GMT 1
I dont have a spare copy but you can borrow mine after Ive read it. Have you read it before kunuma?
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Post by haffyfan on Aug 10, 2008 20:46:57 GMT 1
me neither...sorry, again happy to lend you mine though
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Post by kunuma on Aug 11, 2008 9:06:56 GMT 1
No you have caught me out with yet another I haven't read! But someone on here talked about it and is it the one that carries on after the Fly by Night series. I've read the second Fly by Night one, can't remember what it is called, the one where he goes in a film - are there just those two and then the Team , or are there more?
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Post by Claire on Aug 11, 2008 13:31:07 GMT 1
The Team is the 2nd Fly by night one! Are you by any chance getting mixed up with the Swallow series?
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Post by kunuma on Aug 11, 2008 14:01:16 GMT 1
I think I am having a combined blonde and senior moment!! I am getting them mixed up! In that case - I have only read the first one and will have to take someone up on the kind offer of a loan. Will also have to go and reread the Swallow ones to get the two series sorted out in my head.
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Post by haffyfan on Aug 23, 2008 14:25:50 GMT 1
Just finished Fly and The Team...had forgotten just how good they are. She really is an amazingly diverse author. Just started on Free Rein....does anyone know if it was altered in anyway for the Americian/Uk market? I haven't read the Free Rein ed before but according to mine it was actually published before last Ditch (so far I think it's identical but it's a few years since I read Last Ditch now)
Also I know Jonathan is in some of her other (non pony) books but I am guessing Peter must pop up too as there is reference to a kidnapping incident and Peter knowing Jonathan better than most and at his lowest or something. Is it the Midsummernights something or other and prove yourself a hero that there in/if so are they any good? I have the Penningtons one with Ruth in but have only read the first so far.
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Post by susanb on Aug 23, 2008 17:31:04 GMT 1
Jonathan and Peter are in Prove Yourself a Hero, and it's excellent (it's the kidnapping one). Almost all her characters wander in and out of various books, pony and non-pony, so it does make it interesting to keep track!
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Post by Claire on Aug 23, 2008 19:24:38 GMT 1
Just finished Fly-by-Night myself and exactly as you said haffy forget how brilliant it was. But more later as battery running out on laptop so will have to be quick!
Added poll for Fly. Will do a separate thread and poll for The Team as it doesnt let you put 2 polls on 1 thread.
Yes, Jonathan certainly didnt have a dull moment did he, what with getting kidnapped, being mixed up in a murder (Midsummer Nights Death) and then in a teen pregnancy scandal!
haffy I cant help on the Free Rein/Last Ditch question as I cant remember which of the two I actually read and dont have any copies at mo.
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Post by haffyfan on Aug 23, 2008 20:26:13 GMT 1
Thanks susan..that'll be me wandering over to ebay/amazon/abe shortly then and thanks Claire, I have both editions as couldn't decide which to part with as Free Rein sounds nicer but Last Ditch has that wonderful jacket...so kept them both...I was being lazy I guess as could check myself
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Post by Claire on Aug 23, 2008 21:54:51 GMT 1
Haff which Penningtons ones have you got? I am desperate to read Beethovens Medal have read the other 2 in the series but not that one where Ruth actually meets Patrick. (She's not in the first one in series)
Just to recap for anyone who is interested in the other exploits of the Fly-by-night/Team characters here are the books they are in:
Prove Yourself a Hero - Jonathan & Peter A Midsummer Night's Death - Jonathan Free Rein aka Last Ditch - Jonathan & Peter
Pennington series: 1. Penningtons Seventeenth Summer 2. The Beethoven Medal - Ruth 3. Penningtons Heir - Ruth
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Post by Claire on Aug 25, 2008 20:37:48 GMT 1
Will start the ball rolling with the discussion for Fly by Night. Please add comments if you have read it.
As said earlier forget how brilliant this book was. I think what struck me most on reading it as a child was how much I related to it. Being brought up on a diet of P-T and jackie books which altho I loved them were not really of my world, reading this for the 1st time i really felt in tune with it. The struggle of finding the money for ponies, finding somewhere for it to live, feeling apart from all the knowledgeable horsy people, was so familiar. Altho CPT and Ruby Ferguson have written about money probs in their books, this seemed a lot more realistic. (I mean come on Jill and her mum were supposed to be poor as church mice and they still had a housekeeper coming in!) My experiences of ponies were so like Ruths and possibly like many other peoples of a similar age. I remember breaking in a pony and having to imporvise lungeing equipment cos I couldnt afford to buy the proper stuff. I think this was a purposeful angle to the pony book by the author who also wasnt brought up on ponies, didnt come from a horsy family and couldnt have a pony as there was no-where to keep it. I wonder if anyone else on the forum feels like they could relate better to Ruth than some of the more traditional pony book characters (unless you were lucky enough to come from a horsy family!)
