Post by Claire on Feb 12, 2016 22:09:26 GMT 1
ELENA OF THE STARS
SUMMARY:
Older children’s/teen coming of age novel. City raised Elena goes to visit her widowed grandfather who lives alone, except for his horses, in the wide open spaces of Wyoming. A solitary man who has seemingly given up on life since wife died, he has not seen his grand-daughter in six years. However the pair soon develop a close bond, fuelled by Elena’s similarity to and her interest in her dead grandmother. When Elena learns that her grandmother was a famous barrel racer, she wants to follow in her footsteps, learning to ride and then developing a close relationship with the horse whom her grandmother loved.
REVIEW:
Very well written book, poetic and lyrical, though for the most part without becoming too overtly ‘literary’ or pretentious - the lyricism is balanced by more down to earth sections. It is fairly slow paced but does eventually enfold into a compelling narrative.
The book is also interesting in that it is one of the very few horse or pony novels to feature barrel racing. Although it is not the main theme of the story by any means, the reader does learn a bit about the sport and it’s history. I was surprised, for example, to learn that women were banned from rodeo events for many years, except, for some unknown reason, barrel racing!
Although this is definitely an equine-centred novel, with most of the book featuring horses in some way, it is certainly not a traditional style pony story and if you are expecting one you will be disappointed. However the fact that it is not a traditional pony book does not mean it escapes many of the genre's clichés, including the heavily over-used (and frankly irritating) one of a girl who has a ’special ability’ with horses. It also follows the equally well-used but far more satisfying theme of the deep relationship between a girl and a horse.
Although the heroine is a 12 year old girl this book is not suitable for younger children due to adult themes and adult language, and also it’s slow pace, which would probably not hold their interest for long. Not for the Politically Correct Brigade either as the grandfather lets his grand-daughter drink whisky and talks about smoking pot!
Although I liked the writing style, I somehow never warmed to the characters who all seemed a little too unreal and eccentric. There also seemed too much of a jumble of themes and sub-plots which didn’t seem pertinent to the main story. For me the book was like a beautiful but cold and unfeeling person whom you can admire but never feel any real connection to. It is mainly for this reason that I rate the book as 3 (good) rather than 4 (very good) horseshoes. However the book does have some excellent reviews on Amazon and I’d definitely recommend that any one who doesn’t mind a slow paced fairly introspective read should give it a try. If however you prefer a simply written, straight forward, traditional horse story and shy away from books with the faintest whiff of literary aspiration, then don't bother picking this one up.
I award the book 3 horseshoes (GOOD)
SUMMARY:
Older children’s/teen coming of age novel. City raised Elena goes to visit her widowed grandfather who lives alone, except for his horses, in the wide open spaces of Wyoming. A solitary man who has seemingly given up on life since wife died, he has not seen his grand-daughter in six years. However the pair soon develop a close bond, fuelled by Elena’s similarity to and her interest in her dead grandmother. When Elena learns that her grandmother was a famous barrel racer, she wants to follow in her footsteps, learning to ride and then developing a close relationship with the horse whom her grandmother loved.
REVIEW:
Very well written book, poetic and lyrical, though for the most part without becoming too overtly ‘literary’ or pretentious - the lyricism is balanced by more down to earth sections. It is fairly slow paced but does eventually enfold into a compelling narrative.
The book is also interesting in that it is one of the very few horse or pony novels to feature barrel racing. Although it is not the main theme of the story by any means, the reader does learn a bit about the sport and it’s history. I was surprised, for example, to learn that women were banned from rodeo events for many years, except, for some unknown reason, barrel racing!
Although this is definitely an equine-centred novel, with most of the book featuring horses in some way, it is certainly not a traditional style pony story and if you are expecting one you will be disappointed. However the fact that it is not a traditional pony book does not mean it escapes many of the genre's clichés, including the heavily over-used (and frankly irritating) one of a girl who has a ’special ability’ with horses. It also follows the equally well-used but far more satisfying theme of the deep relationship between a girl and a horse.
Although the heroine is a 12 year old girl this book is not suitable for younger children due to adult themes and adult language, and also it’s slow pace, which would probably not hold their interest for long. Not for the Politically Correct Brigade either as the grandfather lets his grand-daughter drink whisky and talks about smoking pot!
Although I liked the writing style, I somehow never warmed to the characters who all seemed a little too unreal and eccentric. There also seemed too much of a jumble of themes and sub-plots which didn’t seem pertinent to the main story. For me the book was like a beautiful but cold and unfeeling person whom you can admire but never feel any real connection to. It is mainly for this reason that I rate the book as 3 (good) rather than 4 (very good) horseshoes. However the book does have some excellent reviews on Amazon and I’d definitely recommend that any one who doesn’t mind a slow paced fairly introspective read should give it a try. If however you prefer a simply written, straight forward, traditional horse story and shy away from books with the faintest whiff of literary aspiration, then don't bother picking this one up.
I award the book 3 horseshoes (GOOD)