On a more personal level too I really identified with Ruth who was very like me as a child, a persistant worrier (I still am!) who cares too deeply about things, but who is also a bit dogged and won't give up. Altho my personality has changed as Ive grown older I still recognise a lot of myself in Ruth (she even looks a bit like I did in the pics!)
Altho the bare plot of girl buying difficult pony and finally overcoming probs is nothing out of the ordinary, K M manages to do it with a little twist which is thru the character of Peter. usually the 'expert' in a pony book is an adult like Major Holbrooke but here it is ayoung boy. Because he ends up being fostered by Ruth's mother, Ruth eventually gets his help. It also provides good tension in the story when Ruth finally gets Peter to talk to but ironically is forbidden to talk about horses with him in case it traumatises him!
Yes it is a wish fulfillment sort of book and perhaps does not have the depth of say the Swallow series in which the author looks at the idea of a girl struggling with a hard to handle pony in a much more realistic way, but some times you do just want to read a dream come true sort of story like Fly by Night. Also when you follow the characters on to the next book, The Team, there is more depth to the story and more to think about. (I think the Team is even better!)
The only small criticism I have is the bit about Peters father coming home from Italy with an opera singing Italian wife. It just does not ring true! But aprt from that superb in every way. In my opinion, altho my all time fav book (Pony Club Camp) is not by KM she is the most talented of all the pony book writers over all.
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Post by darkhorse on Aug 26, 2008 19:38:05 GMT 1
Just finished reading this. It is just as good as ever. I'm looking forward to reading The Team again. Did Ruth not appear in Free Rein as I haven't read that one. I really wish she had written more books in this series. I agree that it is a more realistic book than the PTs or Jill/Jackie and co. The characters are all really believable. As said earlier there are no horsey experts turning up on the doorstep conveniently as with Major Holbrooke or Martin in the Jill books, Ruth has to struggle through on her own and even when Peter arrives on the scene he isn't much help to her until the end. I like the character of Ruth, although she is a bit downbeat she is not as depressing as Christine PT's characters. She is more of a fighter. I voted excellent!
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Post by kunuma on Aug 26, 2008 20:16:37 GMT 1
Yes, enjoyed this very much, funnily enough the only bit that annoyed me even as a little 'un the first time I read it was the part about breeding from a mare with navicular! I was genetics obsessed even then! Like Claire found the opera singer a little contrived, (but then on the other hand - a pretty accurate observation of what men require as a perfect wife, cooks well, does housework, stays in the kitchen and doesn't answer back ;D ) I too identified with Ruth - I have kept a pony in the garden more times than I care to remember. In fact that's where my last horse lived - i had been lucky enough to rent a place with outbuildings, but there was no grazing! Jill's idea of struggling to keep a pony when she actually already had a field and a stable never rang as true as trying to fence off the garden with scraps of wood etc, did for me!! I can remember pinching the jam on the bit idea when I broke in my first youngster too! The best bit for me is the description of when she sees Fly first as a youngster with the others, how he just stood out and she had to have him. Sort of love at first sight, and is does happen like that! All in all written by someone who knows what a horse is, and what it is like to love one. Voted excellent.
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Post by Buster on Aug 26, 2008 22:37:19 GMT 1
I loved this book, and thats coming from me who generaly loves books about girls with plenty of ponies and a perfect gleaming yard to keep them in and obviously competing at olympia each day. But never the less I loved it! Ruth is very different to me, I dont worry about anything, at least not until after i've done it but I liked the way her confidence grew and how she never gave up on Fly. I especialy liked Peter because he had a natural talent but he didnt boast about it and I could empisise how he felt when Toad was sold as I have broken in ponies and got them going perfectly when POOF they dissappear . I think the story was very well written and I loved the idea of her going out to serch for her own pony and how she immediatly knew he was the one for her. I quite liked the idea of the Itallian mother and i was surprised when Peter took to her so well. I can only say that I would have liked to see how Peter and Ruth did in the pairs and I didnt want it to end there! Voted excellent because it is!
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Post by haffyfan on Aug 27, 2008 12:18:54 GMT 1
I liked the fact they were realistic too. Unlike most people in books Ruth didn't just breeze through breaking Fly in and having him going like a show pony in weeks , in fact he was still a bit difficult it would appear when she sold him in The Team. However I feel it's very irresponsible to own a horse (or any animal) if you can't afford and don't have the knowledge to look after it and am glad the author did portray this to an extent.
I also like the bit where she chooses Fly as I too can identify with that as Murph choose us, now why I didn't remember Ruth's problems at that moment is beyond me as he has been nothing but trouble since too!
I think what K M Peyton does exceptionally well and what is often lacking in other books of this genre is identifying with her target audience and the relationships between the characters. In the books her characters build up relationships with other which carry through the series and the dynamics of which change in response to the storyline. She also deals with relevant teenage issues such as periods, first love etc but subtly within the stories for eg when Peter rides Toad in the first comp because Ruth is dying with period pains and when Ruth watches Peter jump Sirius at night during camp and he later tells her he's noticed she has her beady eye on Jonathan.
Free Rein is just exceptional (IMO) as I appear to be the only one so far to have read it I won't spoil it but will just answer the question about Ruth. No she is not in it bar a fleeting reference towards the end (about the type she goes for) and the characters of Jonathan and Peter are now 18.
Until you lot pointed it out I had never thought twice about the opera singing wife, but yes that was a bit odd to say the least. Mr mcNair wouldn't have gone on holiday...maybe a horse finding trip to Ireland or Germany/Holland but this was a bit unbelievable when I now think about it. If he married again (which I would have thought highly doubtful) she would have been a tough strong character who also shared his passion of work/horses (a hard woman to hounds maybe).
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Post by Claire on Aug 27, 2008 16:58:27 GMT 1
Just to let others know who havent read The Team some of the stuff haffy is talking about is from that book not Fly by Night. Haffy we decided to do it separate...my fault tho as I should have changed the title of the thread.
I have read Free Rein. Actually I was a tad disappointed by it as I had expected Ruth to be in it. I didnt enjoy it as much as Fly and The Team but it was very well written. Also it was more of an adult story than the other books.
But going back to The Team, am sending my copy to kunuma to read and just had a thought that maybe she could pass it on to you mysteryarab when she has finished and you can send it back to me? Anyway let me know if you want to do this. Its a cracking book.
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Post by kunuma on Aug 27, 2008 19:00:01 GMT 1
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Post by haffyfan on Aug 27, 2008 19:07:00 GMT 1
oopsie...sorry I missed that bit and sorry Kunuma too (maybe you could offer him a home at punchbowl farm )
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Post by Buster on Aug 30, 2008 9:23:37 GMT 1
That would be brilliant if you wouldnt mind doing that! I have been looking for a copy online but cant seem to find one for a reasonable price.. Thanks
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Post by kunuma on Aug 30, 2008 18:57:57 GMT 1
The Team arrived today, and i have already read as far as the sale of Fly- rather shocked by that I have to say, but won't say more as don't know yet if he comes back! pm me your address mysteryarab and I'll send it on once I've finished!
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Post by Buster on Aug 30, 2008 20:12:17 GMT 1
Alright PM'ing you... NOW
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Post by kunuma on Sept 1, 2008 19:45:59 GMT 1
The Team should be with you tomorrow mysteryarab! Went first class today.
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Post by Claire on Sept 1, 2008 21:09:06 GMT 1
If anyone else wants to read it after mysteryarab let me know!
Kunuma did you manage to recycle that envelope again? ;D
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Post by exmoorfan on Sept 4, 2008 14:46:31 GMT 1
This was the first time i've read Fly by Night, and I loved it.. Will have to read the others now.. ;D
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Post by Buster on Sept 4, 2008 18:33:57 GMT 1
I got it a few days ago and am reading like crazy! Sadly its quite hard as I went back to school today but this book is excellent! Thanks!
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Post by Claire on Sept 4, 2008 18:57:35 GMT 1
Exmoorfan cannot believe you never read Fly before! I have a copy of the Team floating around the PMBL members at the mo. Kunuma had it and sent it to mysteryarab so she could maybe pass it on to you when she has finished it? Or some other kind soul may have a copy you could borrow. You MUST read it!!!!
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Post by Fly by night on Sept 4, 2008 19:08:24 GMT 1
I came into the books quite late claire. I thought I would re read my childhood faves only to discover all the ones I'd missed while busy with life.!!!!! I was directed by the lovely haffy as to which were good reads but had so many to read I can't do all...So the circle does me a favour.. I had a search and actually have The team and free rein .Do they all follow on.? You should see my office..Talk about a mountain of books,,
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Post by exmoorfan on Sept 4, 2008 19:09:38 GMT 1
Crikey sorry that was from me..lol
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